Viral Video: Audi chaiwala gives Mumbaikars a taste of luxury (WATCH)
Mumbai: Although most people identify a high-end vehicle as an Audi with comfort and luxury, Mannu Sharma and Amit Kashyap used it as inspiration to open their own tea shop in Mumbai.
In the affluent neighborhood of Lokhandwala in the western suburb of Andheri, Sharma and Kashyap have been selling tea for Rs 20 from the trunk of a luxury automobile worth Rs 70 lakh for the past six months. They just went popular on social media.
Mumbai's streets are known for their abundance of 'tapris,' or stalls, where customers can get the cutting chai, a popular beverage.
We were just taking a stroll at night and craving a cup of tea, but we could not find a place at the time. That's when we thought of opening our own stall here," said Sharma, who hails from Haryana.
It is not just the duo's unique idea of selling OD Tea', short for on-drive tea, from their Audi that has gone viral on social media, but it is also the taste of their product that has drawn customers.
I have been coming here to have tea for the last two months because it tastes amazing. Every time I pass by this area, I have to have their tea," one of the customers said.
Sharma, a native of Hisar, Haryana, was a working professional in Africa before starting their tea business, while Kashyap, a native of Punjab, is currently a stock market trader by day and a tea vendor by night.
"By selling tea in our Audi, I think we have proved wrong the thinking that only people who are financially not very well off take to selling tea. A person who rides a cycle also consumes tea and a person who drives a Jaguar can also enjoy our tea, Sharma said.
The two friends are now basking in the love that they have received on social media and from their customers, and plan to open 'OD tea' franchises in the future, starting in Mumbai.
Before choosing a recipe and starting to serve tea from their luxury wheels, the pair spent a month perfecting the art of preparing tea at home and experimenting with various methods.