In Praise of Kahwa!

Before arriving at Gulmarg I had vaguely heard of Kahwa. By the end of the trip I became a die hard fan of the drink. Every time I had tea at The Khyber at Gulmarg it was Kahwa. They have a dedicated tea lounge called Chaikash. It was a much frequented place by all of us. And every time I was asked what I would like to have I would reply ‘kahwa.’ I did not drink any other tea for the whole duration and that says a lot. Otherwise I am much more of a masala/adrak chai kind of a person.

It is a tea that has almond flakes, cinnamon and cloves, green tea, and sometimes I could taste adrak (ginger) too. It has no milk. It has a pleasing aroma and it tastes perfect in the cold weather! I am told that one can buy tea bags of Kahwa and use it. I am now on a lookout for it.

Now that is What I Call High Tea!

This is another cup of Kahwa which I was sipping in the balcony of Nouf. And if I would have clicked every cup I drank there would have been at least 30 pictures! Tea tastes really magical high up in the mountains and Kahwa specially so. Chaikash was our waiting area and as soon as I would sit a member of staff would come and ask if I would like to have tea or coffee? And my nephew says that in Dwivedi Khandan chai ko koe mana nahin karta hai! (In Dwivedi family no one says no to tea). So I would always ask for a cup of Kahwa and enjoy waiting for others. If you have not tried Kahwa till now go ahead give it a try!