Champion Tea Centre

Champion Tea Centre is tucked away at No 138 on Rangaswamy Temple Street in Balepet. It is a very old part of the city, and the streets are quite narrow and winding. You can hear the temple bells from where we sit. We have been here for a long time, watching the shops around us change owners. Our place is small, but we make it work with what we have. There are stacks of boxes everywhere because space is tight. Most of our day is spent measuring out tea and talking to the regulars who have been coming here for decades. The street is always loud with people walking to the temple or carrying goods to the market. We don't have a big team, just a few of us who know how everything works. Sometimes the floor is a bit uneven, and the walls could use a fresh coat of paint, but it feels like home to us. We don't do any big advertising. If someone likes what we have, they tell their neighbor, and that is how we stay in business. In the summers, it gets very hot in the shop, so we keep the fans running at full speed. It is a simple life here in Balepet. We just focus on our daily tasks and try to be helpful to anyone who stops by the counter. The work is repetitive, but there is something nice about the routine and the familiar faces that stop by every single morning.