Karak Chai: The Tea That Gets Life Going in the UAE
Karak chai is everywhere in the UAE — it is a constant comfort in a fast-moving world that keeps you grounded and carries you through the day.
Sense of Wander: ★★★★☆
My day begins and ends with a cup of karak chai from KP Chai.
DUBAI, UAE — Born in a place where bubble tea was invented and later embraced by the world, it is perhaps my fate to never refuse a cup of tea, especially milk tea.
In Taiwan, amid the mushrooming bubble tea shops, I have my own favourite, one that carries me through long, dull afternoons at work. In Hong Kong, I turn to silk-stocking milk tea from cha chaan tengs, valued for its exceptionally smooth, rich, and strong taste. In India, I gravitate towards masala chai served in a terracotta cup known as a kulhad, which lends the tea an unmistakable earthy note. In Malaysia, no breakfast feels complete without a cup of teh tarik or teh halia, the region’s own expressions of milk tea. Never did I imagine that milk tea — something so dear to my heart — would find a place in my daily life here in the UAE.
Karak chai, or simply karak, is a strong, caramel-coloured milk tea enjoyed by both locals and expatriates alike. From roadside cafes and local cafeterias to Michelin Guide restaurants, karak chai is everywhere. It is embedded in the daily life in the Emirates: sipped in the early morning by those on their way to work, shared during afternoon breaks, or enjoyed late into the night over unhurried conversation.
But how did this cup of tea find its place here?
Karak chai arrived in the Gulf in the 1960s alongside the Indian diaspora, during the early years of the UAE’s oil boom. The word karak itself means “strong” in Hindi.
While it shares roots with masala chai, karak is more restrained, lighter on spices and more focused in character. At its simplest, it is made with tea, milk, and sugar — most often prepared with evaporated milk rather than fresh milk. Cardamom and ginger are common additions, while saffron karak is an indulgent option.
Over time, karak chai became a daily ritual across communities, its popularity spreading throughout the Gulf; it is no longer just a drink, but a shared habit that runs through the days of those who call the Emirates home.
Rabbash’s saffron chai is a favourite among locals.
Karak chai and paratha at KLAY by Karak House.
You will find many articles listing the “best” karak chai in town, and as a chai lover, I have tried many of them — some even leading me into neighbourhoods I might never have otherwise explored. But after all these visits, I have come to realise that the best karak is rarely the one declared so by others.
The best karak is the one that becomes part of your life:
It is the cup from KP Chai, just minutes from my home, picked up on the way out to begin the day, sometimes topped with a generous sprinkle of saffron by familiar faces.
It is the distinctly strong karak from Lims Cafe at Al Ghubaiba Bus Station that prepares me for the long two-hour ride to Abu Dhabi.
It is the chai at Jaya’s Kitchen opposite Rolla Bus Terminal in Sharjah, where watching the tea being poured back and forth in the air becomes a small performance that makes wait feel lighter.
It is the cup from Tea Station inside Onpassive Metro Station, enjoyed while waiting for the bus that heads towards Alserkal Avenue.
It is the saffron chai from Rabbash, sipped in the car after a full dinner or on a rainy day.
And it is the karak from Al Breej, a roadside cafe shaped like a giant teapot, where sleepless nights by the corniche are shared with strangers who, like me, have nowhere else to be.
Sometimes I find it poetic that the UAE’s one-dirham coin — engraved with the image of a traditional Arabic coffee pot, the dallah — can be exchanged for a cup of karak chai at many roadside cafes. Its intensity and aroma, after all, rivals that of qahwa itself.
If karak chai were a person, it would be strong and bold, yet capable of sweetness and fragrance when invited. For many who live here, it is part of the everyday life — a drink you instinctively reach for at any time.
For me, karak chai is a comforting constant in a fast-changing world and an ever-evolving self. It is the cup that starts and closes my day, a small ritual that keeps me grounded and carries me through the ups and downs of life.
Al Breej is a beloved spot for strong and aromatic karak chai in Sharjah.