Ahsan C.
Yelp
Pros: Finally, the first chai cart in Texas! If this is your first time to try authentic chai, then I recommend this chai cart.
Cons: The Dhood patti (milk tea) and Kashmiri chai is nice, but with a few small recipe changes it could be better.
Disclaimer: I am somewhat of a chai expert and a Desi (meaning anyone that is born in the U.S., but has parents from either Pakistan, India, or Bangladesh). Moreover, I have been making chai since childhood, so I am very particular about chai and tea in general.
Chai makes me happy. If you haven't tried authentic chai, I believe you are missing out, friend. I am not talking about the Starbucks crap. I am talking about the honest to goodness, boiled tea. There are many ways to make it, but once you have had the real thing, there is no turning back. You will crave it, dream of it, and extol its milder than coffee virtues.
A chai cart like this is very traditional in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, but a rather new phenomenon here in the States. Like Starbucks here, chai can be found on almost every street corner in South Asia. Hot chai is popular year around, even in the heat of summer, because of its higher caffeine content than traditional tea and its more even release of caffeine than coffee. It is a rich and stimulating morning wake-up, afternoon pick-me-up, or after-supper digestif.
Austin Chai Wala offers different types of tea, from traditional dhood patti (milk tea) to Kashmiri tea (a mild tea that tastes like a blend of green and black tea and hails from Kashmir, is usually pink in color, garnished with chopped pistachios, and salty in taste) to black Persian tea to masala chai (a spiced black tea). I like that they offer snacks, including vegetarian samosas, parathas (a fried flat bread), and sheermal (a fluffy flat bread made with yeast and milk with a mildly sweet taste). I cannot comment on the snacks, as my wife and I had already eaten dinner and did not have room to try any of them.
In short, I am happy to finally see a chai cart in Texas. The chai is nice, but with some improvements, I believe it could be made even better. The owner said that he has plans to franchise across Texas, starting sequentially in Austin, then Houston, then Dallas, and finally San Antonio.