Chai!

I have made kashmiri tea a lot in the past. About kashmiri/gulabi chai... it is actually made with green tea (yes, chinese green tea). You boil the tea leaves with cardamom, a little baking soda, and a pinch of salt for almost an hour to get the kahva. Then you add milk and pistachios to it. Some people like to add salt but I just add sugar after making it. If you want a recipe check this one out: http://www.contactpakistan.com/pakfood/drinks/greentea.htm
I have tried it and it is great. I used whole cardamoms instead of the seeds, low-fat milk, and no malai. Good luck!

Though I`m more a coffee drinker, with several cups a day, mainly regular coffee: black-without-spoon as we say in the Netherlands. I`m rather into tea as well! At my Indian family in the Netherlands we drink chai made of regular Enlishblend tea bag (there they are), with herbs and milk. I love this type with some sugar in it, I`m not much of a sugar-fan...things get too sweet to easily for me!

Of the different types of teas I was blessed with the best tea blender of the Netherlands settling a joint in my village..... there one buys his/hers tea in sachettes (bags) to take them home and put them in some storrages box. The staff is excellent and gives extended information about different flavours and the way of preparing a good cup of tea!

I tasted mainly Indian teas like: Darjeeling Orange Pekhoo & First Flush & Assam tea, further one of my all time favorites is Ceylon-blend. But I also tried some Japanese teas as well, some rather spicy.... though the most spicy tea I`d even had is unmistakeble: Gunpowder, a Chinese tea, leave the tea for 7 minutes in boiled water.... bam... u get some experience!

The most ackward tea I tasted was Yerba Matè, Brasilian herbal tea.... after the first sip I rose to all time hights..... still a favorite, difficult to get though!

Well it`s obvious I leave the original chai making to others, I`m more a lover of purity: pure tea.... depending on blend or flavour:3 to 7 minutes in boiling water and enjoy! A small advice to people who are not used to teabags: put the bag in your cup first and poor the boiling water on it, leave it there for 2 or 3 minutes, never more! Tea-bag tea is made of crushed leaves and thus dispose it flavour more quicker than full leaves!

Can someone please, please, PLEASE post a detailed recipe to make Gulabi/Kashmiri Chai. I have looked everywhre, imported special ``Kashmiri Tea/Chai Leaves`` but still unable to get pink tea. I have used various filtered/ bottled water too. No luck.......I feel like crying !!!!!!!

Sincerely,
LeVanay

anyone ever had those Dhaba (Pit Stop) chai in Pakistan?

or those chai on GT road in a big bowl rather than in a cup?

has anyone tried tea with evaporated milk?

Ironman,

I will also have a meter long tea for that

reply to #13:
kashmiri chai or `gulabi` chai is also made from green tea. its just cooked longer, much longer, with milk in it, so that it turns pink.

soundmeister,

``i clicked eagerly on jay`s post#4, imagining he`d have somehow made this into a tea-n-tea debate somehow``


Hee, hee! Good one sounder!

tea-n-tea, I`ll drink to that!!

arn`t the tea leaves used to make green tea ... well...green?
perhaps that may explain the name.

I think its called ``green`` tea because it is uncured/unfermented/unaged or whatever you do to tea to make it the black stuff we like. That is, it is using ``green`` in the sense of unseasoned rather than as a colour.

Why it is called Green Tea when it is not Green?

Anyone?

Chae Chahiyeh,
Kon Sy Janab?
Lipton Umdah Hai...
Lipton Lijieyh,
Lipton Pijiyeh... Lipton PIJIYEH :)

In TO (Toronto), mama makes the most amazing chae. She mixes the Orange Pekoe and the Earl Grey `patti` ... and condensed milk... oh ... and an aunty uses `illaichi` (ok - fruit for thought, i hv no idea what illaichi is in english..khair!)... for added khushbu :)
My fiancee likes theek dum wali doodh pati... like in dhaabas...and calls my microwave wali chae a `dhoka`...shukar...she didn`t know this b4 we got engaged :)
Chae subsitutes: Tim Horton`s ki Cappuccino in TO...and Cafe con Leche in Miami :)
How much sugar do I take in my tea? Ab tou `woh` hy hain meri zindagi main mithaas...so no sugar needed :)

chaye mil jaye
par koi brand na ho
usko meray siwa peenay wala na ho
khuboo ho lajawab
khul day dil wa dimagh
karak bhi ho magar maza day taskeen ka...
har ansar main ala o qadr baney
chah barhe jab bhi kabhi
mil jaye bina mange hi

chai rocks! I sickened myself on doodh-jyaada-chai-kam doled out by the thela outside my office and have now moved to sugarless with a twist.

BTW, chaiwalas in mumbai are called ``bhats``. any idea why?

i clicked eagerly on jay`s post#4, imagining he`d have somehow made this into a tea-n-tea debate somehow ;)))

too bad!

Lament ...

not too long ago, in India, you could go to a tea shop, and there were always these speciality tea shops, and buy the real tea. you could get premium stuff like darjeeling, upper-assam or orange-pekoe. all these you dont boil but just steep in almost boiling water, preferably in a warmed-up kettle and drink with only a spot of milk and marie biscuits. the leaves would open up and would be about an inch large. for more budget concious, you get the BOP (broken-orange pekoe) or lower assam etc. or the brook-bond red lable stuff. it needs a little boil, a good splash of milk to take the tart out, and a lot of sugar. and then you had stuff like mumry, and hotel-dust blends. these need extensive boiling, sometimes with milk, and spices etc.

now all you can buy is mumry, from a generic grocer, which is essentially tea-dust in a factory granulated with some glue. the glue addds to body. awful stuff. the real tea goes into blending, iced-tea, the middle-east and iran for high price.

all,

There are five main types of tea: black, green, oolong, white, and herbal -- which isn`t actually made from tea leaves at all.

Black tea:
Generally known in the United States as ``regular tea,`` this type is oxidized; which means it`s left to fully dry and ferment after being picked. Chemical reactions to air exposure darken leaves` color. Earl Grey, English Breakfast and Darjeeling are some examples of black teas.

Green tea:
Unlike the black variety, green tea is not fermented. After being picked, the leaves are immediately dried. This tea type is generally more pale and has a slightly bitter taste, which is why it`s often enjoyed after a very sweet dessert and alongside Oriental foods. Green teas include Lung Ching, Bancha and Sencha.

Oolong tea:
This is a combination of green and black leaves, as it is partially fermented. The color and flavor falls between the green and black teas as well. Examples of oolong teas include Black Dragon and Pouchong (Pao-Chung).

White tea:
This rare type of tea is unfermented, but unlike the green tea, the leaves are rapidly fired and dried, resulting in a more ``natural`` state. They taste lighter and more fragrant. This tea is usually enjoyed without a meal, and is generally available only from specialty stores and importers. It can also be as much as 10 times more expensive than other teas. White teas include Flowery White Pekoe, Silver Needles and Noble Beauty.

Herbal tea:
Tea purists are quick to point out that herbal teas don`t actually contain tea leaves. Instead, most are made from a blend of herbs, leaves, flowers and roots. Chamomile and Peppermint are just two of the many herbal teas available today.

I make mean tea with regular lipton tea bags, Aazmaish Shart Hai.....need more info anyone?