Our Story

As we have traveled the world we have been able to experience many different countries and cultures; and, over and over again we have noticed people’s love of spending time together in community. In most of the places we’ve traveled overseas the first thing we are offered when entering a person’s home or place of business is a cup of tea! 

Tea is a unifying drink that people can enjoy together in community. Friendships develop over a cup of tea as people share their stories; laughing, crying, and truly listening to each other. It’s as if time stands still, enabling us to fully enjoy that moment. Even business deals happen over a cup of tea, which is seen as a gesture of trust and good faith in each other. At Chai Trolley, we hope to unlock for our local community that sense of belonging that is cultivated when sitting down to enjoy a cup of tea with one another.

So, whats in the name - Chai Trolley?

In Hindi the word “chai” means tea. So when you go into a café in America and you order a chai tea latte you are actually ordering a tea-tea latte. Say that quickly in your head—sounds a little silly, right? Now remember to just ask for a chai latte the next time!

In all seriousness, we chose the name Chai Trolley because it’s a bridge from our past to our future. Chai is our heritage from India. The word “Chai” in our name represents a childhood spent growing up in the tea industry as well as exemplifying premium quality tea from India.

The “Trolley” part of our name is a hat tip to afternoon tea time in India where a trolley (or cart) full of sweet and savory tea snacks would accompany the pot of tea. Today, it is a thoughtful collection of useful tea accessories. Our hope for the future is to become an avenue for bringing a thoughtfully curated collection of accessories and other tea items to you from individuals working tirelessly to make an impact in their local communities.

Come join us in being a vital part of building local communities around the globe through the purchase of quality teas and tea accessories. 

Whats in our design?

It’s not just the name that is important, but the design as well. Our inspiration comes from bridging together our Indian and American cultures.

The peacock is the national bird of India, but our peacock also symbolizes our love for chai, using tea leaves as feathers. In nature, the peacock’s feathers are an intricate design of the grand artist, The Creator. In our design, the feathers represent the intricacies surrounding the production of tea from two leaves and a bud by the human artist, the Tea-Maker.

The traditional Indian color palette has many vibrant colors so we chose to use vibrant colors in our own design. The three main colors of our logo were chosen because of the meanings they represent. Purple represents royalty, turquoise represents healing, and green represents restoration, new beginnings, and growth. All of these colors reflect both our faith and our Indian heritage.

Did you notice an intricate pattern in the background of our loose-leaf tea bags?

This is another piece of our Indian culture. The beauty of mehendi (henna) designs is that they can tell a story. Our design takes elements of mehendi and helps us tell the story of our faith. The mehendi design we chose is part of a bigger story about God’s promise to His people that He will send a Savior to bear all of their sins so that they can have a relationship with God. Being in a relationship with God means that we are filled with His peace and joy. Relationships are a vital part of life right from creation and our ultimate goal at Chai Trolley is to build stronger relationships and communities, one cup of chai at a time.

You can view our inspiration in design by clicking here.

 

Vision	Mission	Values
Chai Trolley LLC exists to glorify God by bringing together diverse groups of people to build community over a cup of chai.	Chai Trolley LLC exists to build communities through the enjoyment of tea, by cultivating a greater appreciation of the origins of tea through education and access of premium quality of teas.	Faith: Our Biblical values and faith in Christ Jesus guides our actions and decisions. Integrity: We aim to serve our employees, clients, and vendors with honesty, responsibility, and trust. Creativity: We aspire to cultivate a culture of creativity. Community: We strive to build authentic friendships that create a richer environment to thrive as people.