Frequently asked questions about Chaiyo Bar

Chaiyo Bar is a kulhad chai, coffee and shakes counter in Bargarh, Odisha, with two outlets: one near the Private Bus Stand and one at the Gandhi Park gate beside Kali Mandir. We brew Kolkata-style chai in unglazed terracotta kulhads, boil coffee on the counter, and blend thick shakes to order. Most cups land between ₹10 and ₹65.

Because the chai is served in a kulhad, an unglazed terracotta cup made in Bargarh's own pottery belt, and it is poured directly from a boiling pot rather than brewed in a kettle and decanted. The clay gives the tea an earthy note that a steel or glass vessel cannot, and it is the reason we do not use paper cups on the chai counter.

At Chaiyo Bar it is the Bargadiya Special Chai, our house blend of strong CTC with fresh ginger, served at ₹10 for a small kulhad and ₹20 for a large. If you want something milder, ask for Malai Chai (₹20); if you want the old clay-pot route, go for a Desi Kawah (₹30), brewed in a clay pot over charcoal.

Twenty-two, across six families: six signature chai, six flavour chai (pan, rose, chocolate, vanilla, mango and saffron), four masala chai, and six green, black and kawah teas. Vanilla is the most ordered flavour and the Bargadiya Special is the most ordered single cup.

It is on the Bazar side of the Private Bus Stand, right beside Reliance Trends. You cannot miss it: the signboard is lit and there is usually a crowd on the plastic chairs outside. The Gandhi Park outlet is the other one, at the park gate near Kali Mandir.

Kulhad chai in Bargarh is chai poured into an unglazed terracotta cup, straight from the boiling pot rather than from a jug. At Chaiyo Bar every one of our 22 chai flavours is served this way, at both the Private Bus Stand and the Gandhi Park outlet, from ₹10 for a small kulhad. The clay holds heat far longer than steel and gives the tea the earthy note people associate with chai from this part of Odisha.

It is a chai bar rather than a cafe: a walk-up roadside counter with pavement seating, no indoor area, no Wi-Fi and no air conditioning. What you get that a cafe does not is 22 chai flavours in real kulhads, kawah brewed in a clay pot over charcoal, and coffee boiled on the counter. If you want chai, coffee and shakes in Bargarh, it is the cheapest place in the city to get all three.

The Gandhi Park outlet is the closer one. It sits at the park gate beside Kali Mandir, about a fifteen-minute walk from Bargarh railway station. From the Private Bus Stand, walk fifty metres towards Reliance Trends and the counter is directly beside that store.

Yes. Both counters are roadside stalls with seating on the pavement, so a family can sit together, and children usually order vanilla chai or a cold coffee rather than a shake. There is no separate family section.

Yes, Google Pay, PhonePe and any UPI app works at both counters, and cash is of course fine. The whole order usually comes to well under ₹200 for two people.

₹50 for a plain cold coffee with no ice cream, then ₹60 with vanilla ice cream, ₹65 for a chocolate cold coffee with vanilla ice cream, ₹80 for a chocolate cold coffee with chocolate ice cream, and ₹100 for the dry fruits cold coffee.

You can, and it travels well for about twenty minutes because of the clay. The kulhad is meant to be drunk in, so we do not pack a kulhad for a long drive. For takeaway we would suggest the kawah in a paper cup instead.

The Bargadiya Special at ₹10. It is the cup that regulars order, it is cheap enough that ordering it twice does not hurt, and it is the one that shows what a Bargarh kulhad chai is supposed to taste like before you go looking for something more elaborate.