It has been cold and rainy all day here in Toronto. We don’t do well in rain. It is rare to have a day that is just rain, rain, rain. If we liked the rain, we’d all hop across the country to Vancouver. And in this cool, sleepy-time weather, it is also a little more challenging to have a cool green smoothie for dinner rather than a hot bowl of hearty soup. Those of you in the warmth- soak it up for me!
But don’t you worry my Sweet Green Cleansers, the benefit of doing this right along with you is that I feel your pain and suffering bliss and lightness from having drank the last six meals.
Here is my recipe for Yogi Spice Tea. I serve this following my meditation classes and always have a fresh brewed batch on hand. Simply made with cinnamon sticks, ginger root, cardamom and cloves- it warms and soothes the body from the inside out. A little sweet, a little spicy and incredibly soothing.
These spices were mentioned in my list of Cleansing Herbs, I didn’t go into much detail so here you are:
Cardamom
- This sweet seed often added to desserts gives one sweet breath and clears the airways.
- Added to curries, desserts and dals it expels mucus and reduces gassy indigestion.
- Taken with ginger, cardamom stimulates the appetite and reduces nausea.
- To strengthen the respiratory system and eliminate coughs try this traditional chai tea. To 4 cups of boiling water add 5 bruised cardamom pods, 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 peppercorns, 4 slices ginger root and 2 basil leaves. Reduce to two cups, strain, cool and drink with honey.
Cinnamon
- Perfect ingredient for warming winter dishes.
- You can’t beat cinnamon sticks or powder to charge the circulation and warm backache.
- Also used to halt hiccups
- A pinch of cinnamon and 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar to settle the stomach.
Cloves
- Antiseptic action soothes sore throats and coughs. For this try a pinch of clove with 1 tsp of honey three times a day or inhale the steam of 7 cloves in 5 cups boiled water.
- For toothache a few drops of clove oil on a cotton ball placed over the tooth is an effective painkiller.
Ginger (more on ginger here)
- Effective remedy for poor circulation, coughs, colds, flu, poor digestion and nausea.
- Recent medical trials has supported its traditional prescription for morning and motion sickness.
- Try chewing on a slice of fresh ginger or enjoy a cup of ginger tea to alleviate these conditions.
Yogi Tea
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Keywords: boil beverage dairy-free gluten-free vegan vegetarian nut-free soy-free cinnamon
Ingredients (8 cups)
- 8 cups water
- 6 cinnamon sticks
- 2 Tbs cardamom seed
- 2 Tbs whole cloves
- 2 inches fresh ginger root (sliced)
- almond milk as desired
Instructions
Put all spices into pot with water.
Simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and add honey and milk.
Serve hot or cold.
Photo courtesy of http://store.twistedwick.com
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This kind of reminds me of Chai tea which I adore, especially iced. Will have to give it a go.
The rain totally sucked today. After all this good weather, in comes the rain. I love tea everyday, but it is especially good when it is cold and wet outside. It is like a warm yummy hug!
I don’t have any of these ingredients in my kitchen….except ginger and cinnamon powder. Does powder work in this tea? I’m guessing the sticks are better.
[...] Yogi Tea [...]
[...] Yogi Tea [...]
[...] recipe a few weeks back. i found the link via a tweet from meghan telpner and it dates back to some spicy detox tea she posted in april of 2009. i tried it once and was instantly hooked on the taste, the results and the amazing scent it left [...]
Sharon L- Sure it does! You may have to strain out the cinnamon powder after. Or just make the ginger with a squeeze of lemon.