Boulder, Colorado-based Brook Eddy is America’s 21st-century master chai wallah (Hindi for ‘tea vendor’) who founded a $35 million business, Bhakti Chai, a cold tea drink that is available in stores across America.
In 2002, Eddy, a master’s in social policy, heard an NPR story on Swadhyay, (in Sanskrit, the literal meaning is ‘self-study’ while its deeper meaning is related to grasping one’s own underlying nature) asked herself, “how can we make our nonprofits stronger? Can we make businesses more like nonprofits?”
She traveled to western India where she became an aficionado in the intricacies of making chai or tea. Returning home, she formulated an original chai brew that she sold in mason jars. “I realized the recipe I had crafted for myself, a fiery fresh ginger chai, could be produced for cafes and retailers to bring people not only ‘India in a cup,’ but build a mission-driven company on the tenets of bhakti,” she says, using a Sanskrit term that means devotion.
Eddy returns to India frequently for fresh ideas, and says, “I shouldn’t really have this pulse for India, but I do. I love the chaos and vibrancy. Every time I come I’m introduced to something new. It’s just real.”
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
