Spicy Tea Two Ways: Iced Summer and Hot Winter Variations

Sylvia Leong is a former healthcare professional who uses her education and experience as a nutritionist and therapeutic personal trainer.

Healthy and Delicious Drink

We’re all looking for something to drink. Unfortunately, most turn to unhealthy, sugary drinks like pop, sports drinks or juice.

Yes, you read that correctly. Juice is too sugary to be healthy. Eat the fruit instead as the pulp slows the body's absorption of sugar.

“Apple and orange juices can contain about five teaspoons of sugar per cup and grape juice double that amount of sugar.”

— Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, Obesity Specialist, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, University of Ottawa

What if you could enjoy a drink that packed a huge punch and was healthy at the same time? This spicy tea won’t let you down!

For a real treat, and an easy way to maintain your water intake, try this recipe with a bite. It’s as unprocessed as it gets. That means that it’s as healthy as it is delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 inch ginger root, sliced
• 2 cinnamon sticks, whole
• 5 cloves, whole
• 1 star anise, whole
• Boiled water

Wintertime Instructions

1. Throw the four spices into a casserole dish.
2. Add boiled water to the casserole dish until full.
3. Allow to simmer on minimum, or on your stove’s “warming centre” for 3–8 hours.
4. Should last a week simmering on the stove, or on your stove’s “warming centre.”
5. Ladle into a cup and cut with water until the strength of the tea is right for you.
6. Add a slice of citrus fruit (lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit) as desired.
7. If you're feeling under the weather, add crushed garlic to bring up your immune system.

Summertime Instructions

1. Throw the four spices into a casserole dish.
2. Add boiled water to the casserole dish until full.
3. Allow to simmer on minimum, or on your stove’s “warming centre” for 3–8 hours.
4. Let it cool.
5. Using a funnel, ladle the tea into jars or bottles. Keep these jars or bottles in the fridge (should last a month). Now you have iced tea!
6. Pour into a drinking glass or a drinking jar.
7. Cut with water or soda water until the strength of tea is right for you.
8. Add a slice of citrus fruit (lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit) as desired.
9. Pluck a sprig from the herb of your choice (mint, rosemary, thyme) and add as desired.

Variations

• Spirits: Add a 1/2 ounce of spirits to your mug of hot tea.
• White wine: Add 3 ounces of white wine to your glass of iced tea.
• Maple syrup: If you have a sweet tooth, add a tiny bit of 100% pure maple syrup.
• Baked goods: Try pairing your tea—hot or cold—with easy bake soda bread or pumpkin spice muffins!

What’s better on a summer’s eve than a sitting on your balcony with a good book and a glass of spicy iced tea?

Yum!

Enjoy.

© 2021 Sylvia Leong