For a piquant cup of tea

There are few things as tempting as a cup of spiced chai. What really elevates the experience, however, is when this is served along with all the accompaniments traditionally associated with the hot beverage — crisp-fried samosas, buttery pav bhaji or even a plate of chhole bhature, liberally sprinkled with chopped onions.

And it is exactly this experience that Truptea, a small tea shack near Maratahalli, chooses to recreate. 

The brightly-decorated eatery, which is of single-room dimensions, is almost always pervaded with the fragrance of freshly-brewed kadak chai. And although the snacks are definitely an important part of the ‘Truptea’ experience, the establishment gives pride of place to its teas — simply flavoured but strong in authenticity. Abhishek — who runs the eatery along with his business partner, Amit, explains, “In this country, everyone starts his or her day with a cup of tea. But it’s still tough to find a place in Bangalore that serves the authentic brew. This is what we wanted to create.”

Other than the classic kadak chai, ‘Truptea’ serves teas flavoured with ginger, infused with cardamom and typical chai masala, which are served with four crisp biscuits and bhujia if asked for. 

The eatery also offers a selection of sandwiches, including the favourite grilled cheese, a sandwich stuffed with tender paneer, classic bread-butter-jam and even a capsicum and cheese affair. 

“Our menu has evolved over time. We introduced a few snacks and then used to review the response to them on a monthly basis. Gradually, we began to experiment more — since there are so many office blocks nearby, we decided to include a few meals in the menu as well as breakfast options,” narrates Amit. 

The meals — such as the thalis and stuffed paranthas — are ridiculously filling. The paranthas are stuffed with staple fillings like potato, cauliflower, radish and paneer and the thali includes missi roti, dal, gatta, rice and raita, along with a piece of peppered papad. 

“The response,” clarifies Abhishek, “has been really good. We’ve focussed on quality and taste — we can’t afford to compromise on them. Our cooks are from Assam, but they’ve worked in Jaipur and Delhi and know very well how to make chai snacks.” 

The eatery stocks a range of breakfast dishes like idlis, masala dosa and poha. The rice bowls — which are generally served for lunch or dinner — are large dishes of different rice preparations like khichdi, dal rice, chhola rice and kadi rice. 

Customers who prefer to wash this down with a cool drink can stick to chhach, sweet lassi, mango lassi, thandai or even nimbu jaljeera. 

“Everything is prepared fresh. We make the chai as soon as it is ordered and don’t believe in freezing our food and then re-heating it for the customer later. It’s a lot of work, but it’s a principle we stick to — this is what really stands out about out eatery,” says Amit.

‘Truptea’ is located on Maratahalli Ring Road near Innovative Complex. For details, call 8971959896.