Jaipur’s Best Chai: Gulab Ji Chaiwala

The Jaipur city is known in the world for its variations, lovely people, delectable food options and a lot more stuff. But one thing that is the most important specialty of this place is the scent of its legacy.

Now that the winters have arrived, the one thing everybody looks out for is a cup of sizzling hot tea. In the pink city of Jaipur, you have a very famous tea to take a sip off – the Gulab Ji Chaiwala’s Chai in Gulabi Nagri!

Located right opposite Ganpati Plaza on MI Road, Gulab Ji Chaiwala is renowned for tasty and refreshing masala chai (masala tea) among the people here. The full name of the owner is Gulab Singh Ji Dheerawat chaiwala.

We are sharing the story of Gulab Ji Chaiwala – Jaipur ki Famous Chai, the best tea in Jaipur. Let’s see how it all started and what’s so special about Gulab Ji.

The Beginning Days

There was a time when Gulab Ji used to serve tea on a wheel-cart. But there was something very unique about the taste of the tea he served and still serves, which became a huge craze among the people of Jaipur. The Gulab Ji Chaiwala Thela became so popular that he started a shop here at MI Road, some 70 years ago.

Late Shri Bhawani Singh Ji of Jaipur’s erstwhile royal family had special love for the Gulab Ji Chai. Even today many politicians, actors and celebrities like to visit Gulab Ji Chaiwala to have tea here because of its unique taste and out of respect for the legacy here.

Masala tea with bun muska samosa/kachori

Other than the masala tea, the savouriness of the bun muska samosa, samosa bun and kachori bun served here is also a craze among people. They love having the bun maska samosa with a cup of hot cutting masala tea. In fact, Gulab Ji’s Chai gets packed and reaches many areas of the city. Be it the tea or the samosa-kachori bun, what makes them unique is the special masala that Gulab Ji uses, which he keeps secret from everyone.

One superstition Gulab Ji believes in

Gulab Ji believes that you should not interrupt anyone by calling from behind when they’re ready to go. With his belief in this superstition, Gulab Ji never calls any customer from behind even if he has forgotten to pay and is leaving without paying the money. Just because he considers it ominous to call from behind, he lets customers walk out without making payments. Isn’t that strange? No, it isn’t for Gulab Ji!

Serves the needy and the disabled

Gulab Ji starts his morning by serving his special masala chai and bread to the ones who do not have money or are disabled or hungry. He serves them for free without compromising on the quality of his products. His tea tastes so refreshing that people, especially the ones living nearby love to come to his tea stall post morning walk every morning.

If you are a tea lover, do add Gulab Ji Chaiwala to your list of must-try street foods in Jaipur.