Kathas
Story

Making chai from our family farm means every part of the supply chain raises questions.

Who picked the cardamom? What are they paid? How long has that spice been sitting in a warehouse, losing oils? What happens to the land after we harvest?

I started Kathas with the intention to be able to answer those questions honestly. So that the entire chain, from soil to can, could be traced back to something I'm proud of.

Kathas is a proud, family-run operation. Our family farm in Keralam is managed by my dad. He handles everything from knowing which plants are about to produce, to knowing when the rains will come, and even clearing weeds by hand from the very same hillside he's worked on for thirty years.

In California, our family store is run by my sister, while my mom coordinates between all of us across continents. I manage our raw ingredients, helping define how we want them picked, dried or fermented, overseeing quality control, and finally, my favorite parts: Roasting, brewing, and sharing our chais and coffees with others.

Every batch of ingredients shipped from Keralam must clear customs before we roast and brew them. Once each batch is ready, they are tested multiple times and adjusted for seasonal variations.

If you've tried our chais before, you may have noticed that each batch varied in flavor—that's a result of seasonal variation within the ingredients themselves. Things like rainfall, temperature, and more have a tendency to affect natural crops.

We used to try to hide that. Today, we know how to work with the flavors we're highlighting and have learned that every step of the process can impact flavor—from the farm to the cup.

When I started Kathas, my goal was simple—make a product that gives back to the land and supports everyone involved. To build something regenerative, not extractive. Modern practices aren't always built this way.

TIME IS EVERYTHING

Cardamom plants take time to reach peak production—5-8 years to be exact. After that, brewing and testing product can take weeks, while building customer trust takes years. While we are proud of our process and the relationships we've built, the business side often demands more instant gratification—that means, annual returns, consistent pricing, immediate product. But real ingredients don't work on software timelines.

FAIR PRICING IS COMPLICATED

Our team is spread across continents, where cost of living varies widely. Fair pay to a cardamom picker in Kerala is different than fair pay to a roaster in California. But sometimes "local rates" aren't always enough. While we do pay above commodity rates, there are still so many questions we'd love the answers to—answers that often feel out of our reach as well our community's. We are always doing our best to learn from local politics and do better where we can.

ONE BATTLE AT A TIME

With every goal we have, there is a hurdle to get past. While we'd love to achieve every goal in one day, we know we have to pick and choose our battles when and where we can. Since day one, it's been our goal to have compostable packaging. Unfortunately, plant-based barrier coatings that keep coconut milk shelf-stable for twelve months doesn't exist at scale yet. So, we use recyclable aluminum cans while we research better options for the future.

COMMUNITY OVER SCALE

While most beverage brands optimize for growth, I'm more interested in building something that lasts. That means growing slower. Saying no to distribution deals that would require compromising on ingredients or farm relationships. Maybe I'm leaving money on the table. But I'd rather build something I'm actually proud of.

We create conditions for connection.
In practice, it means making something good enough that you actually want to sit with it - and share it.

DIRECT RELATIONSHIPS
We source from our family and partner farms we've worked with for years. People we actually know. That sort of relationship matters to us. We can tell you the names and stories of the people growing the cardamom you'll enjoy with a friend over your own kitchen table. You won't find that experience elsewhere. And we love that.

SMALL BATCHES, CONSTANT TESTING.
Every batch gets tested before it ships, and we make sure to adjust for seasonal variations. If it doesn't taste right, we don't send it. 
We're not trying to scale fast. We're simply inspired to make something worth pausing for - something you'd want to share with someone close.

BEING HONEST ABOUT TRADE OFFS. We’ll always tell you the whole story - including where we're falling short.
We update this quarterly because we're learning as we go, and because we think the people drinking this deserve to know what they're actually drinking.

WE’RE NOT FOR EVERYONE
You might be our people if you see drinks as excuses to pause - not just fuel. If your best ideas come from conversations, not solo grinding. If you're curious about where things come from and who made them.

You might be our people if you're building something, learning something, or trying to figure something out, and you know the breakthroughs happen when you're around other people who are doing the same.
We're for the ones who want permission to slow down in a world that romanticizes moving faster. For the nerds, the tinkerers, the experimenters who process ideas out loud.

If that's you, welcome. Pour a cup. Grab a friend. And see where the conversation goes.