A small tea kiosk down Marine Drive has been the talk of the town as of late. Serving spice-infused tea, better known as Chai, Chaiwala Colombo is the latest example to be added to the list of entrepreneurial ventures in the face of the pandemic. 

Chaiwala Colombo is the brainchild of a team of six and the beauty of it is that all six of them have no background in the food or hospitality industry. “After a game of futsal or a meeting we used to go out to different places to try out tea and we observed a gap,” opined Shehan Sameen, one of the Founder members of the concept with a background in the textiles industry. “Being a tea nation we realised that there’s no particular place that has a variety of tea. There were many places that sold a range of beverages and had limited options for tea.”

Speaking about how the idea bore fruition, Sameen recalled how they put the quarantine period into good use. “The six of us come from different backgrounds. One of us is a pilot, the other friend is into marketing and is based in Dubai, one of the members is into automobiles, another is a corporate manager in the telecommunications industry and another founder member has a background in IT. None of us has any experience in the food industry.  But with the pandemic, we had a lot of time for ourselves. So we drew up the initial idea and tried different recipes. We did a few tea-tasting sessions and came up with a fine-tuned recipe and it worked well. Many people were stuck at home but they didn’t have an opportunity to go out and enjoy a cup of tea. So I believe we started this venture at the right place and at the right time.”

The idea has been brewing for the past two years. But the experimentation process had begun a couple of months back. “We recruited a wonderful team and conducted ground-level training for about three months. Then we came to the street and the scenario was totally different. So we had to adapt to certain changes,” he added.
The kiosk is located in Bambalapitiya, an area frequented with several other food trucks and operating hours are from 5.00 pm-12.00 am. 

When asked why they chose that particular location, two main reasons given were convenience and parking. “We, therefore, thought this would be the ideal place to station this kiosk. We weren’t giving others  competition since this idea is new and there is no tea truck around.”

Chaiwala Colombo includes four varieties of beverages but their best-sellers include Tandoori and Cardamom Chai. Other options include Sukku Coffee, a ginger-based black coffee and Ginger Plain Tea which are being experimented with to upgrade the taste. The signature Tandoori Chai Tea was initially served in a clay pot. This was what Chaiwala Colombo was known for. But unfortunately, the clay pots were never returned and the team in turn had to opt for paper cups. However, what is unique is that all options are priced at Rs. 100 or below. A few savouries including a smaller version of a fish bun, fish rotti, cake rusk and spicy cupcake are also available. The savouries too are priced at Rs. 80 or below. 

When asked why they decided to opt for Chai and not local tea varieties, Sameen said that they opted to have spice-infused tea after considering the health factor. “Chai originates from India and includes masala and other flavours. We thought we will not compromise on the quality. During the boiling stage, any water gets purified, but we add mineral water, brown sugar, fresh milk and natural spices. We don’t use any flavours or artificial additives. The stocks are bought at wholesale prices from wholesale vendors. If you take cardamom there are different grades, but we always make sure that we buy the A-Grade products.”

He and the team extend their gratitude to the community for showing their support towards a startup venture. “With the country’s situation, our customers may have been inconvenienced because we ask them to park their vehicles and not come to the truck. In turn, we serve it to their vehicles. This is not in our control as we have to adhere to regulations laid out by the authorities.”

In a message to budding entrepreneurs, Sameen says that nothing is impossible and that you need to be a little creative and think out of the box. “The tendency is to copy someone else’s idea. But there is never an easy path to success. Don’t be scared to take a risk. It is not about bossing around and showing attitude because when we come here we also serve tea. After all, team spirit matters.”

Due to the prevailing situation, Chaiwala Colombo is not in operation at present. Follow them on Instagram @chaiwalacolombo for the latest updates.

Photos Dasun Muthugala