Trikatu
Dry ginger, black pepper and long pepper, ground together in equal parts. Trikatu is the hottest of the classical formulas, and the base of many others.
- Settles Kapha
- Settles Vata
- Can raise Pitta
How Ayurveda reads trikatu
- Rasa · taste
- Pungent (kaṭu)
- Guṇa · nature
- Light, dry, sharp (laghu, rūkṣa, tīkṣṇa)
- Vīrya · potency
- Heating (uṣṇa)
- Vipāka · after digestion
- Pungent (kaṭu)
- Part used
- Dried rhizome and fruits
Reviewed by the Vapika team.
In the tradition
Tri-kaṭu, "three pungents": dry ginger, black pepper and pippali, ground in equal parts. Its other names, tryūṣaṇa ("three burning") and vyoṣa, say the same thing. It appears inside a great many classical formulas as the part that kindles the fire for the rest.
Each of the three has its own page in the library.
How Ayurveda reads it
Trikatu is pungent, light, dry and sharp, and heating. It is described as dīpana and pācana, kindling the digestive fire, and as settling Kapha and Vata while raising Pitta.
In the Indian kitchen
The three are kitchen spices on their own, but trikatu as a mix is taken mostly as a powder with honey, or as part of a formula.
How we use it
We use trikatu in our Garcinia & Trikatu and Ashwagandha & Trikatu kahwas. It is what makes those cups sharp and warm.
Trikatu in our blends
From the texts: Bhāvaprakāśa Nighaṇṭu, Harītakyādi varga (trikaṭu); Caraka Saṃhitā, Vimānasthāna 1 (on over-using pippalī).
For learning, not diagnosis. If you are pregnant, nursing or on medication, please speak to your doctor first.