Bringing culture back to chai

HYDERABAD: Kulhads area huge part of Indian culture . These traditional handle-less clay cups are now being widely used in the city to make Hyderabad’s famous Irani chai, which has now moved to other parts of the country too, thanks to Chai Sutta Bar. These disposable little cups are helping serve the purpose of hygiene and taste to chai lovers. CE caught up with the founders o f CSB to learnhow bringing back kulhads is revolutionising the city’s favourite beverage. CSB’s journey began in 2016, in a small town in Indore.

“Our idea and business is simple because we had only 3 lakh rupees then and all we could do with that was sell good chai - like the one you’d get at every nukkad (street corner) in India. The place slowl y grew for its real, unique taste that comes only from it being made in kulhads. Soon, we had to reach Hyderabad for the city’s heart beats for tea any time of the day,” says Anubhav Dubey, founder of CSB. Speaking about the market in the City of Pearls , co - founde r Arnab Nayak shares, “This city is not only populated by locals but also tourists.

Today, they have generated a great demand for kulhad chai and that’s how we have four popular outlets here. The most famous chai in asked for, here, is Irani chai and Bhartiye made using ‘Our Desh Ki Mitti ’ kulhad.” Asked how and why kulhads in an urbane city, Anubhav responds, “Kulhad is an integral part of CSB, more because it’s hygienic and is used only once. We searched a lot for the potters in Hyderabad who make kulhads. We also have kulhads come from a central supply in Indore, thereby working to revive the culture and profession of these potters.”

The duo also mentions that in the past year, they have worked towards employing differently- abled persons, and those from weaker sections of the society. With over 350+ stores, serving 3 lakh kulhads a day, CSB has clearly become a trustable beverage point for the youngsters as it provides the perfect ambience - the many trending reels on Instagram are proof. “We aim to open 1500+ outlets soon, not just in India but around the world. At this moment, CSB outlets in Dubai and Port Blair are already flourishing with good growth,” the hopeful duo signs off.