THE HAPPINESS FRAMEWORK

Last week, I attended the Vator Splash event, where I had the opportunity to listen to a talk by Tony Hseih, CEO of Zappos (sold to Amazon.com in 2009 for $1.2 billion). While his talk was mainly about building Zappos and the company culture within, it was the last 5 min of his presentation that really inspired me. He talked about the science of happiness and referred to one such framework, where he defined 3 levels of happiness as Pleasure, Passion, and Purpose. 

 Most of us, most of the time, seek happiness by pursuing things that give us pleasure. This kind of happiness is short-lived as such happiness cannot be sustained beyond the existence of the stimulus. The next level of happiness comes from pursuing your passion; this tends to last longer. The longest-lasting happiness, studies show, comes from a higher purpose – this is about being part of something that is bigger than just yourself. Tony went on to state that great companies are built on a similar framework – Profits, Passion, and Purpose. 

 When I started Green Coriander, I defined the purpose of Green Coriander long before I made a financial model show me how to make a profit (which is still an ongoing exercise). My purpose is to educate and encourage people to i) eat better ii) understand the sources of their food and iii) support sustainable food systems and lifestyle. 

 We provide a service that allows our customers to eat foods from good sources and empowers them with a choice if they love Indian food. The purpose stems from my passion for doing what we can to preserve our health and protect our environment. The purpose of The Chai Cart is rather simple - it is to deliver wholesome goodness in a cup. My belief is that if we remain true to our values and work hard to improve every single day, profits will follow. I also believe that by aligning passion with a purpose, happiness can be achieved with small pleasures in life. 

 Thank you, Tony for laying out a great framework – you indeed did live up to your goal of “Delivering Happiness”.

A NEW LIFE, A NEW WORLD

The Magic Carry Kart and the Creme Brulee cart - carts by the two brothers who started the street food phenomena in San Francisco - are planning their 1 year anniversary next week on March 6. And with my birthday approaching in a couple of days, I paused to think about the last 12 months. The Chai Cart is almost 7 months old. 

My present life or rather my lifestyle bears no resemblance to my life before I started The Chai Cart. I quit my job in December '09 and started a new venture, Green Coriander - San Francisco's first and only home delivery service for healthy and organic Indian food. There is no dearth of entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, the mother ship of tech start-ups, and VC firms. There are hundreds of books, blogs, stories, articles, etc written on how to build a successful start-up. All of them geared towards creating the next Apple, Google, Facebook, or Zynga. 

Seven months back, that was my world. Entrepreneurship meant starting an internet-related service or product company. The Chai Cart opened my life to a whole new world. A world where customer service means a smile, not a call center; where lowering costs means saving an extra 5% on raw material, not cutting down on business class travel or lavish parties; where success is defined as being able to meet payroll and pay rent, not options worth seven figures. 

In this new world, I have met some of the most amazing people. And for the first time, I truly understand the meaning of the word "community". I often get emails from people around the world asking me for advice on starting a similar chai or food stand in their city. The first thing I say is - if you are doing it for money, then don’t do it. The food industry isnt the most profitable one. I take The Chai Cart out because I love hanging out with my food cart friends and love meeting people who stop by. 

I started Green Coriander because I passionately believe that we all should eat fresh, unprocessed foods and support a sustainable food system. 

 Life as an entrepreneur is not easy, yes we all heard that. Sleepless nights, crazy hours, personal sacrifices - life literally becomes a roller coaster. The only way you can pull through the lows and enjoy the highs is you inherently believe in yourself. your convictions and choose to follow your inner passion.

It's here! The perfect cup of Masala Chai!

Chai in the US has almost become synonymous with "Masala" Chai - a concoction of black tea with many different spices like cardamom, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, etc. I have never been a fan of Masala Chai - it’s either too peppery or too gingery or full of cloves. When I drink Chai, I want it to first taste the tea and then let the flavours, either ginger or cardamom or whatever, dance around my mouth till the next sip. Most of the time when I have a Masala Chai, I get hit by a burst of spices and I am left thinking "where is the tea?" 

 A lot of the Chai mixes one can buy (online or in stores) as well as the Chai found in most cafes are all various blends of "Masala" Chai - setting the expectation that Chai is meant to be spicy. The lone Chai Cart couldn’t fight that expectation. I had to cave in and do a Masala Chai - but it had to be one that I enjoyed drinking. 

Riding on the success of the Green Chili Chai, I thought it would be an easy task - throw in all the spices together and there you have it - Masala Chai. The first time I made it, I had to force myself to take the second sip. Yes, it was so bad. I blamed it on the old spices in my cabinet and made a trip to the Indian store in Berkeley to buy some fresh Indian spices. But that didn't help much. I had no such excuse for the second try, third try, or the fourth. I tried various combinations but each time I found one spice dominating. 

Just as I was about to give up in frustration, on a cold, rainy night, it all came together - that perfect cup of Masala Chai. I instantly fell in love with the complexity. On the first sip, I could taste the cardamom; with the second sip, the cloves and the hint of black pepper; there was definitely ginger in the next sip along with the cardamom, and the sweetness coming the cinnamon. The spices were perfectly balanced with the tea. 

 Is it weird to fall in love with one's own chai? Is it narcissism or is it a passion for perfection? I don’t judge. I drink chai and I sell the chai I love drinking.

Green Chili Chai - Another Winning Flavour!

If you've been to The Chai Cart, you know that I always carry two flavours of chai - one is always the traditional Cardamom-Ginger and the other depends on my mood and my creativity that particular day or week. 

Every now and then I come up with a flavour that surprises me and my customers. Lemongrass-Black Pepper chai was one such flavour last summer. The Malt chai took a few tries, but it did find some fans. 

The week I made a "hot" new flavour - Green Chili Chai and this seems like a clear winner. A few people have asked me how I come up with my flavours of chai. I simply let my creativity explore and lead me to various combinations of fresh herbs and spices. But there are a couple of guidelines I follow. If you notice carefully, I tend to combine 2 distinct tastes like Mint-Aniseed, Rose-Pepper, etc. The flavours are subtle and nothing ever overpowers the chai itself. 

 I am always looking for new ideas for inspiration. So, if you think of any flavour that may do well as a chai, drop me a note. I will name that chai flavour after you and who knows - maybe someday you may become famous as well ;)

Winter is here

Omnivore Books in Noe Valley in San Francisco had booked Thomas Keller (the famous chef) for a book signing event at their bookstore on Dec 6th. The lovely owner, Celia, had contacted me a couple of months ago and asked me to come to sell chai to her patrons while they waited in line for Keller. 

Today, Dec 6th, I was all excited to take the Chai Cart all the way to Omnivore Books - not only will San Francisco foodies be there, maybe Keller himself may fancy a cup of chai. As usual, I made the chai, packed my cart, and off I went. I forgot to do 2 things - one, check the flattest way to get to the corner of Church St. and Ceaser Chavez from my house, and two, check the weather report. 

I struggled to ride up the hill on Ceaser Chavez (between Guerrero and Dolores), tugging the cart behind me but managed (i did stop to catch my breath halfway up). It sure was chilly and seemed like a smart idea to have hot chai for sale as almost everyone who was at the bookstore bought a cup. And then it started to rain - no wait, hail. 

 People have asked and had wondered what would happen to the food carts when the rain hits San Francisco. This is what happened today. I was lucky to have a tree to give cover to my bicycle trailer. So when the hail started to come down, I put all my stuff back in the cart and ran inside the bookstore for cover. It seemed like perfect timing as Thomas Keller came in 5 min later and I was up close to hear him speak. By the time he finished talking, the rain had subsided as well. I went back outside, sold a few more cups to people who were unfortunate enough to be stuck outside (it’s a tiny bookstore), packed my stuff, and rode back in the freezing cold. 

 The good thing about the pop-up food carts is that we control our own schedule. I guess I could've decided to stay home, had I checked the weather. People can expect food carts to be at indoor locations, such as art galleries, warehouses, etc. during the winter. Biking in the cold will be a challenge and I will need to visit the Sports Basement soon for some winter biking wear. 

 P.S. Thomas Keller asked for a double espresso, not chai :(

Diwali and its peculiar tradition

Last week was Diwali - the festival of lights and the beginning of Hindu New Year. Diwali is to India what Christmas is to the US. It's the time of year when Indians buy new clothes, send gifts, decorate their houses, and share good times with family and friends with lots and lots of food (read sweets). Buildings and streets are lit with special lights and fireworks adorn the skies. 

 There is a peculiar tradition that marks all Diwali parties, especially in the north and west India - playing teen patti (three cards, a version of three-card poker). I am not quite sure of the history behind this tradition, but gambling seems to exist in the Hindu culture for eons. After all, it was the root cause of the epic battle of Mahabharat where king Yudhister gambled away not only his entire kingdom but also his wife Draupadi. 

 Regardless of the vices of gambling, friends, and family get together the days leading up to Diwali, and play a friendly game of teen patti into the wee hours of the morning. Every year I invite my friends over for a Diwali party and I bring out the cards and poker chips to keep alive the tradition here in San Francisco. The game can get convoluted as the dealer can create different variations of the game - wild card(s), bust card(s), using combinations of cards as wild, etc. Unlike poker, this is a very lively and interactive game. So next year if you are invited to a Diwali party, take along your appetite as well as some cash. 

If you indeed want to celebrate Diwali the traditional way, a pack of cards and poker chips should be on the menu. Happy New Year!

In search for that perfect cup of tea

While I was looking for a distributor of organic black tea, I realized I had a lot to learn about tea itself. Even though all the tea basically comes from the same plant, camellia sinensis, there is more to tea than I had thought. 

 First, there are 5 major types of tea – White, Green, Oolong, Pu-erh, and Black. The type of tea is determined by various factors – the region, time of harvest, and how the leaves are picked and processed are some of the major factors. White tea has the least amounts of caffeine while black tea has the most (but still less coffee). 

Then there are other classifications, such as Full or Broken leaf, CTC (cut, tear, curl) or Orthodox picking methods, Bagged or Loose and finally, Vintage (all from the same estate and season) or Blend (blend of different tea leaves and other ingredients such as spices, flowers, etc). All of these contribute to the taste of the tea that is packaged and sold. Chai is made from black tea and I typically like Chai made from black Assam tea (Assam is a region in north-east India). And that was pretty much all I could tell any distributor. I was referred to contact Assam Tea Company, distributor of a family-owned tea garden in Assam. 

Saunam, the president of Assam Tea, talked about his 2 tea estates in Assam (one of them is organic) and explained why it was difficult to find economical organic black Assam tea. The organic certification process is fairly expensive and to get large tea farms certified is pretty costly. Only small farms that serve a niche market undergo the certification process. He went on to assure me that since he sells his tea in Europe, he doesn’t use harmful chemicals in order to comply with the European regulations (Europe has strict regulations on what food is sold, organic or not).