People
Here Are Three Aussie Chai Businesses Owned by South Asian Australians
This is your siren call to check out The Chai Villain, Chai Walli, and The Chai Room.
In Australia, there are a bunch of chai businesses—not owned by South Asian Australians—spruiking masala chai’s health benefits, marketing it as liquid gold that might help you sprout wings, prove Fermat’s Last Theorem, and solve world peace, all before 8 am.
Alright, alright, we’re exaggerating. And we’re not here to pick fights—do what you love: namaste, naan bread, and chai tea to your heart’s content.
But, in short, very few Australian chai businesses are owned and operated by South Asians. And those that aren’t sometimes appropriate South Asian culture, all for a fatter wallet. Here’s Dylan Senthilan, the Chai Villian, to explain:
If all of this makes your blood boil, take a breath. If the thought of navigating Woolworths in search of the perfect, South Asian Australian-crafted masala chai makes you want to throw a tantrum, fear not. Brown Boy Magazine has your back—or rather, these three chai businesses, all proudly owned by South Asian Australians, do.
Meet The Chai Villain (by Dylan Senthilan), Chai Walli (by Uppma Virdi), and The Chai Room (by Fatema Khanbhai). Because, let’s face it, we all deserve a cup of chai that makes us weak in the knees.
The fact is simple – Chai sold in Australia by non-Indians is not, and will never be authentic. Authenticity comes from a genuine understanding and lived experience of the culture, not as an onlooker.
Dylan Senthilan (The Chai Villain)
All content below is directly quoted from the relevant chai business.
1. The Chai Villain
By Dylan Senthilan
“The Chai Villain is unapologetic, unrestrained and unashamedly passionate about flavour,
and has concocted the perfect blend of sweet, spice and everything nice/naughty.”
Every Indian family has their own recipe and method for making Chai. There is no such thing as a “traditional” or “authentic” method or recipe. There is no single universally best Chai and to claim that ours is the best would be preposterous.
THE Chai Villain
Instead, we claim that we love it and many of our customers love it. We claim that it is more important for us to bring you a Sticky Chai Blend that is full of depth and character than it is for us to serve one that is just unassuming, inoffensive and beige. We want to excite. And most importantly, we claim that flavour, ethics and environmental conservation are the very basis of our business.
2. Chai Walli
By Uppma Virdi
“Chai Walli is a female-centric, female-owned small Australian business who are passionate about cultural preservation through the art of chai.”
Where spices and blending flavours are literally in our founders blood – her Grandfather was an Ayurvedic and homeopathic doctor specialising in remedial tea blends in India. Chai Walli is not just about creating amazing spice blends and flavour compositions, but it’s about authenticity, integrity, empowerment and family.
Chai Walli
“Chai Walli is not just about creating amazing spice blends and flavour compositions, but it’s about authenticity, integrity, empowerment and family.”
3. The Chai Room
By Fatema Khanbhai
“Chai Room create premium traditional masala chai and chai blends for home and hospitality, and we have since 2010.”
As a mother, I know how important it is to stay healthy so I can be there for my children. Chai is my way of taking a sneaky few minutes for myself, to get lost in the intoxicating aroma, to symbolically reconnect with my family in the UK and to know that I am doing something good for my body.
The Chai Room
“It’s always the simple and pure things in life that are the best.”
Brown Boy Magazine (@brownboyau) celebrates worship-worthy tastemakers and changemakers in the South Asian Australian diaspora (without taking itself too seriously).