Kahwa recipe

sounds intriguing. I wonder what kind of green tea they use. I imagine a 10 minute steep in boiling water can’t be good…

Good question!

I know this is an ancient topic but I just stumbled upon it now. Kahva is generally made with green tea from Kashmir which is similar to Chinese green tea. I use a good quality gunpowder tea and sometimes jasmine tea.

10 minutes is unnecessary…I wouldn’t let it steep for more than 5 minutes. If you’re interested, you can try the recipe below to make an authentic Kashmiri Kahva:

- 3/4 to 1 tsp gunpowder green tea or jasmine pearls
- 1 cardamom pod, bruised
- 1 clove
- about a 1/2" piece of cinnamon stick
- a few strands of saffron
- sugar or honey (optional, I usually don’t add it but you can add about a teaspoon or two to taste)
- crushed almonds of walnuts (again, optional)
- 1.5 cups of water

1) In a small saucepan, boil water with spices. Add sugar if using. When it comes to a boil, lower the heat slightly to a simmer, and then add the green tea leaves. Turn off heat, cover, and leave to steep for about 2 minutes. If you like your tea stronger you can let it simmer on a low flame for a few minutes.

2) Using a pestle and mortar, crush the saffron strands into a powder and add a little hot water to dissolve.

3) Strain the tea into teacups and pour a bit of the saffron liquid into each. Add crushed nuts if desired and serve.