Farzana Irani has a treasured childhood memory of her father sipping Irani chai at the restaurant they owned at Churchgate in Mumbai. “My earliest memory goes back to 1980, of sipping the hot, sweet, creamy brew in the small, special Irani cups with tiny floral designs. Dunking my bun maska in the chai before eating made it special. Or it would be the turn of hot mawa cake or the crunchy rusk and khari biscuit sometimes. My Parsi friends and colleagues would go to relive the experience many times; of sitting in a café with high ceiling, slowly turning fans, round marble tables with wooden legs, chequered table cloth and black chairs,” she says. Irani cafés of Mumbai, once iconic landmarks in the cityscape, are now on the wane. The legendary Irani chai could soon be lost in sepia. In the 1950s, there were about 350 cafés across Mumbai. Now, there are barely three dozen of them.
From urban, spiffy spaces and boutique villas parading as tea houses, to quick-fix chai powders jockeying in online marts to cool and friendly baristas weaseling in the tea varieties on their menus promising the Irani chai experience; it’s a crowded space out there with tonnes of choices, but nothing to match the classic version. There are vegan notes with oat, almond, soy and cashew milk variations
to pander to your travel-savvy palate. Then there are the baffling infusions in Himalayan brews; tapioca pearls, fermented, or dried leaves, those with blooming hibiscus flowers, yoga tea, detox sips, and even period tea that promises to alleviate those devastating cramps. “But what’s so great about sipping tea in a franchised format? You get it anywhere,” says Irani.
The Irani cafés in India were set up by Zoroastrian Irani immigrants to British India in the 19th century.
Here, they thrived primarily in Mumbai and Hyderabad. As leitmotifs of the Persian influence, the tea pretty much defined the chai culture in both cities. Think Kyani, Yazdani, Roshan, Britannia. For entrepreneur Jehaan Irani, the Irani chai has been an intrinsic Mumbai experience since his early days. He says, “Having Irani chai is 100 percent a Mumbai experience for me. I relish the kheema pao, bun maska, mawa cakes… to go along with it. At 6 am, there are lines of breakfast regulars, waiting to get in, queuing up as the fragrance of the freshly baked mawa cake teases them.The old tables, the charm, and the sheer nostalgia of the pre-Independence cafés establish the vibe of old Bombay instantly for me, in a warm, comforting way. I find the soul connect missing in the urban baristas,” he says.
The recipe for Irani chai is a closely guarded secret, with the exact proportion and quality of ingredients specific to different cafes, says Shapur Meherbani, owner of Roshan Bakery& Restaurant in Dongri.
At 32, he is one of the few young Turks taking the legacy of his family’s eponymous restaurant in Mazgaon further. “A cup of Irani chai costs `20, and a cutting chai glass of the chai comes for `8. You can’t beat the prices, especially when you think of places like Starbucks or Subko, where you’ll be ponying up a colossal bill for just a cup of chai. I cater to the masses,” he says. Meherbani leveraged his business acumen to stay profitable even during the pandemic, as eateries fell in the essential services bracket. Despite the onslaught of new restaurants and snappier servings all over the Mumbai’s foodscape, he has recalibrated the menu bringing in trendier foods, from Manchurian
to Thai in addition to the classics like mutton cutlets and chicken cheese sandwiches. The portions are unbeatable. “We serve Ramazan Iftari too, and are one of the few Irani restaurants to have wood-fired ovens, as no new licenses are issued now due to environmental reasons,” he reveals.
Meherbani says making chai involves maintaining the specific ratios of the ingredients. The milk needs to simmer for hours until it condenses. Sugar is added at the start of the brewing process while tea powder is brewed on a separate flame in water. While serving, the milk is poured first into the cup and black tea later. There’s something about the sweet, milky Irani chai that resets the emotional thermostat with nostalgia and whimsy. There are multiple lookalikes— modern, reimagined tea, tasting the same across brands, in iced and hot versions… but then, who wants to reimagine? Old is gold for Irani chai loyalists.
“The old tables, the charm, and the sheer nostalgia of the pre-Independence cafes establish the vibe of old Bombay instantly for me, in a warm, comforting way.” Jehaan irani, entrepreneur and Irani chai aficionado
“You can’t beat the prices, especially when you think of places like Starbucks or Subko, where you’ll be ponying up a colossal bill for cup of chai. I cater to the masses.” Shapur meherbani, Roshan Bakery