Tea Lovers' T-Shirt
Chennai is widely known for its lip-smacking South Indian filter coffee or kaapi, as we Tamilians say it. Everyone knows this, but it’s also a fact that there are hundreds of Tea stalls aka tea kadais here that enjoy good, daily business by offering first class chai (tea). These stalls are not so much about coffee as they are about tea, and often offer tea varieties like ‘special tea’ and, to take it up a notch, masala tea.
Chennaigaga’s founder was partial to filter kaapi. To be fair, there is a story behind everything and hers is that she was not allowed to have coffee as a child – it was a rule laid down by her father. However, his mother i.e., her grandmother (paati) like most grandparents(!), secretly indulged her even when she was just 4 years old. Even as a child, she couldn’t resist the aroma of kaapi floating down from a stainless-steel tumbler, as she sat at her grandmom’s feet. Her grandmother allowed her a few sips every now and then from her afternoon cuppa. The child was hooked. But things quickly escalated and the grandmother withdrew the treat…and the child didn’t get access to coffee until she turned 23! Thereon, her love affair with kaapi took off to great heights.
This is the reason that Chennaigaga has over 5 coffee themed designs! There is an inclusion of tea in one of the mug artworks, but it is more like a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of thing.
Some years later, a customer offered his feedback about the lack of tea themed t-shirts. “I’m a chai lover” said he, plaintively as he surveyed the variety of coffee artworks at Chennaigaga. We whole heartedly embraced his request for a tea design. Consulting chai-loving associates like Bhavani (a creative powerhouse and ex-Chennaiite) and Yash (a proud Chennaiite and large-hearted young entrepreneur), the design named “Oru Tea Sollu” was created.
With Bhavani’s creative inputs and Yash’s execution, the artwork came together in wordless appreciation of the quintessential tea glass. Combined with the popular and local Thamizh command “Oru Tea Sollu” (i.e., an order for a glass of tea) and laid out in such a way as to make the customer do a double take, this tea tee has tickled quite a few Friends of Chennaigaga!
We hope you like it too!
Black, cotton and a regular fit, this t-shirt has been screen printed in subtle colours that highlight the beloved tea glass.
Did you know that tea is also known as Theyneer in Tamil?
As Chennaigaga enters its 14th year, we hope you continue to love us and support us.
Check out the Oru Tea Sollu tee on chennaigaga.com and follow us on insta for inside stories!