DrinkSaffron

Kehwa

Name: Kehwa
Total time: 10 min
Yield: Serves 2
Cuisine: Kashmiri
Ingredients: 2 cups water; 2 teaspoons kehwa blend, or 1 teaspoon Kashmiri green tea with 2 crushed green cardamom pods and a small piece of cinnamon; 6 to 8 saffron threads; 4 almonds, slivered or crushed; Sugar or honey, to taste

Written 7 Oct 2026Serves 210 minutes

Golden kehwa tea with saffron threads and slivered almonds in a glass cup — AI-generated illustration of Kehwa.

Kehwa is the green tea of Kashmir: light, fragrant, and poured all day in winter, traditionally from a samovar. It is brewed gently with whole spices, never boiled hard, and finished in the cup with saffron and almonds.

You will need

2 cups water
2 teaspoons kehwa blend, or 1 teaspoon Kashmiri green tea with 2 crushed green cardamom pods and a small piece of cinnamon
6 to 8 saffron threads
4 almonds, slivered or crushed
Sugar or honey, to taste

Method

Bring the water to a gentle simmer. If you are using loose tea and whole spices, simmer the spices alone for three minutes first.
Add the tea or blend, turn the heat off, cover, and leave it to steep for two to three minutes. Boiling green tea makes it bitter.
Put the saffron threads and almonds in two cups.
Strain the tea over them, sweeten to taste, and give it a minute for the saffron to colour the cup.