Teabox’s favorite chaiwallah

First published in November 2015; details of Joy-da and his stall are as they were at the time.

This is Joy-da and he has a chai stall on the ground floor of our office. Despite the choice of teas we have at Teabox, most of us will stop for at least one cup of piping hot Assam CTC chai from Joy-da every day.

Joy-da is from Sonarpur near Siliguri, where his father ran a sweet stall and did some farming. But Joy-da was not keen on living in a village and came away to Siliguri as a young man. His first job was working in a bar, but when that shut, he chose to become a chaiwallah. That was 30 years ago. For most of us in Siliguri, Joy-da and his chai stall are very much a part of the landscape and our town.

Photograph of Joy-da by Mallikarjun Katakol

From our readers

Comments left on the original Still Steeping post.

John Middleton · November 23, 2015
So what exactly makes Joy-da’s Chai so good? You never give a clue as to WHAT makes the tea so good?

Or better yet.. how can I (we) learn from him to make better Chai at home?!

Thank you, – John M.

Aravinda Ananth replied to John Middleton · November 23, 2015
John, it’s the combination of his chai, the familiarity of his constant presence and a reason to stop for a chat and chai no matter how busy we are. For chai recipes, keep coming back, we’ll add some more as we go. For now, there’s one here (be sure to scroll down to the comments) and another for lemongrass chai here.

Originally published on Still Steeping, the Teabox blog, on November 20, 2015. Lightly edited for clarity in October 2026.