Walk down any bylane in India and you’ll inevitably stumble upon a modest tea shop. A bench or two to accommodate customers, a glass jar filled with fried and baked snacks, steam rising from a cauldron boiling milk and tea leaves, and that’s it. That’s the humility of these makeshift stalls.

These roadside tea joints, whether you call them cha dokan , chaayakada , or chai tapris , have always been more than just a pit stop for caffeine. They’re living rooms for the public, spaces where news is dissected, friendships forged, football rivalries fought, and politics debated with equal passion. They carry the onus of brewing a culture that is often underrated.

Yet, the landscape is shifting. As urban India embraces slick, air-conditioned tea cafes like Chaayos , Chai Point, and eve

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