Ingredients
5 ½ cups water
5 teaspoons sugar or to taste
½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
½ teaspoon green cardamom powder (5 green cardamon, bruised)
pinch saffron (6 strands)
2 teaspoons kahva (green) tea or Lipton Green Label tea
1-2 tablespoons almonds, powdered

Method

1. Boil the water with sugar, cinnamon and the green cardamom powder for 5-10 minutes till the color of the water is brown and the water emits a good fragrance.
2. Add the tea leaves, remove from flame, cover with lid and let stand for 3-5 minutes till the tea brews.
3. Pour into warmed cups and add ¼ teaspoon powdered almonds in each cup.
4. Serve immediately.

Correctly prepared, this tea is pink when you finish making it.

Ingredients

9 cups water, divided
salt to taste
2 tablespoons semi-fermented tea leaves, such as oolong
15-20 seeds of green cardamom
PLUS 1\2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1\2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 pieces of cinnamon bark, OPTIONAL
a slice of fresh ginger, OPTIONAL
2 peppercorns, OPTIONAL
1 teaspoon poppy seeds, OPTIONAL
1 pint whole milk or half and half
6 tablespoons fresh cream (malai), garnish
2 tablespoons ground pistachio, garnish

Method

1. Pour water in a heavy based large pan. Add tea leaves, salt, seeds of green cardamom and bicarbonate of soda.
2. Bring to boil reduce heat and simmer briskly for 20-45 minutes or until it reduces to 1\3 its original quantity (2 cups).
3. While it is still boiling, add the optional ingredients and about 2-3 cups of cold water or enough water to make four cups in all. Bring to boil and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat, strain and keep aside.
4. Boil the milk with ground cardamom over low heat. Pour prepared tea blend (Qahwa) into the milk. Bring to boil, add salt and simmer for 3-5 minutes over low heat.
5. Remove from heat and pour into 6 cups. Spoon 1 tablespoon of thick cream or malai into each cup, then sprinkle 1 teaspoon of pistachio over it.

In some areas you can never get the right color and taste of the tea due to the acid water. Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) certainly helps. Even in Pakistan, depending on the water and tea leaves you have to add a little soda.
Use only whole milk, because 2% and skim milk don't work. This is a time consuming recipe, use whole milk or half and half.
5 cups water, divided
1 tablespoon semifermented tea, such as oolong
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
black cardamon seeds
salt
petals of Baa'dKhataaii (optional)- a kind reader took the time to let me know, this is star anise

Method

1. Fill a midsize saucepan with a quart of water.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of tea leaves to it
3. Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda in water along with the tea leaves.
4. Let it boil, the tea leaves will expand and appear as small leaves lying flat on the surface of water.
5. Take the pan off the stove once the level is 3/4 of the whole.
6. Add cold water to it. 1/4 to make the 3/4 + 1/4 = 1.
7. Before adding the cold tap water, you should see a burgundy/dark pinkish film on the surface. That tells you have boiled it to the right level and the color will be great.
8. Take a ladle (Pavva), fill it with the boiled tea and aereate it (Phaa'intana) by pouring repeatedly. It is not like you are whipping an egg or batter. You take tea in the ladle and raise the level of the ladle about 8-10 inches and pour the tea back to the pan. Doing it at least ten to twenty times will make a change in the color of tea. Initially when you will be doing this exercise, you might find the color a little dull light brown or green, DO NOT BE DISHEARTENED. Once you find it peachy/ burgundy with a predominant pink tinge, STOP THERE. If you keep on, the color will become horrible once you add milk to it.
9. Now just let it sit a while.
10. Take a strainer and strain the tea into a bottle or a jar that you can keep in your fridge. Throw away the strained tea leaves. THIS IS THE BASE.
11. To prepare the tea for two people, take two cups of the strained tea.
12. Add milk to it till you get the bright pink color. If you are a Kashmiri then you will certainly want it to be bright pink with more milk, or to taste. Most people do not like it with only a little milk as it is not like the English Tea.
13. Add one black cardamon seed, crushed (Alaichee), one petal of Baa'dKhataaii (star anise, if available) and salt (1/4 tablespoon). Let it boil for three to four times and then serve in a tea pot or put it in your tea cup directly. {The author says "Baa'dKh'atai' is a flower with six or seven petals (I haven't found the English name) and adds taste and fragrance to the tea." I (Ellen)have used one marigold petal.}
14. The base (strained tea) won't keep more than a day or two; it will become dark and the color is not as fresh as it should be. Similarly don't try to store this Numkeen Cha'i ("salty tea") with milk in your fridge. But you can keep the strained tea without milk in the fridge.