Kashmiri Chai

All about Kashmiri Chai, Loose Leaf Green Tea

What it’s like, and how to make it

CaffeineLow caffeine

TypeGreen, chai

CharacterSpiced, sweet

What’s in itChunmee green tea, cinnamon pieces, cardamom, ginger pieces, orange peels, anise star, peppercorns, matcha

How to brew it

175°F / 80°C
Steep 2–3 minutes
Use 1 tsp per 8oz
Boiling water scorches the leaf and makes it bitter
Re-steep the same leaves twice

Beyond the cup

The green tea chai — lighter body, lower caffeine, and a savoury lean you won’t find in the other chais. Brew alongside flatbreads, naan, or a dal spread. The matcha adds umami depth that works in smoothie bowls and yogurt. Steep strong and use as a rice-cooking liquid for a pilaf with cardamom, ginger, and toasted almonds.

Kashmiri Chai loose leaf tea, shown over a chalk-and-watercolour illustration

Illustration: Kashmiri Chai with a Kashmiri home in Srinagar

What’s in it

Every herb in the blend, and where to read about it on its own.

Spice · Caffeine-free

Cinnamon
Cinnamomum verum, C. burmannii, C. loureiroi
The inner bark of a laurel tree, peeled, dried and curled into quills. Three different trees are sold under the one name, and the shop carries all three: Ceylon (Cinnamomum verum), the soft, papery, floral one from Sri Lanka; Korintje (C. burmannii) from the Kerinci...
Sweet, woody, warm — Ceylon floral and citrusy, Korintje smooth and familiar, Saigon bold and fiery-sweet
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Spice · Caffeine-free

Cardamom
Elettaria cardamomum
Green pods holding small black seeds, from a ginger-family plant of the Western Ghats — floral, resinous and eucalyptus-cool, quite unlike anything else in the cupboard. It is the third most expensive spice in the world after saffron and vanilla, which is why it is...
Floral, resinous, eucalyptus-cool and sweet-warm; the main volatiles are terpinyl acetate and eucalyptol
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Herb · Caffeine-free

Ginger
Zingiber officinale
The universal connector — ginger appears in more products than any other ingredient in the collection. The dried root is chemically distinct from fresh ginger: drying converts gingerols to shogaols, which are about twice as pungent, and that is why dried ginger tastes deeper and...
Pungent, warm, slightly sweet, citrusy (fresh); warm, mellow, deep (dried)
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Herb · Caffeine-free

Orange Peel
Citrus sinensis
Previously dismissed as 'just citrus,' orange peel contains hesperidin — a flavanone with genuine anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular evidence — plus polymethoxyflavones that show remarkable metabolic activity in preclinical studies. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, aged tangerine peel (chen pi) is one of the most prescribed herbs....
Bright, citrusy, slightly bitter, aromatic
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Spice · Caffeine-free

Black Pepper
Piper nigrum
The dried unripe berry of a climbing vine — the mill on every table, and the most travelled object in any kitchen. Black, white and green pepper are all the same berry, picked at different moments and treated differently: black is picked unripe and dried...
Warm, woody, resinous and sharp; the bite is piperine, roughly a hundredth as potent as capsaicin
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Tea · Contains caffeine

Chunmee Green Tea
Camellia sinensis
A pan-fired Chinese green whose name, zhen mei, means precious eyebrows — for the long curved shape of the finished leaf. It has a dusty look and a cup that is more acidic and less sweet than most greens, with a plummy edge the shop's...
Plummy and a little tart; less sweet and more acidic than most green teas, with a dusty-looking leaf
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Tea · Contains caffeine — the whole leaf is consumed, not an infusion of it

Matcha
Camellia sinensis var. sinensis
Shade-grown green tea, steamed and dried without rolling, then ground on a stone mill into a powder fine enough to suspend in water. You drink the leaf rather than an infusion of it, which is why matcha is more intense than any steeped green and...
Vivid green; grassy and savoury-sweet with real umami, a little bitter, creamy when whisked to a froth
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Spice · Caffeine-free

Star Anise
Illicium verum
An eight-pointed star, dried, from a tree of the hills of south China and northern Vietnam. It tastes of licorice because it is rich in anethole — the same compound that makes anise seed and fennel taste the way they do, though the three plants...
Licorice warmth, sweet and intense — the strongest of the anethole spices
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Every ingredient in the shop →

What it goes with

The savoury chai. Pair with our Garam Masala for an Indian dinner, our Cardamom and Star Anise for Kashmiri-inspired rice, or our Ginger for a warming afternoon setup. Green tea base keeps this one lighter than the rest.

Cardamom Seed

Cardamom Seed

Regular price From $7.99 CAD

Regular price Sale price From $7.99 CAD
Ginger Root, Organic (Spice)

Ginger Root, Organic (Spice)

Regular price From $5.99 CAD

Regular price Sale price From $5.99 CAD
Star Anise

Star Anise

Regular price From $6.99 CAD

Regular price Sale price From $6.99 CAD
Turmeric

Turmeric

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Reviews

What the time-travelers say

5.0 from 1 review of this one, and 206 of the shop’s 213 are five stars

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