Chai Point

Few months back there was a huge radio promotion for a new tea café, with promising new flavours and cleverly designed ads for a tea brand. Their ad was great. So one weekend my wife and I decided to try this new café in DLF galleria. All our expectations were badly hammered with the bill amount; it was staggering Rs.400+ taxes. Yes we Indians love our tea but in small quantity and such a huge bill amount spoils the whole experience. So why is the price too high? Is it because they serve 300ml or due to the location, GOD knows but for us that was the last visit to a Tea café. 

Later, when I was invited for an Earth Day celebration in a Tea outlet of another brand, Chai Point, my expectations were not so high because of the last experience. This outlet of Chai point is in the posh DLF Cyber Hub right in the middle of the corporate hub of Gurgaon. When I reached the outlet, it was full of customers and few bloggers. As usual I started capturing shots of the outlet in and outside. After a while our host Diksha Panday (Head customer experience and people excellence) greeted us with a very warm welcome and also introduced us to the owner and the brain behind Chai Point Mr. Amuleek Singh Bijral. Instead of just shaking hands and leaving us to Diksha this gentleman sat with us for a discussion and made sure to answer our queries on Chai Point and it’s story. 

My first question started with the price because of my prior bad experience with another joint. I was surprised to hear that the minimum price of a tea is Rs.25! Wow! I think that was the cheapest item one can find in Cyber Hub. Mr. Bijral was quick to explain the reason behind the price factor. As per him tea is the most common beverage which people want to have 2-3 times in a day in less quantity. So instead of serving big quantity with sky high prices they believe in serving small portions like in our home. He also explained that tea is not a luxury, it’s a basic drink and should be affordable. The company policy is very simple- to provide the working Indian a cup of good tea with different flavors in their offices and home within delivery reach.

He also explained the expansion plans for new metros like Mumbai. They have kept the menu very simple with an easy to choose quantity and flavor. For people who avoid sugar they even have sugar free tea.

The menu also consists of very light but tasty snacks like small samosa, patty, brownie and some more. This is a perfect example of a company which does not want to confuse their customer with loads of menu items. The customer can also choose the quantity of the beverage between regular, medium and large. Their regular cups remind me of the cutting chai of Mumbai. Along with hot tea they also have options for cold beverages like shakes and ice tea.

Enough talk now. We all jumped to taste the product and I ordered pan kulfi shake which was damn good. Hot dum chai was light with less sugar also proved itself a clear top of the chart. In snacks the new achari puff was equally good to the eyes and tongue. The Browne was also light and fresh.

We also tried mango shake, ice tea, anda pao which were all awesome. The plates are biodegradable and made out of sugarcane sorghum stalks, so they are also give giving back to the planet. They gave free saplings to celebrate Earth Day which was a very nice and warm gesture.

Overall I liked the concept and really want to have an outlet near my home. I wish Mr.Bijral and his team with all the luck.