Pike Place Market is gearing up for its peak summer season. Fish are being thrown, pollen is being inhaled, and right underneath the iconic Pike Place sign, the aroma of authentic masala chai is filling the air. The smell is part of the experience, says owner and Lakeside parent Aditi Master. She recommends drinking their chai hot and with the lid off to fully embrace the excellence of their generations-old family recipe.

In 2018, Columbia City Bakery reached out to Aditi, hoping she’d agree to sell her chai at the bakery. Since then, the business has expanded to sell chai at several grocery stores, bakeries, and farmers markets — including, most recently, Pike Place.

It was a long and difficult process to get the Masters’ chai to Pike Place. Since the business kicked off in 2018, their progress was soon interrupted by the pandemic. They’ve had to deal with everything from tent failures at farmers markets to problems with the complicated process it takes to get a long-term spot at Pike Place. Despite all that, Aditi Chai has found a permanent place out of which to share their chai. 

But the story starts long before that, when Aditi was growing up in what is now Mumbai, being exposed to street food and long-perfected family recipes. As a child, her uncle would take her to different vendors, refining her palette and helping to establish a permanent appreciation for food and drink.

The business has always been family-based, and the contribution of Aditi’s daughter Arya M. ’25 provides no exception. While her mom was in India visiting relatives last summer, she ran their stand at the Bellevue Farmer’s Market for a month, reporting to those in charge and managing the finances. Though Arya has been more involved with the retail side of things than with production, she’s hoping to be entrusted with the family recipe soon.

The next hurdle for the family is renovation. They have plans to redo the Pike Place location in the coming months and hope to eventually offer Mumbai-style street food and desserts, also inspired by Aditi’s childhood in India. Before then, though, all are more than welcome to stop by. “There is a lot more that we offer people than just a cup of chai,” Aditi says — she’s talking about the additional, unique hospitality and warmth that they serve their customers, though it should be noted that it’s certainly not just a cup of chai in the first place.