ChaiAum Tea and Coffee, Pleasanton

This colorful strip-mall shop bills itself as the “Tri-Valley’s first authentic chai cafe.” Founder Rani Rauniar aims to re-create not just the drinks and snacks of the Himalayas — spiced tea, sel roti pastries that’d be perfect for a ring-toss game — but also the region’s warmth and inclusivity.

“Growing up in Nepal, chai was more than just a drink. It was a daily ritual that brought people together, fostering connection and comfort,” Rauniar says. “After moving to the U.S., I realized how much I missed that sense of togetherness around a cup of freshly brewed chai.”

The cafe invites customers to kick back and lounge a while, with comfy furniture, device chargers and posted Wi-Fi access. Organic tea is sourced from the high-altitude Himalayan foothills of the Ilam district, which is renowned for exceptional tea quality. Crystal-clear pots are perfect for sharing, and there are plans to make English-style “high tea” a regular experience.

The cup: Himalayan chiya, or Nepalese chai, is brewed with aromatic spices, available hot or iced, with the choice of adding espresso to make it “dirty” ($5.50-$8). There are the standard coffee drinks, including fruit-flavored lattes, and noncaffeinated options like Ayur herbal tea or a hibiscus-mango cold brew with scratch-made flower concentrate. A new Ocean Latte is popular with the TikTok generation; it’s a deep-blue elixir made with matcha, butterfly pea and salted caramel. And the foamy golden-turmeric latte is particularly comforting, giving you the feeling it’s dribbling straight into your immune system ($6.50).

The bite: There are European-style treats like smoked-salmon toast and spinach-feta croissants, and then Rauniar prepares some of her home country’s cuisine. “We serve nostalgic snacks from Nepal, such as sel roti and nimki — items you won’t find in any other cafe or restaurant in the Bay Area,” she says. The former is a sweet, hula hoop-shaped pastry, the latter an imminently snackable fried-dough crisp. And the kitchen has recently introduced chicken and vegan momos.

Details: Open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays-Sundays at 5424 Sunol Blvd., Suite 11, Pleasanton; chaiaum.com