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
- 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.
- 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]
- 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
- Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan or kettle.
- 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.
- 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
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- Add the milk or soymilk. Milk helps to reduce the tea’s bitterness.[7]
- Serve.
Making Turmeric Tea Bags
- 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.
- 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
- Mix the ingredients. Place all of the ingredients in the small bowl and stir to combine.
- Fill the tea satchels. Use 1 tablespoon of the ingredient mixture per tea satchel.
- 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.
- 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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source How to of the Day http://ift.tt/1G5N1oz
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