top of page
Taaza Chai Logo.png

Taaza Chai is a kit for making fresh masala chai at home. This chai-making experience honors culinary heritage and reinforces its ritual in modern homes. The kit includes a set of tea and spice containers, a mortar and pestle, a ladle, and a strainer.

USER RESEARCH

PROTOTYPING

CULTURAL SENSIBILITY

WHY

Moving out of my parents’ home to a new city for college meant losing a connection to my culture. I missed familiar traditions that were daily practice for most of my life. Rooted in colonialism, chai (the Hindi word for tea) is a vital South Asian culinary tradition. The preparation, serving, and enjoyment of chai is a ritual, echoing the role of coffee in America. A good cup of chai is more than just a drink; it serves as a communal thread, weaving people together through love and generosity. Despite watching my parents make chai countless times, I realized I had never been formally taught the process. While attempting to make chai myself, I found that recreating that familiar, homely taste proved to be elusive. 

PROJECT STATEMENT

How can a chai-making experience bring awareness to the culture behind chai and reinforce its ritual at home?

Screenshot 2024-05-12 at 6.39.06 PM.png

MARKET RESEARCH

Most chai products on the market focus on premade spice blends or concentrates, rather than a complete kit with tools and ingredients to make chai traditionally, i.e., boiling fresh whole spices and tea on the stove. While these products serve the purpose of making chai easily and fast; they do not reflect the traditional South Asian ways of making chai at home. Since a complete chai set does not seem to exist on the market, I looked at traditional matcha sets for reference, which have gained popularity amongst tea drinkers.

PROCESS & IDEATION

In addition to market research, a wide variety of secondary and primary research was conducted including recipe research, surveys, an interview, and a workshop

I also let the phases of chai making inform the tools I included in the set.

My initial ideations explore 4 tools: a mortar and pestle, a set of spice containers, a strainer, and a ladle. The forms reference South Asian tableware and cookware, such as the masala dabba, a spice container found in every South Asian home, and the tiffin, a stackable lunch box.

final prototype

ITEMS IN USE

DSC09928_edited.jpg
strainer and ladle_edited.jpg

RECIPE CARDS

Included in the kit is a recipe guide book that details the story of chai, necessary ingredients, helpful tips, and instructions. The recipe intentionally does not use exact measurements to encourage users to use their senses and estimation skills, a key aspect of making chai well.

 

Blank recipe cards are also provided so that users can customize and share their preferred recipe with others or even pass it down through generations. On the back is also a qr code users can scan to watch a video guide (see video above). 

bottom of page