Turmeric Tea

Have you been experiencing inflammation? Looking for an easy and natural remedy? Keep reading to learn about my favorite inflammation easing tea!

Golden Milk

Turmeric tea or Golden milk is the best natural remedy for inflammation. It tastes great and cooks up in a matter of minutes. The most important ingredients are turmeric, black peppercorn, and coconut milk but I add a few bonus ingredients with anti-inflammatory properties. Try this as a warm drink to start your day or end your meal with a sweet healthy treat.

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To Make the Tea

Simply measure out your desired milk in your favorite mug and pour it into a small pot on the stove. Heat very slowly and add in the spices you love. If you use a tea that is low in fat, try stirring in a spoonful of organic coconut oil for an extra dose of high quality fat.

I like to grate fresh turmeric, ginger, and whatever fun spices I can find that reduce inflammation, but you can use dried spices too. Simply choose a few that remind you of a curry flavor or maybe a chai tea and choose a combination you will love. 

Below we are going to break down each ingredient and why they work! You will also find a short list of inflammation reducing spices you could add. There is also a full recipe card at the end for easy reference!

Turmeric and Curcumin

Turmeric is an old Indian spice often used in Chinese medicine for its many benefits. It contains Curcumin, a very powerful medicinal compound which is a strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. The fresh turmeric root looks like little orange fingers much like smaller ginger root. It can be bought fresh and grated or found as a dried spice in most grocery stores. The small amounts of Curcumin in the roots are a fat soluble compound. This means you can increase your absorption by adding healthy fats to the tea.

Coconut Milk Benefits

I like to start with coconut milk, but nut milks such as hazelnut or macadamia make a delicious tea too. I recommend avoiding oat milk which is processed into maltose, a sugar with a higher glycemic load than white sugar and trying to avoid milks with additives and preservatives that can cause inflammation. In this video I found a can of coconut milk by Native Forests without guar gum or other additives.

Coconut milk is an excellent choice for this tea, because it has high quality fats in it that help absorb the fat soluble compound curcumin. Coconut milk can also aid in reducing inflammation with its many special compounds. Coconut has caprylic acid and lauric acid, both acting as antimicrobials that can fight inflammation driving overgrowths in the gut microbiome. Not to mention it lends a rich, delicious flavor to the tea.

Spices for Turmeric Tea

I added other similar flavors I thought would blend well with the turmeric, such as ginger that also has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. A surprise at the store, I found galangal root which is often used in the Thai soup Tom Kha Gai. This root looks like the older, hairy cousin of ginger and offers a citrusy flavor that blends well with ginger and turmeric. Like so many of these roots and so many spices you can choose from, galangal also has anti-inflammatory properties.

Pepper for Curcumin Absorption

The most important spice to include when making Turmeric tea is the peppercorn. The piperine in peppercorns can enhance absorption of the curcumin in turmeric so pepper and turmeric are an excellent combination. This may be why our ancestors added pepper and turmeric to curry powders. I find so many beautiful food combinations that offer health benefits in ancestral cooking.

Inflammation Reducing Spices

• nutmeg
• cinnamon
• ginger
• cardamom
• clove
• galangal root
• peppercorn

Bring the milk and spices up to a simmer and stir gently to incorporate the flavors. When the tea is warm and frothy, strain it if you have large spices in the bottom back into your favorite mug. At this point I like to add little sweetness with raw honey. Since we are working on reducing inflammation, its important to avoid sugar and choose a more natural sweetener. Raw honey is a beautiful choice that adds the perfect flavor and extra health benefits too.

Raw Honey to Sweeten the Tea

Eating raw, local honey can introduce bits of pollen that help with micro amounts of exposure to your environmental surroundings. This is beneficial to your immune system and can help with hormesis, a word that means challenging your system just enough to make it stronger. The honey should be raw since the enzymes and beneficial bacteria in it are wiped out in pasteurization or processing to make it shelf stable. This food found in nature by our friends, the bees, is a therapeutic food in itself, and can support our anti-inflammatory goals.

Nutmeg and Cloves

Nutmeg and Cloves are antimicrobials which can help reduce the bad bacteria in your gut. Clove is alsonatural numbing agent which takes the edge off of pain.

Turmeric Tea Recipe

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Don’t Forget Quality is Important

Focus on the quality of the spices. If you buy your nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, peppercorns, and ginger whole they last longer. Then, you can grate them over the smallest grater or microplane, grind them in a coffee grinder, or my favorite, bash them in a mortar and pestle by hand. It may be a little more work, but the flavors are worth it, and it may pound out your frustrations too. 😉

Fresh ground spices will have far more powerful scents, flavors, and active healing compounds that will really bring your foods to life! I hope you enjoy this Golden Milk and reduce the inflammation you may be suffering from. 

Need More Help?

Inflammation is a tricky beast, but one I work with often. Reach out to me if you're looking for a bigger plan to reduce your inflammation. You can schedule your free 15-minute consultation today on my schedule page!