Number of Chaayos stores in India 2012-2022

Chaayos, the home-grown tea-café chain had about 200 stores across India as of July 2022. Chaayos, with its tagline “Experiments with Tea” gained popularity by offering large assortments of tea.

Chai cafés in India

In a country of that loves its tea, whether at home or at roadside tea stalls, Indian tea cafes flourished by providing an elegant ambience and a wider variety of tea with local snacks. Chai cafés such as Chai Point and Chaayos introduced Internet-of-things-enabled automatic tea dispensers to maintain the quality across their stores. With the rising popularity of chai cafés, even global coffee chains such as Starbucks introduced masala chai into their menu in India.

Café culture in India

The formation of Indian Coffee Workers’ Cooperative Societies led to the establishment of Indian Coffee House in 1957 in Bengaluru. Soon, the Indian Coffee House expanded to over 400 locations and became a prominent place for coffee, food and conversations. Café Coffee Day, started in 1996, followed suit and created a westernized atmosphere with wireless facilities and air conditioning to provide an informal gathering space. Café Coffee Day was one of the largest coffee chains and the brand set the tone for the café culture in India.