In 2019, my husband and I made a trip to Kovalam in Kerala. Those were simpler pre-pandemic times and travel was something we could manage without much effort. We stayed at the Taj Kovalam and enjoyed our time throughly at the sea-facing tropical green resort that boasted of their signature Jiva Spa. The trip to the spa and authentic Kerala dishes were some of the highlights of our trip but the one thing that stayed with me after our time there was a delicious, lip-smacking herbal infusion called ‘Vishuddhi Chai’.
I know the term Vishudhhi Chai would sound like hipster mumbo jumbo to someone from my parents generation. Almost like turmeric moon milk and chai tea latte! Or I could be wrong and they would know that Vishuddhi or Vishuddha refers to the Throat Chakra in Indian esoteric tradition. I only got to know of this reference because I googled it so don’t ask me more.
But coming back to the the tea, this one was definitely special. The Jiva Spa bases a majority of its treatment on Ayurveda and this ‘chai’ was not just a welcome drink.
So what is Vishuddhi Chai?
As we consulted the therapist and filled up disclaimer forms about any existing conditions, we were handed out a steaming fragrant tea in green terracotta mugs. The staff also placed a kettle placed over a tea light stand full of steaming hot Vishuddhi chai in case we wanted seconds.
One sip of this chai (which was an infusion) and we knew we would be going for seconds.
I could taste tartness from the lime or lemon and balanced with caramel like sweetness. There was some zing from the ginger and maybe some tulsi too. We had to ask them what was in it. They told us it has lime juice, jaggery and tulsi, that’s it. I was pretty certain I could taste some ginger too but apparently not.
They added that this herbal tea will help us breathe more deeply so that we relax during our treatment and maybe it did. Is that why it was called Vishuddhi Chai? After the treatment was over, we sipped some more of this calming herbal infusion.
Making a Herbal Tea Infusion at home
Back home from our trip, I wanted to sip on Vishuddhi Chai so I tried making it. I thought it wouldn’t be too different from the tulsi-adrak green tea that my parent’s make every morning. But to get the same lip-smacking consistency, I had to use a lot more lime and jaggery. And that is where this Vishuddhi Chai stands out from other herbal teas. It tastes like a sticky warm herbal desi lemonade.
After a few adjustments and additions, I now make this ‘chai’ whenever we need a cosy relaxing cuppa of tea without the caffeine.
Taj Gurugram did share their recipe of Vishudhhi Chai on their facebook page here last year but I now make my own version.
Here’s how I make Jiva Spa inspired Vishuddhi Chai herbal tea infusion at home
The amounts of certain ingredients like jaggery and lime juice can be adjusted according to your taste. But keep in mind that to replicate the lip-smacking warm herbal lemonade like feel, I do not recommend skimping on the jaggery. You will need to add enough lime or lemon juice to balance the sweetness for a perfect cuppa. You can always play around by adding tea leaves or flavours like tulsi, ginger, cinnamon and even spearmint and make it your own!
Serves 2
Prep Time: 5 mins, Cook time: 10 mins, Total Time: 15 mins
Special Equipment : A tea strainer; Microplane or Mortar Pestle, Any citrus juicer (optional)
Ingredients
- Water, 550 ml or roughly 2 and a 1/2 cups
- Jaggery cubes, 25-40 grams or Powdered Jaggery, 1 and a half tablespoons (adjust according to taste)
- Ginger, freshly grated, 1 tbsp
- Tulsi/ Holy Basil leaves, 2-4 or Dried Tulsi, 1 tsp
- Juice of 2 limes or 1 lemon, at least 30 ml
- Freshly ground black pepper, 1/4 tsp or a few cracks (optional)
- Other optionals – Spearmint leaves, Cinnamon, Green tea leaves or any tea of choice, 1/2 teaspoon
Method
Place a saucepan on medium high heat and pour 500 ml water into it.
As the water heats up, clean and grate the ginger using a microplane or pound it using a mortar and pestle. Add the dried tulsi next or if using fresh tulsi leaves, rinse them with water to remove any dust. Fold and tear the tulsi leaves to release their oils and add in to the water along with the grated ginger.
Next add the cubes of jaggery to the water and adjust the heat to medium. Cover with a lid or a plate and let this mix come to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low and let it simmer till the jaggery cubes dissolve completely. If using, add any optionals like black pepper and/or choice of tea leaves at this stage.
I often do not add any tea leaves to this Vishuddhi Chai to keep it caffeine free.
While the chai simmers, roll the lime or lemon on the counter so that you extract the maximum amount of juice from it. Cut across the equator of the fruit to make two halves. Squeeze in the lime or lemon juice to extract the juice but wait to add it till you see that all jaggery has dissolved.
Taste and adjust the jaggery and citrus juice till you find the tea lip-smacking and syrupy. If you add more jaggery, keep the heat low. In case you add more lime or lemon juice, turn off the heat.
Once you adjust the citrus juice and jaggery to your liking, take off the heat and strain into cups.
Enjoy this delicious and lip-smacking Jiva Spa inspired Vishuddhi Chai to relax and unwind or any time you want a calming drink!
Vishuddhi Chai inspired Herbal Tea Infusion
Equipment
- Tea strainer
- Microplane or Mortar Pestle
- Any citrus juicer (optional)
Ingredients
- 550 ml Water roughly 2 and a 1/2 cups
- 25-40 grams Jaggery cubes or Powdered Jaggery, 1 and a half tablespoons adjust according to taste
- 1 tbsp Fresh Ginger freshly grated, 1 tbsp
- 2-4 Tulsi/ Holy Basil leaves or Dried Tulsi, 1 tsp
- 30 ml Juice of 2 limes or 1 lemon you may want to add more according to taste
- 1/4 tsp Freshly ground black pepper, just a few cracks optional
- 1/2 tsp Other optionals – Green tea leaves or any tea of choice
Instructions
- Place a saucepan on medium high heat and pour 500 ml water into it.
- As the water heats up, clean and grate the ginger using a microplane or pound it using a mortar and pestle. Add the dried tulsi next or if using fresh tulsi leaves, rinse them with water to remove any dust. Fold and tear the tulsi leaves to release their oils and add in to the water along with the grated ginger.
- Next add the cubes of jaggery or powdered jaggery to the water and adjust the heat to medium. Cover with a lid or a plate and let this mix come to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low and let it simmer till the jaggery cubes dissolve completely. If using, add any optionals like black pepper and/or choice of tea leaves at this stage.
- While the infusion simmers and reduces, roll the limes or lemon on the counter so that you extract the maximum amount of juice from it. This is optional but it helps. Next, cut across the middle of the fruit to make two halves. Once the jaggery has dissolved, extract juice using a citrus juicer if using or squeeze in the lime or lemon juice into the steaming chai.
- Taste and adjust the jaggery and citrus juice till you find the tea lip-smacking and syrupy. If you add more jaggery, keep the heat low. If you add more lime or lemon juice, turn off the heat. You should be left with roughly 2 cups liquid in the pan.
- Once you adjust the taste to your liking, take off the heat and strain into cups.
- Enjoy this delicious and lip-smacking Jiva Spa inspired Vishuddhi Chai to relax and unwind or any time you want a calming drink!