Creamy Turmeric Tea
To call this beverage tea might be a little misleading. “Creamy Mug of Warming Deliciousness” is more accurate. It just plain feels good to drink this slightly sweet, slightly spicy blend of heated almond (or coconut) milk, turmeric, ginger, cayenne and honey. Turmeric tea will perk you up in the morning, calm you down at night and soothe sniffles and sore throats. It’s also a really pleasant way to end a meal.
At first glance, the ingredients might not sound like a combination you’d want to drink. Something magical happens in the mug, though, and the result is richer than regular tea, less intense than coffee and oddly delicious. Turmeric is the dominant flavor and admittedly, one that takes a little getting used to. Although not spicy itself, turmeric’s slightly bitter, earthy flavor is the perfect backdrop for other spices, which is why it’s a main ingredient in curry powder. The ginger and cayenne in this tea aren’t overwhelming because they’re floating in creamy, turmeric-infused milk that’s been lightly sweetened.
Turmeric is ginger’s mellow cousin and is a root used just as often for its bright yellow-orange color as it is for flavor. Turmeric powder is a frequent ingredient in East Indian, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Caribbean cooking and is also believed to have numerous healing properties. When cooking with turmeric, it’s most often used in conjunction with ginger and spices like cumin, cinnamon and coriander. Moroccan Chicken Casserole is one dish that benefits from turmeric’s flavor. If you’d like to use turmeric more often, you can also add extra turmeric to dishes that already have curry powder in them, like Butter Chicken or Beef Curry Meatballs. Or, after trying this recipe, you might just go through all the turmeric in your spice rack by brewing mugs of Creamy Turmeric Tea.
Servings: 1 cup of tea
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces (1 cup) almond or coconut milk
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2-inch wide round slice of ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
- Dash of cayenne pepper
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon honey or other sweetener
- Optional additions: a small pat of butter, cinnamon, cardamom
Instructions:
Gently warm the almond or coconut milk on the stove.
In a mug, combine the remaining ingredients.
Drizzle a teaspoon of the warmed milk into the mug and mix until the liquid is smooth with no lumps. Add the rest of the milk and mix well. You can leave the pieces of ginger in the tea, or strain it out before drinking.
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Posted By: Worker Bee
Oh yum! This was soooo good. As others did, I used this as a springboard recipe. More turmeric, a pinch of black pepper, some pumpkin pie spice because it was handy, a bit of honey and…well, yum!
This sounds excellent. I might just have to try this tonight!
This sounds quite freaking delectable! I’ve been drinking tea just about every morning here in cold Chicago. The cold is on the horizon for this week so I may have to go more intense and make this! Maybe Sunday morning?!
It compliments my awesome toadally primal smoothies quite well
Mark I am India telling Indians to do this…crazy…heavy cream a nice addition and I will add the coconut oil. This stuff is so good you can heal your dog or a cut or coat your house in it. Get it in and get it on.
wow, this looks so nice, I can’t wait to go home and try it!
That was amazing! I tweaked the recipe slightly as I didn’t have coconut milk- I used some melted coconut butter with a bit of double cream, and fresh coconut water instead.
I read this last night while sitting by the fire with a glass of port…made a mug of it-YUM!!! This was just as enjoyable in front of the fire as the port!
I did not use the canned coconut milk, I try to always have So Delicious unsweet coconut milk in the fridge. While prob not as creamy, still excellent!
I have to try this ! I used to steep turmeric in hot water and drink it when I had cramps or a cold, but this version sounds so yummy !
Love the taste of this…but the spices make it a bit too grainy for me. Any ideas on how to solve that?
You can purchase Ginger Juice, manufactured by Ginger People, I believe.
2 words: Add Rum.
Turns it into “Indian Egg Nog.”
Delish.
What a good idea.
I drooled reading this. YUM.
Just made this, but forgot the cayenne. STILL amazing.
This is going to be something I return to on the cold nights like tonight!
I made this today. So good. I added a little cinnamon.
Made it with So Delicious unsweetened organic coconut milk. Tastes great! Thanks for the recipe
Is anyone else having trouble following the recipe? The intro says, “Turmeric is the dominant flavor…”, but 1\2 tsp. seems like not enough and the photo shows what looks like maybe 2 tsp. Also, what does “1/2-inch wide round slice of ginger root…” mean? Is that a 1/2 inch diameter slice or a 1/2 inch long piece?
I know, just experiment, but I want to try what is recommended first.
1/2 a tsp of turmeric is plenty for just 8 ounces of liquid, I found. Mine looked even more yellow than the photos here. Also I didn’t have any ginger root on hand and just used about a 1/2 tsp of ground ginger.
As others suggested, I subbed freshly ground black pepper for the cayenne
Just made this with unsweetened almond milk. It’s like drinking creamy, spicy soup broth! Yum! Next time I’ll try coconut milk and maybe black pepper instead of the cayenne.
Wow, this looks SO good. Can’t wait to get home and try it out!
any idea if this is safe during pregnancy? i know some herbal teas are unsafe so wondered about spiced teas….
I wanted to answer you. Yes, it’s believed to be safe during pregnancy. Especially in this small amount. I’m due in January and I had a cup of it last night. You might want to skip the cayenne and just use black pepper though. Cayenne can bring on hot flashes during pregnancy, very unpleasant.
Just wanted to mention that I am not a doctor and I am just a curry loving pregnant woman. I just did some research and there is a concern that tumeric could cause bleeding in the first trimester. Also pregnant women should not take tumeric medicinally.
You just solved my problem of how to incorporate tumeric into my daily diet. Thank you!
Awesome recipe! You’re right, the ingredients look very deceiving I’m not sure exactly what this bad boy is going to taste like. Maybe add a little cinnamon to get the added the blood sugar lowering properties? I don’t want to mess up the recipe though, I’ll try it!
Drinking one right now. I like it!
Now you can also buy chopped ginger in a jar, if you didn’t feel like messing with fresh. Much better than the ground powder. It’s in an identical jar to the pre-chopped garlic you find in the produce section, usually right next to it so it’s easy to miss. That would make this recipe way easier!
This drink is even more amazing if it’s made with fresh tumeric root..
Just bought some almond milk, turmeric, and ginger just for that purpose. Sounds like a nice sort of thing to try.
OMG – yum. Love it. I just used standard almond milk, finely grated ginger root, turmeric, and honey. Yum. Next time I’ll try making my own almond milk (the box I bought contained some preservatives and added vitamins and other such things) – but I think I’ve just added a recipe to my list of favorites.
I used TJs light coconut milk for this and it was delicious. I’ve been trying to use more turmeric in my cooking, but don’t really like the flavor in stir-fries. But this tea is really good!
I used Tempt unsweetened hemp milk. I love tea at night to get through a tough snacking time. This was really good!
Wow, what a great recipe, cant wait to try this out. I’ve been hearing a lot about the health benefits of turmeric, especially it’s anti-cancer properties. I’ve been putting in my protein shakes but it doesnt taste too pleasant that way, so your tea recipe sounds great.
I started taking tumeric for the same reasons. In case you didn’t know, you can buy tumeric supplements in capsule form.
Perfect timing for this recipe, as I’m fighting a couple of infections. As others suggested, I subbed freshly ground black pepper for the cayenne; I also used more ginger than called for and added cinnamon and cardamom. The result was luscious and delish. Next time I’ll cut the coconut milk with some water, because I don’t need that many calories from just one drink.
Thanks, Mark!
I’m sipping my first mug now. I love it! You’re right that it tastes much better than the list of ingredients would at first lead one to believe. I’ll probably treat myself to a mug at least once a week this winter. I’m the obsessive type, so I would probably make it more often than that, if it didn’t mean going through so many cans of coconut milk.
wow, wow, wowyummy