Society Tea is a long-established, Mumbai-based tea brand best known for its bold, brisk CTC black tea and its ready masala-chai blends — the household name behind the strong, milky, spiced cup that millions brew every morning. Part of the Hasmukhrai & Co. blending house, it has grown from a single Mumbai tea shop into one of the most recognizable chai brands in South Asia, sold as packets of granular black tea, spiced blends, green tea and quick premix sachets.
This guide explains what the Society Tea brand actually is, walks through its main blends, and looks at why its punchy, "kadak" style is so loved for milk chai. For the deeper story of what chai is and how to build the spice mix, we point to dedicated guides rather than repeat them here.
What Society Tea Is
Society Tea is the flagship packaged-tea brand of Hasmukhrai & Co., a family tea business rooted in Mumbai's historic Masjid Bunder tea market. The wider business traces its beginnings to a wholesale tea trade started in 1924, and Hasmukhrai & Co. was established as a blending house in 1933; the packaged Society Tea brand itself launched in 1991, and it remains a family-run company carried on by later generations of the founding family.
The brand's roots run deep in Mumbai's tea trade. The founding family's business began at Masjid Bunder — the city's main wholesale tea market — initially supplying buyers across the region before turning to serve local households. By the late 1980s Hasmukhrai & Co. had become a leading blender in the city, and packaging that expertise as a consumer brand is what created Society Tea as people know it today.
At its core, Society Tea sells black tea in the CTC (crush, tear, curl) style — the fine, granular processing that yields a fast-infusing, deeply coloured, full-bodied cup. That is exactly the kind of tea you want when you are boiling leaves with milk, sugar and spices, which is why the brand became a fixture in South Asian kitchens. The leaves are blended largely from Assam and Nilgiri estate teas, chosen for the briskness and strength that stand up to milk. For the background on how CTC and black tea are graded and processed, see our guide to Assam and CTC black tea and the primer on what black tea is.
The Society Tea Range
The Society Tea range stretches from everyday CTC black tea to spiced chai blends, lighter leaf and green teas, and instant premixes. Here is how the main Society Tea blends differ and what each is best for.
| Society Tea product | What it is | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Society Tea (Classic CTC) | Fine granular CTC black tea (dust or leaf), blended from Assam and Nilgiri teas | The everyday strong, milky "kadak" cup |
| Society Masala Tea | CTC black tea pre-mixed with warming spices such as cardamom, ginger, clove and black pepper | Spiced milk chai without measuring your own masala |
| Society Elaichi Tea | Black tea led by cardamom (elaichi), sometimes with a little ginger | A softer, fragrant, cardamom-forward chai |
| Society Leaf Tea | Larger, more orthodox-style whole-leaf black tea | A lighter, more nuanced brew, with or without milk |
| Society Green Tea | Unoxidised green tea, plain and flavoured | A lighter, lower-caffeine cup away from milk chai |
| One Minute Tea (premix) | Just-add-water instant chai sachets in masala and elaichi | Travel, offices and quick single cups |
| Society Tea Bags | Portioned tea in bags | Convenience and single servings |
Classic Society Tea (CTC black tea)
The core product is plain CTC black tea, sold as fine dust or slightly larger granules. This is the workhorse — a strong, brisk, malty cup made to be brewed hard and finished with milk. It is what most people mean when they simply say "Society tea."
Society Masala Tea
Society Masala Tea is the brand's ready masala-chai blend: CTC black tea already mixed with warming spices such as cardamom, ginger, clove and black pepper. It gives you a spiced chai without measuring out your own masala — handy for a fast, aromatic cup of Society chai. If you would rather build the spice mix yourself, our chai masala spice blend recipe shows how.
Society Elaichi Tea
Elaichi (cardamom) tea is a gentler, spice-forward variation — black tea led by cardamom, sometimes with a touch of ginger, rather than a full masala. It brews a softer, fragrant cup that leans floral and sweet rather than peppery-hot.
Society Leaf Tea
Alongside the granular CTC, Society offers larger, more orthodox-style leaf tea. These bigger leaves brew a lighter, more nuanced cup and suit anyone who wants a gentler black tea, with or without milk.
Society Green Tea
The green tea line steps away from milk chai entirely: unoxidised green tea, sold plain and in flavoured versions, for a lighter, lower-caffeine drink. It sits alongside iced-tea mixes aimed at cold, refreshing cups.
One Minute Tea and premix sachets
For speed, Society makes instant "One Minute" premix sachets — just-add-hot-water chai in masala and elaichi flavours — plus tea bags for single servings. These trade some fresh-brewed character for convenience, and are handy for travel, offices and dorm rooms.
Why Society Tea Is Loved
The appeal of Society tea comes down to one thing: it makes a strong cup. This is tea built for the "kadak" style — a bold, brisk, full-strength brew that is boiled with milk and sugar until it turns thick and reddish-brown. A weaker, more delicate tea would simply vanish once milk and spice are added; Society's CTC granules hold their colour and punch.
That strength is why Society masala tea and the plain CTC are such staples for everyday chai. The blend is consistent from packet to packet, infuses in minutes, and delivers the deep, malty, slightly astringent backbone that milk-and-sugar chai is built on. For many households the Society Tea brand is less a premium indulgence than a dependable daily driver — the tea that is simply always in the kitchen. To see where this style sits in the wider world of milky, spiced tea, read our explainer on what chai tea is.
Who Society tea suits
Society tea is aimed squarely at everyday drinkers who want a dependable, strong milk chai without fuss — not the delicate, single-estate orthodox teas you might steep plain and unsweetened. If your ideal cup is a hot, sweet, spiced chai with a deep colour and a brisk bite, the classic CTC or the ready masala blend will feel familiar and reliable. If you lean toward lighter, more aromatic infusions, the leaf and green lines offer gentler options under the same label.
How People Typically Brew Society Tea
Because Society Tea is a strong CTC tea, it is usually brewed as a proper decoction rather than a light steep. This is a brand explainer rather than a full recipe, but the everyday method looks like this:
- Milk chai (the classic): Simmer water with the CTC tea — and a spoon of masala or crushed ginger and cardamom, if using — then add milk and sugar and let it come up to a rolling boil so the colour deepens. Strain into cups.
- A plain black cup: Steep the CTC or leaf tea in just-boiled water for a couple of minutes, then strain — no milk needed. The leaf-tea grade suits this best.
- One-minute premix: Tip a sachet into a cup, add hot water or hot milk, stir, and drink.
The spicing, milk ratio and sweetness are all down to personal taste — Society's role is simply to supply the strong, reliable tea base underneath. Adjust the boil time and milk to land the exact depth you like.
The Bottom Line on Society Tea
Society Tea earned its place by doing one thing extremely well: supplying a strong, consistent, everyday CTC black tea for the milky, spiced cup that anchors daily life across the subcontinent. The range has since widened into masala and elaichi blends, leaf and green teas, and grab-and-go premixes, but the identity is unchanged — a Mumbai tea house, now generations deep, whose name is shorthand for a proper, full-strength brew. If you like your chai bold and unfussy, the Society Tea blends are a fair benchmark for what everyday tea is meant to taste like.