Milestones + thanks

How we got here

A friend mentioned that nobody at OSU could find good chai. Three years later there is a stall, a shelf, a concentrate and a wholesale order. Every first, in order, and the people behind them.

Milestones

  1. Oct 17, 2023

    The friend who gave me the idea

    Ashay Shah was telling me how his friends wanted high quality chai and could not find it at OSU. The need was there, with no solution in sight.

    Santosh and Ashay Shah sitting at a table
  2. Jan 23, 2024

    Making chai for the first time in my life

    At Srini and Sailaja Datla uncle and aunty's house in Hyderabad, where I learned how to make chai, literally never having done it before then.

    Santosh at a stovetop in Hyderabad making chai for the first time
  3. Apr 18, 2024

    The first person to try my first recipe

    Shivani Thakor said it was a 6 or 7 out of 10 for my first chai. I'll take it.

    Shivani Thakor in a kitchen beside pots of chai on the stove
  4. Jun 1, 2024

    First chai stall, at OSU ISA Holi

    Jay Shah came just to support me and stood next to me for more than an hour. Akhila, Arushi, Rohan and Vaishnavi took advantage of the heat from the stove and stood there only for that reason. Abhishek Enaguthi was the first person to buy my chai, and he gave me $10 as well. Thanks to the OSU ISA exec committee for letting it happen: Shreyes, Khushi, Varsha, Mandaakini and Kaushik.

    The first chai stall set up on grass at OSU ISA HoliAbhishek Enaguthi covered in Holi colour, holding the first cup of chai ever sold
  5. Aug 22, 2024

    First Portland downtown stall

    And the first customers there, Hussein and Carlos.

    A small chai cart set up on a downtown Portland streetHussein and Carlos holding cups of chai on the sidewalk
  6. May 3, 2025

    First farmers market: Cedar Mills

    Jim Risdon was the first farmers market customer. This was also the first time I made two gallons of chai at once.

    The Ka Chai stall under a canopy on the first day at Cedar Mills Farmers MarketSantosh serving a customer across the market table
  7. May 24, 2025

    First informal employee

    Vivek Srirama has helped me at six markets so far and has literally become a part of the business in a way.

    Santosh and Vivek Srirama behind the stall at a market
  8. Jun 24, 2025

    First catering event

    Deeksha Easwar's high school graduation, 30 cups of chai and coffee. Aunty and uncle said they wanted to support the growth of my business and made sure to tell everyone about what I had started, and the Chinmaya Mission family was eager to help spread the word. This was the first time I express shipped coffee from India to make it happen, so they could have fresh filter coffee.

    Santosh with the Easwar family at the graduation catering
  9. Aug 15, 2025

    Chai spices and tea leaves

    Huge thanks go to Nishant Vashisht for pushing me to finally make these come to life.

    A hand holding two jars of Ka Chai masala and Indian grade tea powder
  10. Nov 5, 2025

    First retail location: NW Accent

    Rose City Delights told me to check this place out. Kati Foster was very kind in letting me sell my spices here on consignment.

    Santosh outside the NW Accent storefront
  11. Nov 22, 2025

    First large-scale catering: GPTM Deepavali

    Over 250 cups of chai catered in one session. The GPTM team was very kind in letting me serve.

  12. Jan 29, 2026

    Testing out a chai concentrate

    Heman gave us the green light to start figuring out ODA approval on the concentrate.

    Santosh and Heman holding a bottle of the first chai concentrate
  13. Mar 28, 2026

    Ka Chai's first official employees

    Lakshmi Sawney and Frank Gehman. Technically Lakshmi had her training a week or two prior, but who's counting.

    Lakshmi Sawney, Santosh and Frank Gehman together
  14. May 23, 2026

    Packaged chai

    Got in through the BUILT Oregon booth and decided to have a crack at making a packaged chai version, just in time for ODA approval too. For the first few markets the bottles we sold still didn't have stickers on them.

    A bottle of Ka masala chai held up in the light
  15. Jun 15, 2026

    Testing at Cathedral Coffee

    Seeing whether we could get an authentic chai up and running in a cafe. Rob Pisha has been absolutely amazing in helping me scale this business. We spent nearly three hours doing iterations of tests here.

    Pouring a test chai at Cathedral Coffee
  16. Jun 27, 2026

    Alex Calderon running Cedar Mills on his own

    Well, I did help in the beginning to make the chai. But other than that, all him.

    Alex Calderon stirring a pot of chai at the Cedar Mills stall
  17. Jul 6, 2026

    First wholesale concentrate order

    Courtesy of Heman Bojwani at Earthly Gourmet for supporting this.

    Bottles of Ka chai concentrate packed on ice for the first wholesale order

Thanks

Everyone above, and these three in particular:

  • Alan Nguyen helped me design the official logo we are using for Ka Chai. (May 2024)
  • Shreya Andhole experimented with the bottle designs. (June 2026)
  • Bryce Estacio designed the packaging for the shipping spice sets. (October 2026)

And everyone who came back for a second cup.