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
8 cups water
6 cinnamon sticks
2 Tbs cardamom seed
2 Tbs whole cloves
2 inches fresh gingerroot (sliced)
almond milk as desired
- 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.