Miracle Tea

    This tea works miracles. That's a strong assertion, I know. But hear me out.

    Cue last April: Dave and I were on a quick trip to Turkey, on assignment with a packed itinerary that would require a lot of driving, marketing, interviewing, and eating. There would be no down time, and not much sleep either.

    Around noon of our first day Dave felt a cold-foretelling tickle in the back of his throat. By six in the evening I was feeling it too, along with a headache. I had a 6am Skype appointment the next morning, and we were to be out the door by 7.

    So that night, when we got to our kitchenette-equipped room, I dug deep into our duffel bag and pulled out something we rarely travel without: fresh ginger and turmeric. I washed and sliced the roots, boiled them for 20 minutes with a green tea bag, strained 4 cups of orange liquid and poured it into two mugs. We drank every drop and went to bed. We woke up. No colds.

    It wasn't the first time, nor the last time, that we've relied on turmeric to steer us clear of illness. A few years back I began to hear of turmeric's good-for-you properties. (Read about turmeric's cancer-fighting, anti-inflammatory, and other health benefits here and here.) And five years ago we learned that in central Vietnam slices of candied turmeric are eaten to alleviate coughing and sore throat.

    Two years ago, while working on a Thailand food story, I interviewed an Australian medical doctor-Cambridge University professor-world authority on southeast Asian herbal remedies. He talked a lot about turmeric -- about how Indians especially know that it is so good for our bodies in so many ways.

    "You should be including plenty of turmeric in your diet. You're just crazy not to," he said.

    I told Dave, who had gotten hooked on green tea when we lived in China in the mid-eighties. (By now we should all be aware of green tea's anti-oxident properties.) Dave thought, why not combine these two natural powerhouses? And so he started experimenting with tea infusions.

    This recipe is the result: turmeric, ginger (also an anti-oxidant, with other benefits), lemongrass and black peppercorn-infused green tea. Black pepper is said to enhance the body's ability to absorb turmeric's good stuff. Lemongrass is for flavor (and can be omitted if you like), but it also has beneficial properties.

    This is our go-to drink during the day, when we're both sitting at our computers. Turmeric's mild astringency makes it refreshing; the ginger and black peppercorns give it a little zing. We like it iced, but you can drink it hot. Add a little sweetness if you like -- preferably with something other than processed cane sugar (palm or muscovado, honey or agave nectar would work). We each drink probably 2-3 glasses a day.

    There is a lot to be said for the power of the mind: if you believe you won't get sick you may not, and the opposite can hold true as well. But I don't think I've come down with a single cold since we started drinking Dave's miracle tea 1.5 or 2 years ago. If I feel something coming on I double up on my intake. And so far, I've pushed the yuckies back every single time.

    It's getting to be cold and flu season in the USA and surrounds. Boil up a batch. What have you got to lose?

Dave's Miracle Tea

These amounts are guidelines. If you love ginger, for instance, add more. But you need the turmeric. Both ginger and turmeric can be sliced, frozen and kept to use later.

The tea is strained, so you can substitue powdered ginger for fresh. Just make sure your powdered turmeric isn't too old (it shoud have a strong aroma). The general conversion formula for fresh to dried turmeric is 1 inch fresh root = 1/2 tsp. dried powdered.

In our experience this tea will keep for up to 3 weeks in the fridge. But since you should be drinking it every day, you won't have it around for that long.

1/3     cup loose green tea leaves (preferably Chinese)

1        teaspoon whole peppercorns

2-3     plump stalks lemongrass, smashed (optional)

4-6     inches each ginger and turmeric, washed and thinly sliced (you don't have to peel them)

3 to 3.5 liters/quarts boiling water

 

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and pour over water. Leave for at least 4 hours, or all day, to steep. Strain through a sieve and refrigerate.

 

Variation: Leave out the black pepper and add half a bunch of fresh mint, washed.

 

Comments

[John Mortimer]

How much water is 2 water boiler's worth?

[Robyn]

Good question John! Not everyone has a water boiler. About 3-3.5 liters or 3-3.5 quarts.

[Pam]

How much powdered tumeric is "4-6"?
Thanks!

[Didipaterno]

I will definitely try this tea! Good to have in the cold season (which I am still getting used to) I use this Sri Lankan ayuvedric tea ,"Samahan Tea", to pre-empt colds, cough and flu that is also a miracle worker, but I am about to run out of it and can't find any here in my corner of the US :(

[Deb Olson]

excellent! I always recommend turmeric & eating some green chili when feeling like a bug is trying to attack you. I'll add the magic tea as extra ammunition now.

[Houseofannie]

Thanks! This will come in handy as the seasons change.

The ingredients make it sound like it's a "heaty" drink. Do you find that your body warms up after drinking it?

[Gen]

Sounds wonderful! If I only can find ground tumeric, how much should I use?

[Frances]

This sounds delicious. I may try to make a concentrated version, to be heated with water straight from the boiler as needed. (It's cold here.)

My New England-ish, Fire Cider-ish version is to mix a paste of powdered turmeric, cayenne, and honey with a splash of raw apple cider vinegar. Pour hot water over to fill the vessel of your choice, dissolving the honey-turmeric mixture. Top with a thick slice of lemon. Sip delightedly.

This is also good with crushed fennel seed in the honey-turmeric mix. Works well for the sniffles.

[Greg]

Well, if you leave the green tea out, it's the base of every Thai curry.
Eat Thai curry and drink green tea. Miracle :D

[Robyn]

Greg -- "eat Thai curry everyday" is good advice no matter what. :)

Frances -- that sounds *delicious*! (no raw apple cider vinegar here, unfortunately). It also sounds cocktail hour-friendly, perhaps with a splash of brown liquor. :)

Gen -- sorry, I should have included that. Generally speaking 1 inch fresh turmeric = 1/2 tsp powdered dry turmeric. Just make sure your dry turmeric is fresh, ie it should still have some aroma.

Houseofannie -- is turmeric heaty? I know ginger is. We drink it iced, usually sitting in our air-conditioned office, so I couldn't say for sure.

Deb Olson -- I think the black pepper is standing in for the chili action but yeah, I always feel like my body needs chilies when I feel something coming on.

Didi - I will google samahan tea. Good luck dealing with cold / flu season!

Sorry for leaving that out, Pam. 4-6 inches turmeric should be 2-3 tsp powdered turmeric. Generally 1 inch fresh= 1/2 tsp powdered.

[Frank woods]

Can I use ground turmeric? And if so how much?

[Robyn]

Frank, I added the conversion forumula to the recipe head note. Hope you enjoy!

[John]

Hi, I'll try this for sure. Thanks for sharing!
By the way, do you add the peppercorns whole or crushed?

[Robyn]

John, we add the peppercorns whole but you could certainly crush for more peppery bite.

[MEP]

Didi - FYI Amazon.com carries the tea you are looking for and it says they order it fresh from Sri Lanka.

[Lisa Attias]

What is the difference in quality between boiling the ingredients in water and leaving them to steep in cold for at least 4 hours as suggested above?

[Robyn]

Lisa, I have never done the latter but I have a hunch that you wouldn't get as much flavor/nutrients out of the aromatics by just steeping in cold water.

[Tanya]

Hi Robyn,

I really can't thank you enough for posting this infusion. I have now warded off two colds successfully with it, and am drinking it throughout the day to ward off a third. I too enjoy it cold for during the day (it is summer here in Sydney) and hot at night before bed. I now keep lemongrass, ginger and turmeric permanently in the freezer for when a cold starts its familiar tickle in the back of my throat.

Best regards,
Tanya Zouev

[Carina]

This was a very interesting post! I love all kinds of tea, green, black, grey, etc. I have tried ginger tea in the past and it works wonders. It seems to help with everything from cold to stomach aches. I have never tried turmeric in a tea, however I am intrigued and will try that. I have taken turmeric supplements with fatty meals because I read somewhere that it helps burn fat.

[Colette]

I have been making lemongrass and ginger komnbucha tea (using green tea as a base) with great success! I will now add tumeric to it - got hooked on the fresh stuff when I was living in Vietnam. The peppercorns are a bit too heating for me, so I'll be leaving them out. A good read!

[Jules Jackson]

If anyone is still responding to these comments - how long does this tea keep?
Thanks!

[Robyn]

Hi Jules, the tea keeps 5-7 days in the fridge. If you're keen on other turmeric preparations here's recipes for turmeric candy and turmeric syrup.
Thanks for reading,
Robyn

http://zesterdaily.com/cooking/turmeric-candy-give-gift-health-drink/

[Nathalie (@spacedlaw)]

Thank you for this, Robyn.
Have found dried turmeric during a trip to Copenhagen (haven't managed to find fresh in Rome) so making it this moment.
I had some fresh rosemary so have added this instead of the lemongrass. It should work well too.

[Robyn]

You're welcome Nathalie! I hope it works for you. Daily, as a preventative. :-)

[Kelly]

This tea is magical. I leave out the lemongrass because I'm not the biggest fan of the flavor, but the rest of it is great and it is seriously powerful stuff.