Quick & Easy Kashmiri Chai (Pink Tea)
Make Quick & Easy Kashmiri Chai (Pink Tea) at home with this authentic recipe. Creamy, aromatic, and perfectly pink – a comforting drink for winter or festive occasions
Ingredients
- 5 tsp Kashmiri Tea (See Notes)
- 4 Cups Water
- 2 Green Cardamoms
- ¼ tsp Bicarb Soda
- 1 cup Ice cold Water
- 3 Cups Milk
- Salt or Sweetener to Taste
- Crushed Almonds and Pistachios (optional)
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a heavy saucepan.
- Add Kashmiri green tea leaves and lightly crushed cardamom pods. Optional: add a small cinnamon stick or 1 star anise.
- Reduce heat and simmer until the liquid is about half and deeply aromatic.
- Stir in a pinch of baking soda; continue simmering until you see a reddish/pink foam forming on top, whisking or stirring occasionally.
- Add a glass of ice-cold water, turn the heat to high, and aerate by ladling the tea from a height back into the pot for 1–2 minutes to develop color.
- Test for color by mixing a spoonful of concentrate with a little milk in a cup; if it turns pink, proceed. If not, simmer and aerate a bit longer.
- Add whole milk to the pot, just enough to make the tea dusty pink (the qty of milk needed depends on strength of tea mixture) Bring to a gentle simmer so the flavors marry.
- Strain into cups. Add salt to taste or make it sweet using to sweetner. Add crushed pistachios and almonds
Video
Notes
- Use Kashmiri green tea or Chinese green tea (tightly rolled loose-leaf). Avoid delicate greens (sencha) or tea bags—they won’t color well.
- Reduce the tea by about half before adding baking soda; a strong concentrate is key.
- Baking soda: use just a pinch—too much = soapy/metallic taste and grey color.
- Aeration develops color: after the cold-water shock, ladle from a height or whisk for 1–2 minutes.
- Whole milk gives the creamiest result. Evaporated milk (a splash) = richer; non-dairy milks usually yield less pink. The quantity of milk depends on strength of tea mixture. if stringer you will need more milk to get desired pink colour.
- Seasoning: traditional is a pinch of salt; modern versions add sugar. You can use both (tiny pinch of salt + sugar) to balance.
- Keep spices minimal (cardamom + optional tiny cinnamon/star anise). Over-spicing can mute the tea flavor and affect color.
- If it doesn’t turn pink: simmer longer, make sure leaves are robust, aerate more, then test a spoonful with milk. Add only a tiny extra pinch of baking soda if needed.
- If it turns brown after milk: the concentrate wasn’t ready—keep simmering/aerating before adding milk next time.
- If it tastes bitter/soapy: too much baking soda—add more milk, a little sugar, or dilute with water and simmer briefly.
- Make-ahead: store the tea concentrate (no milk) airtight in the fridge for up to 2 weeks; reheat portions with milk as needed.
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