Cultures fused,
one cup at a time.

Karak and doodh patti pulled the slow way. Noon chai in a clay matka, samosas out of the fryer, maggi after dark. Poured under the lanterns on Eshelman Ave.

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The walls

Peshawar, painted onto Eshelman Ave.

We painted them ourselves, before we'd sold a single cup.

Mural of a chai wallah pushing his cart past a Lahore mosque — **The cart** Karak and doodh patti, pulled the way the carts pull it on Qissa Khwani — three times, into a small glass, no hurry.

Mural of a woman pouring chai from a brass kettle under hanging lanterns — **The counter** Qahwa from a brass kettle under the lanterns — cardamom, a little cinnamon — and noon chai in a clay matka with pistachio on top.

Catering

Chai for the whole room.

Kettles that stay hot, cater boxes that empty fast. Ten guests or three hundred — pick what you want, tell us the date, and we'll send you a proper quote to look over.

48 hours notice, ideally more for large orders Free pickup in Lomita, or delivery for a fee Nothing is charged until you approve the quote

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Mural of a chai wallah pouring tea from a copper kettle beside his cart

Our story

It started on Qissa Khwani.

A chai wallah on the Storytellers' Bazaar in Peshawar, a samovar kept just under the boil, and a kettle that never got a chance to go cold.

For more than a century those tea houses poured qahwa for the caravans coming down through the Khyber Pass — cardamom, a little cinnamon, small cups, and whoever was talking that night. That's where we learned it. So we opened a small place in Lomita, painted the walls ourselves, and put the same things on the board: karak and doodh patti pulled the slow way, qahwa, chapli off the griddle and into pressed sourdough, noon chai in a clay matka. Coffee too, on a Vittoria roast, for the half of the room that needs it. Sweeten it however you like — sugar's on the counter.

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