Teas are done radically different across the world, but few are as complex as Kashmiri pink chai tea. With an impressive array of ingredients that work better together than one from another culture might expect, this concoction subverts expectations in its health benefits and general uses. This beverage is also known as Noon Chai; here are a few health benefits and recipes of Kashmiri Pink Chai to get you started.

Kashmiri Pink Tea Ingredients, Recipe

The standout feature of pink chai is its assortment of ingredients that are clearly prevalent in South India. Kashmiri chai leaves, green cardamoms, salt, soda bicarbonate, cinnamon, star anise, milk, sugar, and pistachios are all required to make the most basic form of Kashmiri tea.

Milk, tea, and sugar are on the higher scale of quantity in the mix, while salt and soda bicarbonate is used sparingly (1 teaspoon each) to enhance the flavor without overstepping its boundaries.

Alternatively, it isn't unheard of to replace milk with half-and-half if you're keen to up the fat intake for a keto diet. A small amount of baking soda and cloves are also optional if you want to change things up.

Instead of regular sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, and date syrup are all perfectly viable replacements. Pistachio bits are the staple for Pink Chai recipes, however, if you're pursuing the healthiest possible concoction, using chopped raw almonds would be the best choice to opt for.

Kashmiri Pink Tea Preparation

More ingredients can lead to more room for error; that being said, the preparation process requires more attention to detail than simply boiling water with a teabag in it. To get started, two separate cups of water are needed to be boiled. It has traditionally been done through a non-stick pan, but a boiler may work too.

Once boiled, one pan will require cardamom pods, seeds, tea leaves, cinnamon, star anise, and bicarbonate of soda will be mixed in first and stirred. Milk will be added after, while the leaves and spices are removed. The sugar of choice will be next and it will have to sit in the mix till it melts in. Straining the tea from the kettle will come last and will be poured into separate cups.

The key ingredient in this entire mix is your Kashmiri Chai tea leaves. The quality will make a drastic difference to how the entire blend will taste.

Kashmiri Pink Tea Brands

In the end, the tea will be at the forefront of the beverage's taste - therefore your choices of brands are crucial. A few recommended brands include Three Rivers, Tapal Gulbahar, Dewan Kashmiri, and Food Net Hi-Sun.

These brands are reliable starts to get you prepared as you embark on your tea-making journey. Do note that ice water can be added after the leaves are boiled to increase quantity without losing flavor. Ice cubes, however, will affect the coloration of the beverage.

Digestion Improvement

Much like how other teas are renowned for their role in a detox regime, Pink Chai tea is no exception. It features malic acid that helps your digestive tract regulate normally. As a bonus for its improvement to the entire system, constipation specifically can be remedied with a cup of this. If the ordinary blend doesn't do the job as well as you'd hoped, adding apple (slices or blended) with more cinnamon should do the trick.

Helps Weight Loss

There is no single cure that can help the body burn fat at the pace we'd like it to, but Pink Chai tea does have a few benefits: its low-calorie count despite the ingredient pool can enhance many fat-loss-centric diets. It certainly does help that a cut done correctly only contains 115 calories Additionally, its properties can help boost the body's metabolism rate and helps improve the oxidation of fat in your blood. The latter does wonder to combat the excess fat storage in blood vessels, along with protecting the heart from fat build-up.

Good for the Skin

Many food options offer improvement to skin health in the form of aging and oil build-up, but it never hurts that it comes from a beverage as delectable as Pink Chai Tea. Like other teas in the market, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties are present and specifically slows wrinkles on the body. It isn't a short-term fix; like any other superfoods, regular intake is necessary to ensure that the skin is properly nourished so that the results can come to fruition.

Strengthens the Bones

An odd benefit, given that tea isn't commonly known for its bone-strengthening properties. The tea itself contains an impressive amount of magnesium, potassium, and vitamin C that boosts bone density. Added on top of dairy-based milk and the benefits are improved even further. It can never replace the likes of calcium-rich foods, but it does its part to assist in bone strengthening, rather than being the focus of said benefit.

Mood Booster

The tea's antioxidant properties zero in on the liver to help purify the body of toxins. Normally considered a standard beverage choice of a cleansing diet, this tea is no exception. Antioxidants in general stimulate chemicals that are secreted from the brain such as dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin. Because of this, anxiety, depression, and even insomnia are reduced moderately, but not cured. Even as a mood booster, the tea may be enjoyable, but not an immediate cure to these conditions.