This Lucknow street vendor is selling matcha, but in a kulhad. Video is viral

A viral video from Lucknow shows a street vendor preparing matcha in a traditional chai style, surprising social media users.

If matcha ever needed an Indian passport, this video from Lucknow just stamped it. A local vendor has gone viral for boiling matcha like chai and serving it in a kulhad, turning a Japanese tea ritual into peak desi drama.

A street-side video from the city has taken social media by storm after a local vendor gave the Japanese item an unmistakably desi makeover. Instead of the usual quiet whisking ritual, the vendor prepares what he proudly calls ‘garam matcha chai’, boiling a vivid green brew in a large brass pot, the way roadside chai is traditionally made. Steam rises, a long steel ladle swirls the liquid, and the scene looks less like a caf in Kyoto and more like a bustling tea stall in old Lucknow.

But the real twist comes at serving time. The piping-hot matcha is poured not into a cup or mug, but into a kulhad, the clay cup synonymous with Indian chai culture. The fusion has left the internet both amused and mildly distressed.

Text over the viral clip cheekily labels the vendor “Matcha ke Chacha” and promotes the drink as “Garmatcha, exclusively in Lucknow.”

Watch the video here:

A post shared by Ayan (@ayanahmad99_)