What is Yemeni chai? Our house signature, explained

If you've walked past our counter on Empire Street and wondered what everyone is ordering in the creamy, caramel-coloured cup, it's probably Yemeni chai. It's our house signature, and it's the drink we point first-timers to most often.

What is Yemeni chai?

Yemeni chai is black tea simmered slowly with cardamom and milk. The slow simmer is the point: the tea, the spice and the milk cook together instead of being steeped and topped up, so every sip tastes the same from top to bottom. The result is spiced, creamy and a little sweet.

How is it different from a chai latte?

Most coffee-shop chai lattes are made by pouring a concentrate or syrup into steamed milk. Yemeni chai is brewed as one drink. Cardamom leads instead of a mix of cinnamon and clove, and the tea flavour stays front and centre.

Hot or iced?

Both. Our advice: try it hot first, so you get the full aroma of the cardamom, then come back for it iced on a warm afternoon.

Sizes and price

Yemeni chai comes in small ($5.50), medium ($6.00) and large ($6.50). You can see it alongside everything else on our menu.

What to pair it with

Chai and an empanada is the classic morning order here. A bacon, egg and cheese empanada (with halal beef bacon) before your first meeting is hard to beat. For something sweet, try it with baklava or a date cookie.

Bringing chai to a group?

We make chai for offices, campus groups and events, too. Plan your numbers on our catering page and we'll put a quote together.

Find us at 51 Empire St in downtown Providence. We're open until 9pm Sunday to Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday.