🍃Free shipping over ₹999 · Estate-direct from the Nilgiris since 1994
Forest Brews Tea Company
Estate green tea blended with Nilgiris-grown tulsi (holy basil). An adaptogenic daily cup with a warming herbal note — the Kaircombai version of India’s most trusted wellness plant.
Tulsi — Ocimum tenuiflorum, holy basil — has been central to Ayurvedic medicine for over three thousand years, classified as an adaptogen that helps the body modulate its response to physical and psychological stress. The tulsi we use is grown on the estate at Kaircombai in a small plot adjacent to the tea garden, where the altitude and climate produce a plant with notably high eugenol content — the compound responsible for both the clove-like warmth and much of tulsi’s bioactivity.
Blended with our estate green tea, the tulsi adds a warming, slightly sweet-herbal note that transforms the usual fresh-grassy character of the green into something richer and more complex. The aroma is distinctive: bright green tea on the first pour, followed by a warm, almost medicinal depth from the tulsi that lingers in the steam. Eugenol content in high-altitude Nilgiris tulsi has been measured at 60–80% higher than in plains-grown varieties — a difference you can smell without a lab.
This is our recommended daily wellness cup for those who want more from their tea than flavour alone. It is caffeine-moderate (lower than straight green tea due to the leaf-to-tulsi ratio), suitable from mid-morning through afternoon, and pairs well with the ritual of a short pause in the day. Brew it hot, take your time with it. The second steep is worthwhile and slightly sweeter than the first.
Origin
Kaircombai green tea + Nilgiris tulsi (holy basil)
Grade
Green leaf + holy basil
Weight
100g
Brew Temp
75–80°C
Steep Time
3–4 minutes
Five dimensions scored 0–100 from our cuppers.
Brew Guide
Heat water to 75–80°C. Use 2g per 200ml. Steep 3–4 minutes. Strain. Drink plain. A second steep for 3 minutes retains good tulsi character. Do not add milk.
Temperature
75–80°C
Steep Time
3–4 minutes
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.
My 3pm ritual — this has replaced my afternoon coffee completely
I was a two-coffee-a-day person until I started drinking this tulsi green mid-afternoon. The combination of the L-theanine from the green tea and whatever the tulsi brings produces a focused calm that coffee never managed. The eugenol warmth is noticeable and pleasant without being overpowering. Three weeks in and I have not missed the coffee once.
