2020 - The Chai Walli Year in Review

What a year 2020 has been! From the lows of the virus that spread throughout the world, to the highs of seeing how as a communi-tea, we all came together...it's been a rollercoaster!

Each year, as things are slowing down, we like to take a moment to reflect. The Chai Walli team have seen some great things this year! So please, make yourself a cup of your favourite chai and come on this reminiscent journey with us!

A few fun stats

• Our online store sold enough 11 Spice Chai to make 16,400 cups of Chai Walli brews in 2020!
• We posted our products across the globe - sending chai to Puerto Rico, Denmark and Italy - to name a few!
• Our Facebook communitea grew to over 7,200 legendary people, whilst over on Instagram, we now post and share with over 15,000 of you! Adding in our newsletter communitea, that’s over 30k of you who keep it spicy with us! 

New products for 2020

Uppma's Pantry Range - offering you a spicy range of traditional spices for your chai and your kitchen, including the infamous Mum's Garam Masala. The reason for our new range? The pandemic had hit, states were in lockdown, and all we wanted to do was share our passions with you. Food and family are so important to us, and so, by (literally) opening up Uppma’s Pantry, we wanted to share our families traditions with yours during this hard time.

We're so proud of our new Sticky Chai range! Not only are they delicious, they also come in recyclable (and re-usable) amber jars. 

Sticky Chai - made with local, Australian honey. Sticky and sweet!
Vegan Sticky Chai - made with pure, organic maple syrup for our plant-based friends.

Lemongrass Chai & Caffeine Free Lemongrass Chai - inspired by a calming and mellow chai experience Uppma enjoyed in Mumbai.

The Chai Walli Gift Set - a gorgeous collection of some of our favourite blends. Oh so elegant!

New team members

This year we grew our team, welcoming... 

Georgina (first on the left) - our warehouse order packing and spice blending star (anise)!

Krystal (third along) - The newest member of the team, she is our social media and marketing spice gal!

Speaking of new members - we launched our Chai Check-Ins this year, holding regular chats over a cup of tea held over Zoom, with our communi-tea. This was born out of the pandemic as a way to bring a sense of unity, togetherness and friendship in times of need. 

Awards, celebrations and media

International Women's Day - Uppma and Marcela did a pop up chai bar and brewed chai for 100+ yoga participants for Willoughby City Council. Later on, Uppma then gave a talk at Yarra Valley Water in Melbourne, about being a first generation migrant woman who left the “law life” to pursue the entrepreneurial “chai life.”

Australian Small Business Champion Awards - Chai Walli were a Finalist in the Specialised Small Business category. Woohoo!

The Living Room TV - Uppma & Amanda Keller brewing chai together - dreamy! The episode aired on Friday 11th Sept on Channel 10.

India Australia Business Community Awards - Chai Walli are a Finalist in the Micro Business category. The winners will be announced in March 2021 - wish us luck!

Great Taste UK Awards - our Turmeric Latte received gold star recognition in this heralded international foodie awards!

Asialink Leaders Virtual Summit - Uppma presented (virtually) to 50+ guests at this inspiring annual leadership summit. Uppma taught the guests the art of chai and ritual. The topic of the summit was to confront the under-representation of Asian Australians in senior leadership roles. We couldn’t be prouder!

Online team building workshop - discovered through our Chai Check-Ins, Uppma connected with an inspiring 4-person team during the height of lockdown, teaching them how to brew chai the traditional way. We are looking forward to more workshops like this is 2021.

Deakin University Young Alumni of the Year Award - Recognised by the Melbourne university that she graduated from in 2013, Uppma was awarded the Deakin University Young Alumni award for 2020. Held over Zoom, the awards ceremony saw beautiful testimonials from some of Uppma’s family and peers, as well as an interview with Uppma herself. 

Watch this space...in late 2020, Uppma visited ABC Radio to record a segment on all things chai for their food-focussed ABC Nightlife program. We look forward to sharing with you the details and date of this broadcast in early 2021!

- - - - -

Golly, there's no doubt that there are so many more amazing things that happened in our Chai Walli world this year. But, is it just us...or are the last few months a bit blurry! It’s definitely been a weird year, but now looking back at 2020 in review, SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED! We’ve tried to provide some unique things to you that were handcrafted in Australia, we developed a greater sense of community and togetherness with our Chai Check Ins group, we opened our arms to more people to join our Chai Walli tribe, we had some amazing opportuni-teas on radio, television and organisations to share our mission.

Thank you for being a part of our year - we couldn't do what we do without the loyal support of our amazing customers. Thank you. We are sending lots of Chai Walli love to you and your family.

xx The Chai Walli team