Rama, Krishna and Vana Tulsi: The Types of Holy Basil and How They Taste

When a perfumer created an Indian scent with notes of “bergamot with Indian basil (tulsi),” she reached for it to bring back “crisp green notes” after a watery one: “That’s how the tulsi and mint came in.” Her story is in Nostalgia in a Spray.

When we released a tulsi blend in 2016, Basil Twirl, with holy basil, cornflower and orange and yellow marigold, we called it “a poignant melody of fresh and floral flavors.”

Fresh, dried and steeped too long

Dried tulsi tastes deeper and more herbal than fresh, and fresh leaves give a brighter, greener cup.

Time matters as much as the leaf. Steeped too long, tulsi can turn sharp, so taste it at five minutes. Our 2014 tulsi chais were brewed for 4 minutes in water at 90 to 100°C, and our house standard for herbal tisanes today is 5 to 7 minutes at 100°C; the full method is in How to make tulsi tea.

Most tulsi tea sold in India uses Rama or Krishna tulsi, or a mix.

These are not only names in a grower’s catalog. Our blending unit has bought and worked with all three types, Rama, Krishna and Vana, each as dried cut leaf and each kept as a separate ingredient, alongside holy basil for our herbal range.

• Rajasik Ayurvedic Chai: our tasting note says it “starts on a sweet-herbal feel on the palate,” with an aroma of black pepper, ginger and holy basil “followed by hints of green cardamom,” and a finish of “earth-woody notes of licorice and black pepper.”
• Turmeric Ginger Tulsi Green: the aroma is “earthy-herbaceous; marked by lifted notes of holy basil,” the taste has “sweet-herbal undertones of holy basil interlaced with warm tones of ginger,” and the cup is yellowish-green.

From our first tulsi chais

Our 2016 notes on the 2014 tulsi chais show how tulsi changes with the base. Masala Indian Chai blended cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, clove, mace and nutmeg with tulsi “in a black tea base,” for “a sweet, woody note.”

Tulsi Green Chai opened with “notes of dry wood and tulsi.” As we wrote then, “Tulsi lends a strong flavor and warmth to the tea, while vegetal notes from the green tea gently make an appearance.” In a light green tea, in other words, tulsi leads and the tea follows.

Our flavor coding from 2014 says the same in shorthand: Tulsi Green Chai was marked high intensity, with tulsi as its vegetal note and a tangerine-colored liquor, and the herb-only Tulsi Ginger Chai was coded “tulsi, mint,” with a yam-orange liquor.

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) is sweet and anise-like, made for pesto and tomatoes; tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum, also listed as Ocimum sanctum) is peppery and clove-like. Thai basil is another basilicum variety, with a licorice note.

You can make a pleasant infusion from sweet basil, but it will not taste like tulsi tea. Tea 101 suggests steeping a single basil leaf in a pot of green tea for the “zesty” flavor it brings, a lighter, brighter effect than tulsi’s warmth.

India has more basils than one, too. In Assam, the Singpho people forage an herb they call matangban, a basil, and our writer tasted it in a pork stew “lemony with a hint of basil and chilies.” The Singpho story is in Assam Diaries: Margherita, the Singphos and Coin Tea.