How to Make Kashmiri Kahwa: The Method, and the Mistake Everyone Makes
Most people's first mouthful of kahwa is made wrong. The tea goes into boiling water and stays there, or it is treated like chai and simmered with the lid on, and what comes out is bitter, dull and nothing like the cup you were handed in Srinagar.
Kahwa is not difficult. It just has one rule that goes against every Indian tea habit: do not boil the tea.
What kahwa is
Green tea leaves steeped with green cardamom, cinnamon and saffron, lightly sweetened, poured over crushed almonds. No milk. In Kashmir it is brewed in a samovar, a tall copper kettle with a central chimney holding live coals, and it is the first thing offered to a guest in any home.
The method
- Boil the water first. One cup per person.
- Take it off the heat. This is the step everyone skips.
- Add the kahwa, about a teaspoon per cup, along with a lightly crushed green cardamom pod and a small piece of cinnamon if your mix does not already contain them.
- Add three or four saffron threads per cup if you are adding your own.
- Cover and steep two to three minutes. No longer, or it turns bitter.
- Strain into cups over a teaspoon of crushed or slivered almonds.
- Sweeten lightly with sugar or honey, if at all. Kahwa is meant to be delicate rather than sweet.
The colour should be a clear golden amber, not brown. Brown means it was boiled.
Green tea with cardamom and cinnamon. Boil the water, take it off the heat, steep two to three minutes.
View productFive mistakes
- Boiling the tea. Green tea leaves release tannins fast in boiling water. That is the bitterness.
- Steeping too long. Three minutes is the outer limit. Longer does not make it stronger, only harsher.
- Sprinkling the saffron in dry. Crush the threads and steep them; dropped in whole at the end they give up very little.
- Too much sugar. Kahwa is not a sweet drink. If yours needs a lot of sugar, it is probably over-brewed.
- Adding milk. That makes it a different drink entirely. The milk tea of Kashmir is noon chai, which is pink and salted.
Buying kahwa
Kahwa is sold as a loose mix, and the mixes vary a great deal.
- Read the ingredient list. Green tea leaves and whole spices should lead it. If sugar is the first ingredient, you are buying a sweet mix with some tea in it.
- Look for visible whole spices: cardamom pods, cinnamon bark, sometimes rose petals and a few saffron threads.
- Check whether saffron is included or whether you add your own. Either is fine, but it changes what you are paying for, and a mix claiming heavy saffron content at a low price is not telling the truth: saffron is the most expensive spice in the world by weight.
- Avoid pre-sweetened instant powders unless convenience is the only thing you want.
- Packing date and a sealed pack. The aroma is the product, and it fades.
Variations worth trying
- With honey instead of sugar, stirred in once the cup has cooled slightly.
- With a few rose petals in the pot, which is common in Kashmiri mixes.
- With crushed walnuts instead of almonds, in walnut country.
- Iced, brewed stronger and poured over ice. Not traditional at all, and very good in summer.
- After a heavy meal, which is when Kashmiris drink it most.
Kahwa and noon chai are not the same
| Kahwa | Noon chai | |
|---|---|---|
| Colour | Golden amber | Pink |
| Milk | None | Yes |
| Taste | Lightly sweet, spiced | Salted |
| Method | Steeped briefly | Boiled long with a pinch of soda, then aerated |
| When | After meals, with guests, evenings | Breakfast, with local bread |
Storing it
- Airtight, cool and dark. Kahwa is mostly aroma, and aroma leaves.
- Keep it away from strong spices; green tea picks up smells.
- Buy a size you will finish in a few months rather than a large pack that goes flat.
- If you add your own saffron, store that separately: see how to store saffron at home.
If you are buying kahwa now
Ours is in the kahwa and teas collection, and the saffron to go with it in the saffron collection. Kahwa with a small pack of almonds is also one of the better small gifts from Kashmir: see the best Kashmiri gifts.
Common questions
How do you make kahwa properly?
Boil the water, remove it from the heat, add the tea and spices, steep two to three minutes, strain over crushed almonds and sweeten lightly.
Why is my kahwa bitter?
It was boiled or steeped too long. Green tea releases tannins quickly in boiling water.
Does kahwa contain milk?
No. The milk tea of Kashmir is noon chai, which is pink and salted.
How much saffron goes into kahwa?
Three or four threads per cup, crushed and steeped rather than sprinkled on top.
Is kahwa the same as green tea?
It is made with green tea leaves, but the character comes from cardamom, cinnamon, saffron and almonds, and from brewing it briefly off the heat.
Can kahwa be drunk daily?
It is an everyday drink in Kashmir. We make no health claims about it; it is tea.