Kaduna — In virtually every nook and cranny of the country, particularly in northern Nigeria, 'tea joints' popularly known as shayi joint' can always be found.

Usually such joints are operated by men and are also regarded as standard business meeting points by both the traders and clients.

Shayi or tea making business operates in two ways. The first category are the roving tea sellers i.e. those that ply the streets with their wares, usually armed with big kettles and a basket in which containers of beverages are stored while the second category operates within a strategic stand or locations by renting shops for their transactions. Containers of beverages, loaves of bread, crate of eggs among others items are always displayed on the table in front of the tea shops for easy access by the sellers.

Those in this kind of business as observed by the reporter usually operate twice daily i.e. in the morning and evening times respectively. They also have in their locations a kerosene stove or lantern, a large pot for boiling the tea, frying pan, cups, cutleries, and plates among other kitchen utensils for use.

Some of the tea joints operators have even diversified the business by introducing new menu thus attracting more customers due to the varieties. A new recipe introduced in some of these joints according to our investigation is the fried noodles popularly known as the "mix". The recipe according to some of the operators is usually prepared with eggs combined with other vegetables such as tomatoes, cabbage, onions which are used to garnish the "mix".

The origin of shayi joint may be difficult to trace but there is no doubt that it is highly patronised by people cutting across age, class and sex. While it is usual for men especially bachelors to eat in restaurants but the tea joints usually have among its patronisers married men and women perhaps have access to whatever kind of food they like in their homes but still prefer to patronize the shayi joint for their breakfast or supper for personal reasons, hence paving ways for others to earn a living as a result of their patronage.

Speaking to our reporter, Abubakar Audu, 35, a tea operator on Safana road, Unguwan Sarki district of Kaduna metropolis said he has been in the business for 12 years explaining that he rose from being an ordinary employee to an employer after saving some money. He added that not long after starting his own personal business he was able to employ two employees.

Abubakar, an indigenes of Niger Republic said he learnt the trade from his late boss late Malam Isa who operated his own business for more than three decades., explaining that he has never engaged in any other business," since i migrated from my country, Niger I have been working under my predecessor who taught me the basics for operating this kind of business".

According to him for one to achieve success and make gain from this kind of business one must undergo training from those that have mastered it. He said the business also require concentration, tolerance and patience due to the heterogeneous nature of the customers.

The second requirement for operating tea business is finding a suitable location or renting a shop. He said a table is necessary at any location for displaying the beverages, bread, crate of eggs, cups and other utensils, and also adding that benches are needed for the customers to seat on.

Asked how much capital is required to set up the business, he said a new comer must have nothing less than N 50,000 due to inflation."Not less than N50, 000 is required to start this type of business because of the economic situation in the country. That amount can get one started in the tea business because it is quite demanding, one has to buy things in bulk like the beverages in cartons, the eggs in crates and some of the basic kitchen utensils and equipment like the kerosene stove or the local one, pots, frying pans among others".

He noted that most of his clients are the bachelors and youth, but added that sometimes married men also patronise him explaining that the youths are in the majority. He also revealed that "married women also patronise us indirectly as they always send their wards with containers to buy tea, noodles or fried eggs from me".

Like most experienced tea operators, Abubakar operates two times a day, in the morning and evening hours. "The moment it is 7: Am, I usually set up my table and begin to operate. And by 12 noon I close for the morning session. As soon as it is 5: pm I re-open and set for the night session until 12 mid-night" he explained.

There are no standard measures of fixing prices, according to him the prices of the different cups of the tea vary. "An ordinary cup of tea with powder milk and sugar is prepared and sold at the cost of N30.A cup of the tea with half a tin of evaporated milk goes for N100 per cup. While a cup of tea without either the powdered or evaporated milk and prepared only with the tea leaves that comes in bags and sugar popularly known as 'ruwan bunu' is N20.In addition there is even a cup of the 'ruwan bunu 'that is prepared at N10 a cup i.e. when it is prepared with just one tea bag depending on the customers preference with egg going for N35 .

Since setting up his business, he said the N60, 000 basic capital has increased tremendously even though he could not state his present running capital. He however admitted that tea business is lucrative as he makes about N3, 000 as profit daily running in two shifts.

Abubakar just like some of his counterparts in other locations have also initiated a recipe called 'mix' . The 'mix 'is a soaked noodles which is garnished with vegetables, spices and fried with eggs. And that new concoction according to the seller fetches a lot of money for him as some customers always order for it.

"The 'mix' i.e. fried noodles with eggs, has also attracted numerous customers to my joint and we are very few that sell this 'mix' in our joints, and very few of us specialize in preparing it "revealed the tea seller.

He added, "The 'mix' is prepared base on a customer demand. For instance if the 'mix' that Is prepared with a small pack of noodles with two eggs is sold at the cost of N110 A as against the one that is prepared with a super pack of noodles which sells at N120".

However, he confessed that the patronage of the tea is still higher compare to that of the noodles due to affordability saying that not all the customer can afford to buy the fried noodles popularly known as the 'mix' thus generates more income from the tea business.

For Malam Usman Aliyu Gidado, also a tea trader on Matazu road in Tudun Wada area of the metropolis, the joint is his alternate source of income generation even while he was working.

With almost two decades in the business, Usman said used to operate in the evening time only until his retirement from the civil service when he took the business on full time.

He added that tea business played a significant part of his income and ion sustaining his family even while he was a civil servant adding that he always got income it then was almost 10 times more than his monthly salary.

"Though I did not inherit the business from anybody I ventured into it when I realized that my salary was so meagre and could not cover both my demands and my family's. I just decided to give it a trial and since then it has been it has been a major contributor to the sustaining of my family".

He said from the business, he was able to take care of his family including training some of them to higher institutions of learning.

Usman who said Shayi business is a very lucrative business explained that he started the business with N800 capital some 18 years back and since then has not looked back. .Although he said he could not say what his capital is presently, but said it has increased by 100 percent.

According to him, he also prepares a cup that sells at the cost of N50 saying that the amount charge per cup depends on the quantity and brand of the milk requested by a customer.

He added that cup of tea with powdered milk and sugar sells at the cost of N20 per cup. He however stated that an ordinary cup of tea without any beverage except a tea bag and sugar is sold at N10 per cup at his joint.

On a good day, Malam Usman makes about N10, 000 at his tea joint .Explaining that the profit from the sales usually range from N2, 500 to N 3,000 , which he said was favourable.

Although he pays rent on the shop which is N700 and N1, 500 as revenue to the government but this has not adversely affected his profit.

One major challenge facing the operators of the tea business is that some of the customers buying on credit, which according to them is threatening the success of the business as some of their customers keep patronising them on daily basis without paying them, adding that some of the customers even avoid them completely thus limiting their gain.