Over the past three decades, communication has evolved from simple voice calls to a multitude of internet-based messaging platforms, yet the fundamental architecture of instant messaging systems remains largely unchanged. Implementing a basic chat application requires a publish-subscribe (pub-sub) system, facilitated by a robust message backbone like Redpanda, which is both fast and cost-effective compared to Apache Kafka. This tutorial guides users through building a chat application using React for the frontend and Flask for the backend, with Redpanda managing asynchronous communication. The Flask backend utilizes the kafka-python library to handle message production and consumption, while server-sent events (SSE) enable real-time data streaming between the frontend and backend. The tutorial includes steps to run Redpanda in a Docker container, configure message topics, and develop both backend and frontend components, culminating in a fully functional chat application. Users are encouraged to experiment with the application, engage with additional resources, and join the Redpanda community for further learning and support.