by Joe Devlin and Emily Berk

Raman Bechar makes a cup of his “real chai.” Photos: Joe Devlin.

January 2012— We were waiting in line for Raman Bechar to make us two cups of his “real chai,” a heavily spiced, creamy tea concoction just like Ram’s mom used to make. All of a sudden Ram left the counter to look for a ladder, a marker and a rag. When he returned he climbed the ladder, cleared out a space in the menu board, and wrote “NO SOY in CHAI” in the middle of that board. By the time he descended, the lady who’d made this unreasonable request was long gone.

Ram was born and raised in Fiji. His parents are from India, so of course Ram’s mother served chai. Ram came to the U.S. with a telegraph operator’s certificate, which earned him a green card and a draft card, so he served in Vietnam.

Back in the States, he took advantage of the GI Bill of Rights to get a diploma as an English teacher. The Ram we know is soft-spoken with a gravelly voice. He sports a snow-white beard and mustache like Babiji, the Hindu holy man who serves as the protagonist of so many of Ram’s works of poetry and prose. Although he retired some 20 years ago, Ram still sees himself as an English teacher.

But most Coastsiders know him as the proprietor of the little cafe he and his son Raj have been running in Half Moon Bay since 1991. And they, along with many Yelp readers, think of Ram as that guy who refuses to serve what he calls “Pariah Chai” — chai made with soy or low-fat milk.

We recently talked with Ram about why he so adamantly opposed Pariah Chai for so many years, and why “No Soy” is no longer inscribed on his menu board.

Menu of Raman’s coffee and chai.

When Ram retired to Half Moon Bay, “An empty storefront called out to me and I decided to sell dried fruits and nuts,” he says. “My customers liked my coffee so I sold it by the cup. Before I knew it, I was running a coffee shop that sold fruits and nuts on the side.”

Ram wanted to sell a version of his mother’s chai in his store. After much experimentation, he figured out how to make “real” chai in less than a minute using an espresso machine. “I tried all sorts of mixtures of milk and tea, sweeteners and spices, documenting every failed attempt in my little formula book,” he says. “Took me about six months to get it right. One day, a customer from India told me my chai was better than her mom’s. She gave me a big tip and ordered another. That was when my shop became a chai shop. Before long, I got so busy, I didn’t have time to make Pariah Chai.”

Recipe for Ram’s Real Chai

“Chai” is the Hindi word for tea. Don’t order chai tea, but feel free to order “masala chai” — spiced tea. Ram’s begins with a strong black tea that stands up to strong spices; he sells Tea India brand black tea by the bag. Ram’s secret spice mix includes ginger, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and black peppercorns. Whole milk gives the drink its creamy texture and binds the flavors. Sugar balances out the spices. Let the chai slurry rest for a minute, before straining it into a cup. Froth with the espresso machine; sprinkle spice mix on top.

Ram’s poetry and prose

Writing poetry has always been one of Ram’s pastimes, but “I didn’t think it was good enough to share,” he says. “One day, I posted a poem I liked on my counter. Customers seemed to like it, so I added new poems to the stack. When people started asking for copies, I collected some of my best work and published it in those two books I sell.”

Ram’s poetry and prose lean heavily on traditional Hindu themes. He likes to write dialogs in which a wise bearded Babiji imparts practical wisdom to an impatient young acolyte. Ram’s philosophy, as reflected in his poetry, is “Don’t be fooled by dogmas. On the one hand, I am totally fascinated about how little I know. On the other hand, I realize that the answer to every question you can ask yourself is always there for you to discover. Socrates was so smart because he was willing to accept how little he knew.”

Ram’s new location

Ram happily sold chai and chatted with customers for 16 years in the storefront he rented in Half Moon Bay. But then, he says, “One day, Mayor Naomi Patridge came in for her usual chai and asked me why I was closing after so many years. She’d seen paperwork filed by my landlord and Peet’s Coffee to renovate my space. Shortly thereafter I received my eviction notice. We had a party for my loyal customers and I closed up shop.” Time for a new adventure.

Ram spent a few months exploring new opportunities. “Came close to signing on as a limo driver,” he says, but when a storefront opened up in the mall next to Ace Hardware, Ram decided to give chai another go.

What’s changed? Not much, actually. The layout is better and there’s a stage for free concerts. The biggest change is that Ram’s menu now lists a price for Pariah Chai. When asked why he’s now willing to tamper with his sacred recipe by substituting soy or low-fat milk, he smiles and says, “Didn’t I just advise you not to get stuck in dogma? Even I am allowed to change my mind every once in a while.”

Ram’s Coffee and Chai is open Monday-Saturday, 6 a.m.-4 p.m., at 101 Main St. in Half Moon Bay. There’s free music on Tuesdays from 11-1 and Fridays from 10-2.

The Astrologer
A poem by Raman Bechar

He made me sit on the rock
On the ground
In dusty Delhi
And took my right hand in his hand
And spoke to God
In the language of the gods
In Sanskrit
He asked the nine planets
To protect me.

But he said that one planet
In reading my hand
Was out of whack
Will cause ill, even disaster
If left unattended, undone.
That he could fix it
By slipping a stone ring
On my finger
Until the twenty-seventh.

How much will it cost
To befriend an unfriendly planet
To appease the displeased star?
Not much, he said. Not much!