In November 2020, FMT Lifestyle told the story of engineering graduate Kavievanan Subramaniam making a living selling masala tea on the streets of Brickfields.
That little business has since blossomed into something far bigger than even he ever expected.
Kavie, 27, has permanently parked his trusty bicycle as an exhibit in his first ever café and now scuttles between his five roadside stalls located across the city. What’s more, a second café is already in the works.
Clearly, Tea Thambi Café is his pride and joy. Located on the ever-congested Jalan Tun Perak, the little tea house occupies a strategic spot, with the Masjid Jamek LRT station close by and where foot traffic is heavy.
And if your eyes miss the place, your nose won’t. The aromas of sweet tea and hot snacks will do the trick. Of course, there is his famous masala chai, kept hot in their metal flasks, alongside new additions to the menu, such as ginger tea and BRU coffee.
During his bicycling days, Kavie used to sell bread and biscuits as snacks to go along with his tea.
He has since upgraded to making his own snacks, with vadai, curry puffs and kuih ketayap among the offerings. These sell like hot cakes. Indeed, is there a better way to enjoy a hot cup of masala tea than with a hot curry puff?
And Kavie has Tea Thambi stalls in Bangsar, Masjid India, Brickfields and Bukit Bintang.
Additionally, he has enough name recognition to be receiving catering requests from event managers.
But he told FMT Lifestyle that his proudest achievement was the establishment of the café on Jalan Tun Perak, which began serving its first customers last year.
“We chose the location because of the crowds passing through the area,” he said. “There are many offices in the café’s vicinity and it’s just a great place for people to stop by for tea or coffee.”
Getting such a great spot in that part of town came with quite a price tag, but hard work and careful planning have made it all possible.
In fact, another Tea Thambi Café is under construction in the Masjid India area.
He is justly proud of how far he has come, but he said he was even prouder of the people responsible for his success, namely his customers. “It’s because of them that we have got this far. I am really thankful to all of them for their support.”
Given how busy he is these days, how does he ensure that the tea at all his stalls and at the café are of the same great quality?
“We have a centralised kitchen,” he said. “From there, I make sure everything’s perfect before releasing the tea for sale.”
As for whether he would be willing to share his recipe, Kavie laughed and said the correct mix of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and cloves is the secret to good masala chai.
With another café on the way, you might one day be seeing a Tea Thambi Café in your very own neighbourhood.
Tea Thambi Café
48, Jalan Tun Perak
City Centre
50100 Kuala Lumpur
WP Kuala Lumpur
Operating hours: 9am-8pm
Contact: 018-3900171