BHAI ki CHAI: building a contemporary chai brand rooted in everyday Indian culture
BHAI ki CHAI was founded in Hyderabad in 2017 with a clear cultural insight: chai in India is not merely a beverage but a shared social practice that cuts across class, age and profession. The brand emerged from an understanding of how tea functions as a pause, a connector and a daily habit in urban life.
Rather than attempting to reposition chai as a premium or aspirational product, BHAI ki CHAI focused on preserving its familiarity while presenting it in a contemporary café format. The intent was not to disrupt chai culture, but to organise it – offering consistency, accessibility and comfort without distancing it from its roots.
From a single outlet in Banjara Hills, BHAI ki CHAI gradually expanded across Hyderabad, becoming a recognisable name among regular tea drinkers. Its growth has been shaped by routine consumer behaviour rather than short-term trends, allowing the brand to embed itself into the city’s everyday rhythm.
Vision and philosophy
The core philosophy of BHAI ki CHAI rests on simplicity. The founders believed that chai does not require reinvention, but respect for routine. This belief influenced every aspect of the brand, from naming and taste to outlet formats and customer interaction.
BHAI ki CHAI was conceptualised as a place where conversations matter as much as consumption. The cafés were designed to be informal, approachable and flexible, allowing customers to spend time without pressure. This philosophy positioned the brand closer to neighbourhood tea culture than conventional café models.
By focusing on what people already value about chai – familiarity, warmth and repetition – the brand avoided over-engineering the experience. This restraint became one of its defining strengths.
Mohammed Sahil Taiyebi
Founder & Director
Mohammed Sahil Taiyebi is the founder and director of BHAI ki CHAI. His vision for the brand emerged from a combination of personal passion for chai and a strong interest in Bollywood and popular culture. He recognised that cinema and tea share a common social space in Indian life – both spark conversation and bring people together.
Sahil conceptualised BHAI ki CHAI as a café that would reflect this shared cultural language. From the first outlet in Banjara Hills, he focused on creating an environment that felt lively yet familiar, using cinema references as subtle cultural cues rather than dominant themes.
He played a key role in shaping the brand’s customer experience, ambience and overall positioning. His approach was guided by observation rather than assumption – watching how customers interacted with the space, how long they stayed, and what they returned for. These insights helped refine the brand organically.
Under his leadership, BHAI ki CHAI expanded its footprint while maintaining a consistent identity. Sahil’s emphasis on cultural relatability ensured that the brand appealed to a wide demographic, from students and young professionals to families and older patrons.
Salman Taiyebi
Strategic Advisor
Salman Taiyebi serves as the strategic advisor to BHAI ki CHAI and brings decades of experience from the Indian tea industry. As the Managing Director of the Ispahani Company, a long-established tea brand, he contributed deep technical knowledge of tea sourcing, blending and flavour profiling.
His role was instrumental in translating the café vision into a consistent product. Salman curated BHAI ki CHAI’s signature blends, ensuring that the taste aligned with local preferences – rich aroma, balanced strength and a thick liquor that resonates with everyday tea drinkers.
His involvement ensured that the brand’s growth was anchored in product integrity. While the cafés focused on experience and culture, the tea itself remained central, supported by technical expertise and quality control.
The collaboration between father and son brought together cultural intuition and industry knowledge, allowing BHAI ki CHAI to balance emotion with execution.
The significance of the name BHAI ki CHAI
The name BHAI ki CHAI reflects the informal language of Indian streets and neighbourhoods. The word bhai is widely used as a term of address that conveys familiarity, equality and comfort. It removes distance and hierarchy, making the brand instantly approachable.
By choosing a conversational name, BHAI ki CHAI positioned itself within everyday speech. Customers refer to the café casually, as part of routine rather than as a planned destination. This linguistic simplicity helped the brand integrate naturally into urban life.
The name also aligns with the brand’s broader philosophy – chai that belongs to everyone, served in spaces that feel inclusive rather than curated.
Taste philosophy: familiarity through consistency
BHAI ki CHAI deliberately avoided flavour experimentation that could alienate regular tea drinkers. The brand’s focus remained on balance – creating a chai that feels instantly recognisable from the first sip.
Consistency was treated as non-negotiable. Preparation methods, brewing time and ingredient ratios were standardised across outlets to ensure uniform taste. This predictability allowed customers to build habits around the brand, returning with confidence.
Rather than refreshing the menu frequently, BHAI ki CHAI chose to protect its core offering. Over time, this stability became a key reason for customer loyalty.
From kiosks to cafés: adapting to urban spaces
As BHAI ki CHAI expanded, it adopted multiple outlet formats to suit different neighbourhoods. Compact kiosks were introduced in high-movement areas where customers sought quick pauses. Full cafés followed in locations where people preferred to sit, talk and spend time.
Despite differences in format, the identity remained unchanged. The same taste, tone and service approach carried across all outlets. Each space was designed to adapt to its surroundings without fragmenting the brand experience.
This flexibility allowed BHAI ki CHAI to scale organically while remaining recognisable across the city.
Bollywood as cultural language
Bollywood plays a subtle but important role in BHAI ki CHAI’s identity. Film dialogues, visual references and expressions function as shared cultural cues rather than decorative themes.
Cinema in India often shapes everyday conversation, much like chai itself. By drawing from this common language, BHAI ki CHAI created an environment that feels familiar across generations. The references are inclusive, avoiding association with a single era or audience.
This restrained use of popular culture reinforces approachability without overshadowing the core experience.
The café as a pause in a fast-moving city
Hyderabad’s urban pace leaves limited room for unstructured pauses. BHAI ki CHAI addresses this need by functioning as a pause point rather than a destination. Customers drop in briefly during commutes or stay longer during evenings, without expectation.
The cafés offer flexibility – conversation, solitude or observation are all equally acceptable. This absence of pressure allows the space to adapt to individual routines, making visits habitual rather than deliberate.
Chai as a social equaliser
Chai has historically served as a connector across social boundaries. BHAI ki CHAI preserves this role within an organised café setting by maintaining accessibility in pricing, language and environment.
Students, professionals, traders and families share the same space without segmentation. The café does not curate experiences for specific demographics, allowing differences to recede naturally.
This inclusiveness reflects chai’s traditional place in Indian society.
Extending chai into everyday homes
With the introduction of packaged chai blends, BHAI ki CHAI extended its presence beyond cafés into home routines. The packaged products were designed to retain the same flavour profile associated with the brand’s outlets.
This extension allowed customers to recreate familiar experiences in private spaces, complementing café visits rather than replacing them. The transition between public and personal consumption remained seamless.
A brand shaped by restraint and routine
BHAI ki CHAI’s journey reflects a deliberate avoidance of rapid, trend-driven expansion. Growth decisions were guided by sustainability and customer behaviour rather than scale alone.
Today, BHAI ki CHAI stands as a Hyderabad-rooted brand that values repetition over reinvention. Its identity is built on consistency, cultural familiarity and everyday relevance – offering the same dependable cup of chai as part of the city’s daily life.