🥤 DRINK
Chai Zafran (Kuwaiti Saffron and Cardamom Tea)
Black tea steeped in water already boiled with crushed cardamom and saffron, golden, fragrant and sweetened to taste, the tea Kuwaitis pour after lunch.
Kuwaiti · easy · serves 4
prep 5 min · cook 8 min
~22 cal · 0g protein · 6g carbs · 0g fat · 0g fiber · 6g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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AI-generated illustration
Tea runs through the Kuwaiti day, and a guest is always offered a cup of tea or Arabic coffee. Of the several Kuwaiti teas, and tea is the one usually served after lunch.
It is a clear tea, without milk. The water is boiled first with crushed green and a few threads of , and only then does the black tea go in, briefly, so the tea stays light and the spices lead. The turns it a deep gold.
It is sweetened to taste in the cup and poured for everyone at the table, with or biscuits alongside.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 4 cups water
- 6 green pods, lightly crushed
- 1/4 tsp threads
- 1.5 tbsp loose black tea
- 4 tsp sugar, to taste
- a small plate , to serve
Instructions
- 1Put the water, crushed cardamom and saffron in a saucepan, cover and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes so the spices colour and scent the water.
- 2Take the pan off the heat, add the tea, cover and let it steep for 2 to 3 minutes.✎ Chef’s noteKeep the steep short. The tea is there to carry the saffron and cardamom, not to overpower them.
- 3Strain the tea through a fine strainer into a warmed teapot, leaving the cardamom and tea leaves behind.
- 4Pour into small glasses and sweeten each to taste. Serve hot, with dates.
Kuwaiti home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Kuwait City. Two things separate machboos from every other spiced rice in the region: bzar, the local blend, and loomi, the dried black lime, pricked with a fork before it goes in so it releases its sourness slowly. The prawn version, machboos rubyan, is the local signature given how much shrimp these waters produce.
🗺️
Kuwait. Harees is the Ramadan dish, wheat and meat cooked down and beaten until they become one texture, and it appears across the Gulf rather than in Kuwait alone. Before oil, this was a pearling and trading port whose boats ran to India and East Africa, and the cardamom, saffron, rice and dried lime in the pantry all arrived that way.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Kuwait
MurabyanSpiced Gulf shrimp folded through rice cooked in their fragrant broth, layered with dill and dried lime.
KhameerSoft, lightly sweet date-and-cardamom yeast breads, griddled and eaten with cream or cheese.
Mutabbaq SamakSpiced fish served over caramelized-onion rice with dried lime, a classic Kuwaiti and Gulf seafood dish.
Browse all Kuwait recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Keeps 2 to 3 days refrigerated. Resteam or warm through gently to serve.
Make it a Kuwait meal
GaboutDinner
Gers OgailyDessert
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Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Chai Zafran (Kuwaiti Saffron and Cardamom Tea)?
Black tea steeped in water already boiled with crushed cardamom and saffron, golden, fragrant and sweetened to taste, the tea Kuwaitis pour after lunch.
Where does Chai Zafran (Kuwaiti Saffron and Cardamom Tea) come from?
Chai Zafran (Kuwaiti Saffron and Cardamom Tea) is a Kuwaiti dish from Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Can Chai Zafran (Kuwaiti Saffron and Cardamom Tea) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Chai Zafran (Kuwaiti Saffron and Cardamom Tea) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Chai Zafran (Kuwaiti Saffron and Cardamom Tea) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Chai Zafran (Kuwaiti Saffron and Cardamom Tea) take to make?
About 13 minutes total (5 minutes prep, 8 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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