If you've ever stood in front of UmedMart's tea shelf wondering why some packs are labelled "tea masala" and others "basundi chaha" or "flavoured tea," you're not alone — the two get mixed up constantly, and they're not the same thing at all. One is a spice powder you add to your own chai. The other is a ready-flavoured tea powder that needs nothing extra. Knowing which is which saves you from buying the wrong one and being disappointed with your cup.
Tea masala: a spice blend you add to your tea
Tea masala (also called chaha masala) is a dry mix of ground spices — usually cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and black pepper in varying proportions — that you add to plain tea leaves while brewing. The tea itself is unflavoured; the masala is what turns it into the kind of kadak, spiced chai you'd get at a roadside stall. Because you control the quantity, you also control the strength: a light pinch for a mild cup, more if you like it sharp and warming.
Two SHG-made tea masalas are currently in stock on UmedMart:
- SHRI GANESH Tea Masala (₹135 for 30 g) — made by Kumkum Mahila Self-Help Group. A cardamom-cinnamon-ginger-clove-pepper blend, also sold as a 12-pack (₹639) and 25-pack (₹1,239) for households or offices that go through chai fast.
- MAULI Tea Masala (₹152 for 40 g) — from Mauli SHG in Kolhapur. Similar warming-spice profile, sold only as a single 40 g pack.
- VAVAR Masala Chaha (₹148 for 100 g, or ₹310 for a pack of 4) — from Jijamata Mahila Bachat Gat in Pune. At 100 g it's the biggest single pack of the three, so it works out cheapest per gram if you drink masala chai daily.
How to use it: boil water (or water and milk together) with your regular tea leaves, add a pinch to a quarter-teaspoon of masala per cup while it simmers, then strain as usual. Start small — you can always add more masala the next time, but you can't take it out once it's in the pot.
Basundi chaha: pre-flavoured tea, nothing else needed
Basundi is a Maharashtrian milk sweet — milk slow-reduced with sugar and cardamom until thick and rich. "Basundi tea" borrows that flavour profile and blends it directly into the tea leaves at the processing stage, so you get a cardamom-forward, dessert-like cup without adding any separate masala. It's the more convenient option if you want a distinctive flavour without measuring out spices each time.
- A1 Basundi Tea Powder (₹324.16 for 250 g, roughly 240 cups) — handcrafted by Pragati Mahila Swayam Sahayata Samuh in Satara. The largest pack of the two, aimed at regular basundi-chai drinkers.
- VAVAR Basundi Chaha (₹148 for 100 g, or ₹310 for a pack of 4) — from the same Jijamata Mahila Bachat Gat in Pune that makes the Masala Chaha above, so it's an easy way to try both styles from one SHG.
How to use it: brew it exactly like ordinary tea — boil water and/or milk, add the basundi tea powder, simmer a couple of minutes, strain, and sweeten to taste. No separate masala needed; the flavour is already in the leaf.
Want to try both without committing to a full pack?
Jijamata Mahila Bachat Gat's VAVAR Premium Chaha Combo (₹256) bundles 100 g each of their Basundi, Masala, and Elaichi (cardamom) chaha — a practical way to taste the difference between a spiced masala tea and a flavoured basundi tea side by side before deciding which one earns a permanent spot in your kitchen.
Quick way to decide
If you already have a favourite tea leaf and just want to season your own cup — and like adjusting the spice level yourself — go with a tea masala. If you'd rather open a pack and brew straight away, with the flavour already built in, basundi chaha is the simpler choice. Either way, both are handmade in small batches by Maharashtra's women's self-help groups, so freshness and batch-to-batch character can vary slightly — part of what makes them different from a factory-blended teabag.
You'll find these and other SHG-made teas and coffees in UmedMart's Tea & Coffee collection. And if you'd like to know more about the women behind these blends, our article on Empowering Rural Artisans tells their story. If cardamom or herbal wellness teas interest you more than spiced chai, our guide to Elaichi Tea vs Moringa Green Tea covers that side of the shelf.
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