Meet Esha Chhabra and Smita Satiani | Co-Founders of Alaya Tea

We had the good fortune of connecting with Esha Chhabra and Smita Satiani and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Esha and Smita, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Alaya Tea came together in 2018, over drinks in San Francisco. Smita, who had grown up drinking chai in an Indian-Pakistani household and spent the last 10 years working in social impact, had always wanted to start a different type of tea company. Meanwhile, Esha, who had been covering climate issues as a journalist for the last 10 years, had just returned from Darjeeling, one of India’s most iconic tea growing regions. There, she learned about how farmers were mitigating climate change in the Himalayas (erratic rainfall, landslides, and erosion) through organic, biodynamic and regenerative practices. Together, we came up with Alaya.

Unlike much of the tea industry (which relies on auction houses and traders), Alaya sources our teas and herbals directly from farmers and tea estates. No middlemen or brokers are involved. This way, Indian farmers can get a higher price for their crops, reinvesting those funds into their farming practices and the people who work the land. Our shorter supply chain also allows our customers to get the freshest product, not tea that has been sitting in a warehouse for months or even years.

We were both excited about bringing our unique lens to the world of tea and are grateful for the support we’ve received over the last three years, especially given the pandemic. More people are turning to caffeine-free options, cutting down on their plastic waste, and looking to find moments of calm in their lives. And we feel that Alaya hits on all three.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
There’s so much more to tea in India than just one type of masala chai! That’s what we wanted to showcase with Alaya.

Regions of India have different tea-drinking cultures and tea-growing areas produce teas that have their unique flavors, like the Nilgiri mountains in the south, or Assam in the northeast. Darjeeling is the so-called “Champagne of teas” because the teas are grown at high altitudes and handled by hand entirely. They have a lighter, more delicate and floral flavor, and are usually drunk alone, without milk or sugar.

We wanted to offer all these different types of teas, as well as herbals sourced from Indian regenerative organic farms, like our Indian Basil (also known as Tulsi), Hibiscus Flowers (a tart, tangy beverage), and Lemongrass + Ginger (a spicy, lemony blend). These caffeine-free options are lovely to drink in the afternoon or evening, when you want a warm cup but don’t want to stay up all night.

In addition to doing loose leaf, we decided to go with a compostable bag, and we were one of the first in the industry to do so. One of our distinguishing factors as a tea company is that we’ve been committed to some ambitious environmental goals from day one. We came across many challenges: materials that didn’t hold up well in the mail, high minimum quantities that aren’t feasible for a small business, and middle-of-the-road solutions that didn’t promise 100% compostability. We spent over a year researching compostable packaging options before we landed where we are. And we’re sticking to it because we’re hoping to reduce single-use plastic consumption. So our bags are resealable and will compost in your backyard or in a municipal compost unit.

On barriers – we could have never imagined that 6 months after starting our business, a two-year pandemic would have started. Over the last two years, we’ve seen an increase in tea drinking, as more Americans look to personal wellness and creating space for downtime during the pandemic. However, despite these silver linings, as most people know, COVID rocked supply chains, causing huge disruptions in the cost and speed of our shipments from India (they increased 4x and took so much longer). It’s a domino effect. Because India had to put in measures to ensure the safety of their workers (and rightly so), exporting became more complex (and has continued to be so). This has made it harder to plan inventory as a small business, and have the capital necessary to adapt to these changes. But we’re still here, and now we’re all emerging from the craziness of those days.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Our week would consist of nature, food, and perhaps a little road trip. We’re nature-lovers, and enjoy a slower approach to life these days. So our days would start leisurely and involve pit stops at some of our favorite little independent shops and restaurants.

Cookbook Market has delicious snacks for car journeys, and is fun to mooch around and discover artisan-made products.

Eat lunch at Pijja Palace, which offers a unique Indian-inspired meal; sort of Italy-meets-India.

Kismet has delicious Middle Eastern-meets-California fare. Great for a mezze-style dinner.

Pop by Re_grocery for a little plastic-free shopping (and if we need to top up on any essentials).

Neighborhood Coffee Shop and La Colombe Coffee in Frogtown for caffeine breaks.

Go for hikes in the Santa Monica mountains to enjoy views of the Pacific and then an inland hike to the Altadena waterfalls.

Road trip up to Ojai and Ventura for the weekend, if possible. Stop by Roan Mills bakery on the drive up to Ojai for some great sourdough bread and freshly-made focaccia.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We’re grateful to our parents. As first generation immigrants to the States, they’re such hard-working folks who have both pursued entrepreneurial careers (both Smita’s and Esha’s). Not only have they showed us the tenacity needed to build a business (or be successful at whatever we pursue), but they’ve also helped us do the most mundane tasks when started our business, showing up late at night, and on the weekends. We’re very grateful for their love and support as we go down this road.

On the professional front, we’ve found some lovely food businesses that have answered the questions no one really understands: the convoluted world of distribution, the best approach to pricing, and how to get the word out there on a modest budget! Two especially: Wes Wang of HopTonic tea (which we love!) and Jasleen and Tarun Agarwal of Sach Foods (so nice to see an organic, healthy option for paneer on the market). It’s so helpful when you just have a fellow entrepreneur in the same industry that you can turn to for advice on the nuts and bolts of business. No one gives you a manual when you start a company so it becomes imperative to have a few folks you can turn to when you hit a challenge.

Website: https://alayatea.co/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alayatea/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/alaya-tea/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlayaTea

Image Credits
Hero Image of Smita and Esha: Image Credit: Late Summer The rest of the images: Alaya Tea.