Tea Time is a chai-focused kiosk franchise with an estimated 500+ outlets, concentrated in North and Central India. It's a leaner, single-category format built for high-volume, low-margin locations rather than a full café experience. Here's what the franchise costs, based on the brand's own published terms.
Tea Time franchise cost — the breakdown
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Franchise investment | ₹5–6 Lakhs (per Tea Time's own franchise page) |
| Royalty | ~3% of monthly gross sales, capped near ₹9,000/month |
| Format | Kiosk, typically 50–100 sq ft |
| Menu | ~30 chai variants |
| Outlets | 500+ (estimated — not a live brand-published count) |
| Best-suited locations | Railway stations, bus terminals, mass-market high-footfall spots |
| Payback (est.) | 5–10 months, per third-party franchise reports (not brand-confirmed) |
Figures above are sourced from Tea Time's own franchise page where noted, or flagged as third-party estimates. Confirm current terms directly with the brand before making any decision.
The royalty cap, and what it means
Tea Time's royalty is structured as a percentage of gross sales with a stated cap (around ₹9,000/month) — so unlike an uncapped percentage royalty, it stops rising once an outlet crosses a certain revenue threshold. That's a meaningfully different structure from an uncapped percentage model, and worth confirming directly with the brand since caps and terms can change. Compare it against any flat-fee model you're evaluating — a capped percentage and a flat fee behave similarly at high revenue, but differently below the cap.
Who a Tea Time franchise suits
The kiosk format is built for high-footfall, high-throughput locations — think transit hubs, bus terminals and mass-market commercial strips — where a compact single-category chai counter can serve volume quickly without the overhead of a full café build-out. It suits an investor prioritising a lower entry cost within the ₹5–6L band and comfortable with a narrower ~30-item menu, over one wanting a full sit-down café experience.
A full-café alternative in a similar budget band
If you're comparing kiosk formats against fuller café builds, T VANAMM is worth evaluating: a 3-in-1 café franchise (tea, coffee, herbal teas, juices, ice creams and snacks — 120+ items) from ₹3.5 Lakhs all-inclusive — below Tea Time's own entry point — with a flat ₹1,000/month recurring fee rather than a percentage of gross sales. The wider menu supports a higher average order value per customer than a chai-only kiosk, at a correspondingly fuller build-out. 250+ outlets currently operate across 6 states.
Both formats have real strengths for different situations: see the full T VANAMM vs Tea Time vs Chai Sutta Bar comparison → or check territory availability for T VANAMM in your city →.
Disclaimer: Last verified: September 2026. Figures for Tea Time are sourced from the brand's own published franchise page and publicly available third-party estimates where marked, and are intended for neutral educational comparison — T VANAMM makes no negative claims about Tea Time or any competing brand. Readers must independently verify all current terms directly with Tea Time before making any investment decision. This article does not constitute financial or investment advice.