Gurnu is a wild caraway, Carum carvi, that grows between 3,000 and 3,500 metres in the Pangi valley of Chamba, Himachal Pradesh. Brewed, it gives a caffeine-free golden infusion tasting of cumin, mint and lavender. The Pangwals who gather it also sprinkle it over curries and chew it after meals.
What is Gurnu?
Gurnu is the Pangi name for Carum carvi, the plant English calls caraway. In the valley it also goes by Gyaju. It is a cousin of cumin, both in the same family, which is why the first thing you notice in the cup is something cumin-like.
An ethnobotanical survey of wild edible plants used by the Pangwal community records it growing between 3,000 and 3,500 metres, roughly 9,800 to 11,500 feet, and classifies its occurrence in the valley as rare.
What does Gurnu tea taste like?
The cup runs clear gold, and the first note is unmistakably cumin. Underneath that there is mint, and something floral that most people land on as lavender. It is mildly spicy and earthy rather than sweet, with a soft astringency at the back.
That combination in one plant is the unusual part. Nothing has been blended in and nothing has been flavoured. What is in the packet is dried Gurnu and nothing else, and the complexity comes from the herb itself.
It sits nowhere near the register of chamomile or peppermint, which are soft and singular. Gurnu is more assertive, closer in spirit to a spice tea without being a chai. If you drink green tea for its grassiness, this is not that either. It is its own thing, which is both the appeal and the reason nobody outside the western Himalaya has heard of it.
It takes honey well and takes milk badly.
How do the Pangwals use Gurnu?
Tea is only part of it. In Pangi, Gurnu is a kitchen herb before it is a beverage, gathered from the wild in the high summer pastures when families move up with their herds.
It goes over curries and into curd as a fragrant spice, the way you might use cumin, and it is chewed after a meal as a mouth freshener. That last use is the one visitors notice, because it is offered rather than sold.
None of this is preserved practice or heritage revival. It is simply what the herb is for in the place it grows, and it has stayed that way because Pangi is difficult to reach. The valley is cut off by snow for months, and until recently the only way in was over the Sach Pass. Remoteness is why Gurnu is still gathered by the people who have always gathered it, and also why almost nobody else has tasted it.
How do you brew Gurnu tea?
- Boil fresh water. Bring it to a full boil rather than just hot.
- Measure the herb. One teaspoon of Gurnu per cup, into the cup or a teapot.
- Steep for four to five minutes. The infusion turns clear gold. Longer will deepen the colour and sharpen the astringency, which some people prefer.
- Strain. The seed is not meant to stay in the cup.
- Sweeten if you want to. A spoonful of Himalayan Local Honey 100% Raw Maaun Bee Honey suits it, stirred in once the cup has come off the boil rather than into boiling water.
Milk does not work. The astringency fights it and the floral note disappears entirely.
The herb will take a second steep, milder than the first, though not usually a third. If you like it stronger, use more Gurnu rather than a longer steep, because past about seven minutes you gain harshness rather than flavour.
Where does Gurnu come from?
Our Gurnu comes from Pangi valley in Chamba district, gathered wild rather than cultivated. It is collected by local people across the valley, the way it always has been, and reaches us dried and unblended.
What does not change is what arrives. No additives, no blending, no flavouring. Dried Gurnu and nothing else, which is also the only way the cumin, mint and lavender notes survive the journey.
FAQs
What is Gurnu tea? Gurnu tea is an infusion of the dried seed of Carum carvi, a wild caraway that grows between 3,000 and 3,500 metres in the Pangi valley of Chamba, Himachal Pradesh. Locally it is also called Gyaju. It is caffeine-free and tastes of cumin, mint and lavender.
Is Gurnu tea caffeine-free? Yes. Gurnu is a caraway rather than a tea plant, so it has no relation to Camellia sinensis, the shrub that black, green, white and oolong tea all come from. Neither the seed nor the root contains caffeine, and the infusion suits any time of day.
What does Gurnu tea taste like? Mildly spicy and earthy, with cumin the most obvious note, then mint, then something floral most people call lavender. The cup runs clear gold with a soft astringency at the back. Nothing is blended in; that whole range comes from the single herb.
How do you brew Gurnu tea? One teaspoon per cup in freshly boiled water, steeped four to five minutes, then strained. Honey suits it, stirred in once the cup is off the boil. Milk does not work. The herb takes a second, milder steep; for a stronger cup use more Gurnu rather than a longer steep.
Where does Gurnu tea come from? Pangi valley in Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh, one of the most remote parts of the state, cut off by snow for months of the year. Gurnu is gathered wild by Pangwal families rather than farmed, and an ethnobotanical survey of the valley classifies it as rare.
By Vineet Sood
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