We seemed to have picked the only week that was wet and borderline cold, so this warm and sweet drink was such a welcome treat.
Traditionally this would be called golden milk and it would be made with dairy milk. It also wouldn’t have cinnamon on top, but against the flavour of the turmeric, the cinnamon tastes so sweet, almost like sugar.
A word of warning, making this drink will turn your nut milk bag yellow, as well as your blender jug. The jug will return its normal colour after a few more uses, but I just had to warn you.
It’s all well worth a temporary yellow blender to get the benefits of turmeric; it has anti-inflammatory qualities, which is great if you’re working out hard.
It’s been used in the Chinese and Indian systems of medicine, to treat things such as flatulence, jaundice, menstrual issues, toothache, bruises, chest pain, and colic.
Turmeric Tea
Nutrition (For one serving)
Ingredients
- 3 cups hot water
- 4 pcs turmeric finger size, peeled
- 2 tsp honey or maple syrup
- 2 tbsp coconut butter
- 1/4 tsp black pepper ground
- 1/8 tsp salt optional
- 1/8 tsp Cinnamon for sprinkling
Instructions
- Blend the hot water with the peeled turmeric and strain through a nut milk bag or sieve. You won’t need to really squeeze the bag like you do with making nut milk, but even so, be careful not to burn your hands.
- Add the sweetener, coconut butter, black pepper, salt (if using) and blend again.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve.
Hi Russell,
Do you get more benefit from the tumeric powder being used instead of the tumeric finger as you are getting the tumeric powder in you , whereas you are only getting what comes out in the hot water. I use a lovely recipe for Golden milk:
500ml rice milk, half tbsp. maple syrup, 1 teasp. coconut oil, 1 teasp. ground tumeric/ fresh finely grated, 2 cinnamon sticks, half teasp. ground ginger, 4 cardamom pods, 2 star anise, pinch black pepper. Put all the ingredients into a saucepan on low/moderate heat and gently bring to boil, whisking to combine. Once boiled milk is ready. Remove cinnamon sticks, star anise and cardamom pods.
Thanks for all your lovely recipes.
Thanks for the alternative recipe, Theresa 🙂 I would think the powder is concentrated, so is very powerful, but I think there’s always something that fresh produce brings over powder in different ways. I guess a combo would be ideal.
It was delicious almost addictive thank you very much!!
Russell, is it okay to use almond milk instead of water?
It is, yes. But if it’s fresh almond milk, heat it gently as you don’t want it to burn, which it can do because of the fine sediment in fresh almond milk.
If you use the powder you would not have to strain it correct? Can you substitute warm almond milk?
Hey Jerri, yes that’s correct.
Yes send them pkease
I just made this magic tea for my tea time treat and it was so delicious.. My god! I did it with coconut sugar and it was just perfect however next time I am going to try with water that I will infused with lemon and/or orange ring plus cinammon sticks, then I will use dates to add so creamy texture too (I just love dates) Will let you know the outcome.. This tea is my new love! It does not matter my blendtec jar going all yelows, actually looks cool like that ;-). thanks a lot Russell!
Love it! Thanks, Maria 🙂
Gorgeous recipe and even more gorgeous photo’s …thank you for sharing your beautiful post/recipe. So awesome!
Thanks, Kathy! 🙂
My husband and I just made this and it is outstanding! What a great soothing treat. Thank you so much Russell for this recipe!
I’m glad you loved it, Rebecca 🙂
is the same coconut oil and coconut butter?
No, oil is the fat, and butter is the fat with some of the sweet fibre.
To answer the question about turmeric staining teeth – you can actually use it powdered to whiten your teeth. Sounds counter-intuitive but it is really good and works. Stains the heck out of your toothbrush though.
Can you share a recipe for turmeric teeth whitening paste? Maybe turmeric and coconut butter? If sow, in what ratio?
Hi Russell,
you said: “You can make coconut butter at home, using coconut flakes in a food processor, for about 15 to 20 minutes.” I made some a year ago is it still good or should I make some more and throw the other bach out. How long does it last in a jar.
Hmm, a year of homemade is probably pushing it a little. It’s really difficult to say without actually seeing it.
Just made your turmeric tea, delicious! I used local raw honey, 2 tsp and it was just perfectly sweet. I can only imagine the health properties we are getting by drinking this powerful tonic !!!!! Coincidently the other day I mixed a few tsp of turmeric powder with coconut oil and used it as a facial mask, my skin was very soft and had a yellowish cast to it until I rubbed additional plain coconut oil over it and wiped it off with an organic cotton pad. It was amazing but….as we all know, you need to be careful, very careful as it stains everything. I think I’ll keep the one washcloth just for this purpose (set aside). I even washed it separately to avoid everything turning yellow.
Thank you for the post, I’m taking your course and loving it, this was a lovely bonus and a great idea to use the 3 turmeric fingers I’d bought and we’re just sitting in my veggie drawer waiting for inspiration, which you provided. So again, thank you. I look forward to your emails and the additional recipes you send us. Regards from Canada where it’s quite cool and very fall like, cool and colourful trees. All the best, Penny Hopp
I guess that turmeric was just waiting for this recipe! 🙂
would be great if you posted this on http://www.cansurviving.com – we cansurvivors need turmeric & this looks wonderful- but NO sugar!
Thanks, Judith. Feel free to share it as you see fit 🙂
I drink this often, the black pepper is very beneficial due to its piperine content:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9619120
Influence of piperine on the pharmacokinetics of curcumin in animals and human volunteers.
thanks Russell – this sounds great, I always enjoy your ideas!
Hi Russell,
I drink turmeric tea in different variations since I had an arthritis attack. If I have it every day I am pain-free. I use it with all the fibre – no straining. I also add either pepper or ginger to enhance the goodies in the turmeric. Thanks for sharing this new version – I sure will try it Christine
Amazing, Christine, thanks!
Will be trying this very soon , it sounds delicious, only one problem is getting hold of Turmeric , may have to use turmeric powder instead .
Yep, that’d work 🙂
hi,
I miss the black pepper which helps you to get the most out of the turmeric!
Thanks for the tip 🙂
Thank you, this sounds delicious.
Hi
From what I understood it seems like the blended turmeric and the added liquid comes out very concentrated….
1. When you write ‘turmeric fingers” what size of ‘fingers would you refer to more or less?
2. I admit I am afraid that turmeric water with sweetener and maybe coconut oil (if I am not wrong) will not taste that good….yet I would like to enjoy the turmeric benefits…..
3. In addition, is coconut butter the same as coconut oil which becomes solid in colder weather? I can’t think about another ingredient that would be similar to coconut butter.
Thank you.
Hey Oree,
1. I use fingers that are about 3cm in length. If the taste is too strong for you, then you can use less.
2. It tastes great 🙂 You need to use coconut butter, not coconut oil.
3. No, coconut oil and butter are different. The oil is just the fat, whereas the butter is some of the sweet fibre too.
Great! I love it! Thank you! This is a super special idea and a great way to drink Turmeric. Will try it soon.
I juice turmeric, lemongrass, and ginger.
Then I put the juice in ice cube trays.
When I want to make tea or enhance a drink I have it at my disposal.
And lemongrass, ginger, turmeric tea is not only good but nutritious.
Great idea! Thanks, Diann.
I heard that turmeric is more potent if we put a bit of black pepper with it… is it true?
I just heard that too. I’ve also read that black pepper can interfere with your energy meridians, so there’s a choice to be made 🙂
Oh? Didn’t heard that one… I would prefer to keep my meridians energies… thanks for this info… worth investigating.
Hmmmm… I checked many sites and all say that black pepper is ok and even beneficial and awaken/energize meridians for protection against negative energies… worth looking more into information??? What is your source?
I’ve had several people tell me over the years, but I just looked too and it all looks good. Like you say, even clearing energy blocks 🙂
Of course, a small pinch and with moderation 🙂 Have a wonderful day Russell…
My 2 cents as an acupuncturist and essential oil educator. Black pepper by nature is warming, It warms meridians and expels cold, thereby will benefit moving qi (energy) not block it. I use the essential oil in teas and it also has great anti-viral properties and for colds and flus as well as cold sores.
Love this recipe Russell – look forward to trying it.
What if I can’t find turmeric root? I can only find powder. What is the equivalent to use?
Thanks
I would use half a teaspoon of powder.
What is coconut butter? Is it the same thing as coconut cream or coconut milk? Where can we get coconut butter? Is it possible to make coconut butter from coconut oil or coconut milk if we do not have any coconut butter? Can we substitute coconut milk or coconut cream for coconut butter in this recipe and will it taste the same? This recipe looks amazing. Thank you very much for sharing it.
Hey Daasya, all those things are different. Coconut butter is more solid than coconut cream or milk. You could use coconut cream, replacing some of the water with it.
Hi Russel, you need to add a good grating of black pepper to that to draw more nutrients from the turmeric – check that out to exactly see the reason for it. And I like to add a pinch of cayenne pepper and a grating of ginger for a more powerful turmeric tea and if I am feeling a cold or chill trying to grab hold I even add halve a clove of garlic squashed and it’s delicious too. Your original tea with pepper added is the everyday variety and the additions are for more powerful fighting qualities. Love your site ! Kind regards, Barbara.
Ps my website is being updated so offline at the moment
Thanks, Barbara.
Yes, a couple of people have suggested that. I have also read that black pepper can interfere with the energy meridians in our body, so I’ll need to take a look at that too.
Very interesting. I haven’t actually seen turmeric root here; we get the powder only. Wondering what coconut butter is and how it differs from coconut oil? Should be more informed than I am. Thank you for this idea!
You can use turmeric powder too.
Coconut butter is more of the sweet fibre left in, where coconut oil is just the fat.
Looks gorgious, sounds delicious–and so sooooothing . . . however, not all of us have access to fresh turmeric. Please give the equivalent measure for dried, ground turmeric from our kitchen spice shelf.
Thanks a bunch, Pat
Hi Pat, you can use 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, or more if you can handle it 🙂
Thank you for your share. It is a great drink option for this cold season. No coffe but we have great options.
Hi Russell. This sounds great. Could you use powdered turmeric for this? If so, how much? Thanks!
Yes, you could use half a teaspoon of powder.
This looks really brilliant. Anything that gets more turmeric into us has to be good!
Exactly! 🙂
Thank you so much for addressing all our questions. I hope this one will not sound ridiculous, but since you said that the turmeric will leave color on the blending container (in my case the VitaMix one) and other utencils used for this tea, will it also leave a yellow color on our teeth, should it be used often??? Many leaves teas leave on the teeth a yelowish shade and although healthy like green tea is, it might has its disadvantages for some people, when it comes to teeth yellowing.
*** Bythe way, as I have started to inquire about the coconut butter, I realized I was not the only one who did that. I am not sure I could find locally or around Israel coconut butter. Coconut liquid product are most of the times emulsified and it is impossible to get only the cream in case I want to use it as frosting after it is beaten.
I think it is a good question…whether it is possible to make a coconut butter at home….
Here is an Amazon link for Coconut Butter: http://www.amazon.com/Artisana-100-Organic-Coconut-Butter/dp/B00NAMDECG
Hey Oree,
I’ve not found turmeric to leave stains on teeth, no.
You can make coconut butter at home, using coconut flakes in a food processor, for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Interesting! I will try this soon. Is it ok to use turmeric powder if I cannot get the fresh one? If so, how much powder to use?
Yes, you can use 1/2 a teaspoon, or more if you can handle it.