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Forest Brews Tea Company
CTC blended with sukku (dried ginger) from Wayanad. Warming, immunity-forward, and the traditional South Indian remedy for cold mornings and sore throats.
Sukku — sun-dried ginger — is the backbone of traditional South Indian home medicine. Its drying intensifies gingerol and shogaol content compared to fresh ginger, producing a deeper, more persistent heat that warms from the inside out rather than just hitting the tongue. Paired with strong Nilgiris CTC, it makes the chai that South Indian grandmothers have been brewing for generations during monsoon colds and winter mornings.
We source our sukku from Wayanad, Kerala, where the high-altitude red soil and rainfall pattern produce a ginger crop with measurably higher essential oil content than plains-grown varieties. The sukku is coarsely ground at our factory — coarser than a powder, so the extraction is gradual rather than explosive — and blended at a ratio that delivers sustained warmth without making the chai undrinkably sharp.
This is the chai we drink ourselves on Kaircombai mornings when the fog has not lifted by 8am. It is also the first thing we make when a cold arrives. The combination of gingerols, polyphenols from the CTC, and heat from the simmer produces a cup that is functional as well as flavourful. We make no medical claims — we make personal ones.
Origin
Kaircombai CTC + Wayanad dry ginger (sukku)
Grade
CTC + dry ginger
Weight
200g
Brew Temp
Simmered in milk
Steep Time
4–6 minutes simmer
Five dimensions scored 0–100 from our cuppers.
Brew Guide
Boil 100ml water. Add 3g blend. Simmer 2 minutes to allow ginger to open fully. Add 150ml full-fat milk. Simmer 4 minutes. Strain firmly. Sweeten with jaggery for the authentic pairing.
Temperature
Simmered in milk
Steep Time
4–6 minutes simmer
Select a brew style and number of cups — we’ll give you exact quantities.
Full-fat milk: 300ml — add after initial water steep. Total liquid per cup ≈ 250ml.
South Indian Kadak — Method
Simmer leaf in water first, add 150ml full-fat milk, simmer again. Strain firmly. Sweeten with jaggery. Thick, dark, strong — the classic canteen cup.
Three cups into a cold and I was already feeling better
I am not someone who believes chai cures illness, but this sukku chai is so warming and genuinely comforting that I now buy two pouches at a time — one for the kitchen and one in reserve. The dry ginger heat builds slowly through the cup rather than hitting all at once, which means you can drink a second cup without it being too much. Exactly right.
