How to Make Turmeric Tea

A natural remedy to combat a variety of illnesses and diseases, turmeric has been revered as a one of the best spices throughout the ages. Sprinkle turmeric on your food or use in a soothing tea; turmeric can be taken a variety of ways. For a cold, flu or simply to sooth your soul, create a cup of turmeric tea that will have you saying, “ahhhh” right away.

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric, or 1 inch of fresh turmeric root, minced
• ½ teaspoon dried ginger, or 1 inch fresh ginger (optional)^[1]
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon or 2-3 cinnamon sticks (optional)^[2]
• 10 black peppercorns (optional)^[3][4]
• 2 herbal teabags (optional)^[5]
• honey, to taste
• small squeeze of lemon or orange, to taste
• milk or soymilk, to taste (optional)

Steps

Preparing the Ingredients

1. Choose your turmeric. Ground turmeric is more widely available. But fresh turmeric can often be found at farmers’ markets, larger grocery stores, health food stores, and Asian markets.
   
   • To mince fresh turmeric, peel it with a small spoon and then grate it on a Microplane or on the smallest holes of a box grater. You can also mince it with a large kitchen knife.
2. Choose your optional ingredients. Ginger is the most common flavor addition flavor addition to turmeric tea. Cinnamon is another popular option. Both, like turmeric, are hailed as anti-inflammatories.
   
   • When choosing an herbal teabag, look for lemongrass.^[6]
3. Prepare the optional ingredients. Grinding the dried spices will result in more potent flavors.
   
   • Prepare fresh ginger in the same manner as you would the turmeric. Peel it with a spoon. Then, grate in on a Microplane or box grater.
   • Cinnamon sticks can be added whole. Or, for a stronger flavor, you can grind them in mortar and pestle or a clean coffee grinder.
   • Black pepper can be added whole or ground.

Brewing the Tea

1. Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan or kettle.
   
2. Add the turmeric directly to the boiling water. Add any optional ingredients, except the milk, at this time. If using an herbal tea bag, do not add it yet.
   
3. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Simmering happens at a lower temperature than boiling. Review the process here: How to Simmer
   
4. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Do this carefully. The contents of the pan will be very hot! Use an oven mitt or a folded to kitchen towel to protect your hand.
   
   • Add the herbal tea bag, if using, and let steep for three minutes.

Serving the Tea

1. Strain the tea. Pour the tea through a sieve set inside a mug or a teapot. This will help remove the solids and yield a smooth tea.
   
   • Use caution when straining the tea. Remember, the liquid is going to be hot.
2. Add lemon and/or honey. You can do this to the entire batch or, if you’re making multiple servings, let individual drinkers add their own.
   
3. Add the milk or soymilk. Milk helps to reduce the tea’s bitterness.^[7]
   
4. Serve.
   

Making Turmeric Tea Bags

1. Gather your equipment. In addition to standard tea brewing equipment like a pot, a kettle, and a mug, you’ll need the following hardware:^[8]
   
   • 4 tea satchels. Also known as, tea sachets, loose tea filters, or, simply, tea bags, these are readily available online.
   • A small bowl.
   • Measuring spoons.
2. Prepare your ingredients. For this recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
   
   • 2.5 tablespoons ground turmeric
   • 1.5 tablespoons ground cinnamon
   • 4 tablespoons loose lemongrass tea
   • 20 peppercorns
   • One-half of a tablespoon is equivalent to 1.5 teaspoons
3. Mix the ingredients. Place all of the ingredients in the small bowl and stir to combine.
   
4. Fill the tea satchels. Use 1 tablespoon of the ingredient mixture per tea satchel.
   
5. Brew the tea. Use the standard herbal tea-brewing method: How to Make Herbal Tea
   
   • Consider adding fresh ginger as the tea brews.
   • You can also add orange slices and honey.
6. Gift the tea. These homemade tea bags make great gifts, especially when combined with other tea-making paraphernalia.
   

Tips

• These recipes are easy to scale up. This master recipe makes two servings. To make four servings of the standard turmeric tea, increase the amount of water to 4 cups and the amount of ground turmeric to 1 teaspoon.
• Experiment with different flavor combinations

Things You’ll Need

• Small saucepan or kettle
• Fine sieve or a colander lined with cheesecloth
• Cup or a teapot, depending on how much tea you make
• A Microplane or box grater, if using fresh turmeric and/or fresh ginger

Warnings

• Along with its other medicinal properties, turmeric may slow blood clotting. If you’re already taking an anticoagulant, consult your doctor before adding too much turmeric to your diet.^[9][10]

Sources and Citations

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