Pink Tea of Kashmir
The season’s first snow in Kashmir will have more hands in Kashmir wrapping themselves around cups of noon chai. The valley’s love affair with tea is well known, but of all the ways one can make tea the pink preparation stands out—in colour, taste and drama.
The word noon translates to salt in multiple languages of India counting Koshur (Kashmiri), Bengali, Hindi and Rajasthani. It¹s accompanied with Naan bread.
This tea preparation is known to provide warmth in the cold winter months of the year. But why is it pink? There is a constellation of factors that lend this tea its peculiar taste and appearance, the addition of baking soda or sodium bicarbonate being one of them. The soda reacts with the tea leaves while brewing which results in a beautiful ruby tone to the liquid. A lot of intense beating and aeration is required to the brewed tea water in order to incorporate air into the mixture, which also plays an important role in the pink colour.
The process is started off by boiling Kashmiri tea or green tea leaves in water. The temperature is critical: most prepare this tea starting off by bringing cold water to a boil and brewing it with baking soda (though some also add ice cubes to bring down the temperature once the tea has been brewed). While the tea is boiling with the soda, other flavouring ingredients such as green cardamom and even star anise are added for aroma and taste. At this stage, the liquid should have a blackish-red tinge due to the soda bicarbonate and on the addition of the milk and salt at the end, the colour changes
Do you know what makes this tea so special?
Just look at the range of ingredients: tea, baking soda, and flavourful, aromatic spices! Though regular green tea can also be used, traditionally, a special type of green tea known as gunpowder tea is preferred. Gunpowder tea is made by rolling young tea leaves into small round pellets. (Its origins lie in China and the name is derived from the tea pellets resembling the texture of gunpowder.)
Most teas have a brownish colour due to the naturally occurring tannin present in them which, by the way, is also an acid used to dye leather. But due to the presence of baking soda, the noon chai acquires a stunning pink colour, the shades of which vary depending on the amount of milk one adds. Like most recipes there are no set measurements and ingredients can be added depending on preference.
Traditionally, noon chai is salty but for those who are not used to it, can be served with some sugar as well. Nuts like almonds and pistachios and edible rose petals can also be added before serving and sometimes malai or fresh cream is added to give the tea viscosity and richness.
In Kashmir, it is often served out of ornate samovars, not uncommon in the homes of the region.
The tea is often described as a life-saver in cold season while also being a refreshing drink during spring and summer. It has floral notes due to the addition of rose petals and is not bitter like black tea but fragrant and luscious in texture. Though it is milky, it also has a subtle citrus flavour and takes some flavour from spices such as cardamom ,cinnamon.
You may enjoy it while you're Kashmir tours.
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