Best Instant Masala Chai (Tea) Premix Brands in India

Chai lovers will agree that nothing replaces a perfectly tailored cup of tea with the masala blend of your liking. Even when away from home! But, it is not practical or feasible to get that same taste from that milky office chai or when you’re traveling.

If you’re someone who just cannot live without chai, no matter where you are, may we suggest a tea premix? For a tea premix, all you need is hot water. Sugar, tea extract, milk, and flavorings are pre-added. 

We compared six popular brands of masala chai premix in India for our review. 

We chose Society Tea Premix and Chaayos Instant Tea Premix as the best instant masala chai premixes (Top Pick) following an extensive review for its fragrant masala. We also recommend Girnar Masala Chai Premix. Why did we choose these brands as our recommendations? Read on.

Indians love our cup of masala chai! Be it a simple combination of adrak-elaichi or a blend of spices like pepper, cardamom, and cloves. We just cannot get enough!

This section discusses the teas we reviewed, their price range, packaging, shelf life, and availability of the instant masala chai premix brands. 

1. Reviewed Brands

For our review, we tested 6 popular brands –

Girnar Masala Tea Premix
Wagh Bakri Masala Tea Premix
Nestle Masala Tea Premix
Chaika Dhaba Chai
Chaayos Masala Tea Premix
Society Masala Tea Premix

2. Form Factor

The tea premixes come packaged in individual sachets. Some premixes also come in large jars. This a fine powder and no tea leaves or spices can be seen.

3. Price Range

On average, the price of tea premixes ranges between Rs 13/- to Rs 25/- per sachet. The price varies from brand to brand depending on the ingredients used and the quantity of the premix per sachet.

4. Available Sizes

Various box sizes of tea premixes are available in the market. Most brands have 10 sachets per box, while some also have 25, 30, and 40 sachets per box-packs. A few brands also offer commercial packs which are suitable for small offices and workspaces.

5. Packaging

Tea premixes are generally available in sachets which can weigh between 14-25 gms per sachet. A few brands of tea premixes also come in jars which are meant for bulk usage.

Amongst the brands we reviewed, a few offer wooden or plastic stirrers which are extremely convenient during traveling. Some also offer containers that help in measuring the quantity of water you need to add.

6. Shelf Life

The shelf life of most tea premixes can range from 6 months to 12 months. Do check the label carefully before purchasing.

7. Availability

We purchased all the brands of masala tea premixes from Amazon. These are easily available on several grocery shopping portals as well. You can also purchase them from selected supermarkets and local grocery stores.

Here is a comparison table of the instant masala tea premix brands we reviewed. We discuss their price, net weight, packaging, add ons, number of sachets, and the dominant spice in the premix chai.

For our Instant Masala Chai Premix Review, we tested all the brands for the following parameters –

1. Taste and Balance Of Flavour

A tea premix has three main components – the tea extract, milk solids/dairy whitener, and sugar. Apart from that, single flavorings or a blend of spices are added. A few commonly available spice combinations are ginger-cardamom, lemongrass–ginger, and many more. 

For our review, we wanted to know if the tea extract, milk, and sugar levels are balanced and in sync with each other? How tasty is the tea made using the premix? Is the spice blend aromatic? Is the ‘masala’ too overpowering or underwhelming? Is it too subtle to detect?

2. Aroma

Can we smell any dominant spice? If yes, is it pleasing and refreshing? Does that fresh aroma reflect well during the tasting session as well?

3. Sugar Content

Most tea premixes are overly sweet. Adding more water doesn’t really help as it dilutes the overall flavor. Not everyone has a high sugar tolerance, which is why the balance of sugar in tea is extremely important.

Is the tea premix too sweet, balanced or does it leave room for addition of more sugar as per personal preference? 

4. Add Ons

Does the pack come with stirrers? Any other equipment that helps amp up the convenience of the tea premix, especially during traveling? 

5. Convenience

How easy or complicated are the instructions given at the back of the pack? Is the tea premix convenient enough to be carried during traveling or had at an office desk without any special requirements?  

6. Price

Are the tea premixes too costly or priced competitively? For the quality of the tea, is the price justified? What is the average cost per day of a tea premix sachet?

Who Is This Review For?

For most tea-loving folks, a cup of well-made masala chai is as good as a warm hug. Very often the tea you get at offices or while you’re traveling isn’t up to one’s liking. Either it’s too milky, too sugary, or just flavorless. Enter, premixes.

This review is meant for everyone who loves and lives chai. If you’re traveling and looking for the perfect, most convenient tea premix, this could be an extremely helpful review for you. 

This review will also come in handy while choosing the premix for office needs. If you’re not a fan of the ‘dip-dip’ separate tea, our review of the best instant masala tea premix brands in India will be a useful read.

How We Picked Brands

We picked brands that are labeled as masala tea premixes or have a blend of two or more Indian spices/aromatics. Popular Indian masala tea brands like Wagh Bakri were picked along with brands that have a popular online presence. 

We picked the premixes with regular sugar. We did not pick ‘low-sugar or sugar-free tea premixes. We did not pick jars or bulk packs, we stuck to the sachet packaging which helped us gauge their convenience (especially during traveling).

Brands We Picked

The brands we picked are – 

• Girnar Masala Chai 
• Wagh Bakri Masala Chai Premix
• Nestlé Everyday Chai Life Desi Masala Instant Tea Premix
• Chaika Dhaba Chai Premix
• Chaayos Masala Chai Premix 
• Society One Minute Tea Premix

How We Reviewed? 

We tested all the premixes using two methods –

• Dry aroma inspection
• Taste test

We checked the dry premixes for significant aromas of masala. While some had a lovely fragrant spice blend aroma, some only had a strong dairy whitener aroma.

Next, we made all the premix tea as per the instructions given at the back of the pack. We tasted all the premixes side by side.

The Society One Minute Instant Masala Tea Premix comes in a blue-colored carton. Inside the carton are 10 sachets which weigh 14 grams each. It comes with a small 100 ml plastic measuring cup. There are no stirrers inside.

The tea looks and tastes closest to a cup of homemade chai. It’s neither too watery nor too milky. The balance of milk and tea extract is spot on. The dominant aroma and flavor are of ginger and pepper. Both these spices give the tea a very delicate, zingy warmth which is very refreshing.

Another major deciding factor during our review is the sugar content in the premix. Society marginally trumped Chaayos because of the balanced sugar levels. Not everyone likes a high-sugar tea, and Society Tea helps strike that balance of sugar, tea, milk, and flavoring.

Chaayos Masala Chai Premix comes in a funky-looking box with a mix of illustrations of ingredients. A box containing 15 sachets of the premix is priced at Rs 375/-. These are definitely much more expensive than the other contenders. Each sachet contains 22 gm of the premix. There are no stirrers inside.

The tea made using Chaayos’ premix is dark brown in color, resembling the kadhi hui chai made at home. The masala has a very robust aroma and flavor of ginger and pepper. We could also get mild, warming notes of clove.

The balance of milk, tea, and sugar is fairly nice. The sugar is slightly on the higher side, but it’s not overbearing.

We liked Chaayos for a number of reasons, one of them being the higher amount of premix powder per sachet. Yes, no doubt these are costlier than the other brands we reviewed but we loved how a single sachet makes a 150 ml cup of chai rather than the standard 100 ml.

Girnar’s Masala Chai Premix comes in a green-yellow box and is priced at Rs 470/-. This box contains 36 sachets. This comes with wooden stirrers which make it super convenient. 

The tea made using Girnar’s premix is very homestyle. Neither too milky, nor too dark. The tea is not watered down at all and has a certain ‘creamy’ thickness that comes from a ghar wali chai. The dominant clove and cardamom flavor in the tea is super and we loved the blend of masalas. The sugar might feel a bit on the higher side for people with lower sugar tolerance.

Girnar’s tea premix is truly value for money. It is the cheapest premix from the brands we reviewed. For 13 bucks per cup, this is definitely a good buy!

Chaika’s Dhaba Chai comes in a brightly colored orange box and is priced at Rs 140/-. This box contains 10 premix sachets. There are no stirrers inside. 

The premixed tea has a very artificial, orangey color. The ginger and cardamom flavor are very proportionate in the Chaika Dhaba Chai. Neither of these flavors overpowers the other. The freshness of cardamom and mild zinginess of the ginger is lovely. The sugar levels are a bit on the higher side.

The Wagh Bakri Masala Instant Tea Premix comes in a maroon-brown box and is priced at Rs 140/-. This pack contains 10 sachets which are 14 gm each.

The Wagh Bakri Masala Tea Premix falls flat when it comes to aroma and flavor. We could not taste ANY spice. It is heavy on the dairy whitener and does not make a flavorful cup of tea. If we didn’t know, this could have been labeled as a plain tea and we couldn’t have guessed if this is supposed to be a masala tea. The sugar levels are high as well. 

Nestle is a brand we have all associated with milk and milk products like curd and dairy whitener. We also associate it with chocolates. So, a tea premix is something surprising. 

Nestle’s Everyday Chai Life Desi Masala Instant Tea Premix comes in a blue and orange box. A box containing 10 sachets is priced at Rs 180/-. There are no stirrers inside. 

The Nestle Everyday Masala Instant Tea Premix is too milky and sweet. It does not strike a good balance between tea extract, milk, and sugar. Sadly, we could not even detect any masala. It was just a cup of tea loaded with milk.

Why did we choose Society One Minute Tea (Masala) as our Top Pick?

A masala tea premix needs to strike the perfect balance of the three main components – tea extract, milk, and sugar. Apart from that, the masala blend needs to be aromatic and flavorful.

We chose Society One Minute Tea Masala Premix as our Top Pick because not only did it have a delicate masala with ginger and pepper, but also because it had a wonderful balance of tea, sugar, and milk. Unlike most tea premixes the sugar was not overpowering at all. In fact, it leaves a little room for the consumer to add more from the top if required.

Why did we choose Chaayos Masala Premix Tea as our Top Pick?

We also picked Chaayos Masala Premix Tea as our Top Pick because it had the most flavorful, robust masala. Another distinguishing factor is the fact that Chaayos provides 22 gm of premix per sachet which in turn makes 150 ml of tea. Other brands provide 90 ml – 100 ml of tea which is a much smaller portion, almost equivalent to a cutting chai.

Why do we also recommend Girnar Masala Tea Premix?

We Also Recommend Girnar’s Masala Tea Premix for its wonderful masala flavor. The combination of cloves and cardamom is very fragrant and warming. This is also the cheapest masala tea premix (Rs 13 per sachet) amongst the brands we reviewed.

Here are some interesting FAQs on instant masala tea powder brands.

Our winners had the best blend of masalas in a chai and came closest to a cup of fresh, homemade tea. After multiple tasting sessions, Society and Chaayos Masala Chai Premix emerged as the best instant masala chai premix brand in India. We also recommend Girnar Masala Chai Premix for its fragrant masala blend.

Have you tried any tea premix yet? If yes, let us know in the comment section about your views about the brand you tried.

Our reviews are unbiased and all samples used during the reviews were paid for by us. Read our entire ethics statement here.