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Learn how to make turmeric tea, a natural remedy loaded with anti-inflammatory benefits, using just lemon, turmeric, honey and pepper. My turmeric tea recipe is easy to make and can help soothe your chronic pain.
Turmeric is a natural detoxifier, and it’s currently getting rave reviews lately amongst health experts. Today, I want to show you my unique take on how to make turmeric tea, a concoction I call Turmeric Tonic. This turmeric tea recipe boasts a whole host of benefits, as well as only the best quality ingredients.
Table of Contents
Health Benefits of Turmeric Tea
The anti-inflammatory benefits of turmeric are well-known. It’s contains curcumin, which has strong anti-inflammatory properties.
Oddly, curcumin cannot be properly absorbed in the bloodstream without help, so this turmeric tea has black pepper in it as well. Black pepper has piperine, which is known to help the body absorb the curcumin found in turmeric.
As a runner and mother, the stress on my body can be pretty extreme at times! Plus, most chronic Western diseases are linked to inflammation in the body, so finding a natural way to fight it is essential for continued health and wellness.
More Healing Ingredients
This tea also contains coconut oil, which is a healthy fat that helps break down the fat-soluble turmeric. Honey not only makes this beverage more pleasant, it also provides antioxidants and aids in digestion. If you want to make this recipe vegan, then swap out the honey for a tsp of maple syrup instead.
Other Anti-Inflammatory Foods to Consume
Is inflammation a struggle for you? I know that the older I get, and the harder I push my body, the more I fight inflammation. Yet I’ve also got tools (read: food), to help me combat this naturally.
My anti-inflammatory smoothie with beets, ginger, and berries is a pleasant way to drink in some of these anti-inflammatory ingredients. Choosing Mediterranean-inspired ingredients + recipes is also a great way to fuel the body with anti-inflammatory foods too.
How Much Turmeric Should I Put in my Tea?
Thankfully, you don’t have to use the intimidating turmeric root to get all the health benefits. You can buy already dried and powdered turmeric at most grocery stores, its called “ground turmeric.” Just look for it in the spice isle. Look for organic versions (if possible), then add 1/2 tsp in your cup of tea. If you love it, then add more! Ideally, you want to get about 2 tsp a day of turmeric to enjoy the anti-inflammatory benefits. You can add it to your smoothie, take pills or cook with it as well.
Still not sure how to make turmeric tea? Or maybe you’re hesitant to give it shot? If you’re trying to step into the natural healing space more, then check out these other recipes that use turmeric:
Using Turmeric to Detox your Body
This turmeric tea recipe is from my Seasonal Cleanse, which is a 7-day complete meal plan (recipes to cover you from dawn to dusk). Just drinking this tonic each day could help you gain energy, kickstart your metabolism, as well as ditch your sweet tooth.
We kick off each morning of Summer Cleanse with this tea because it works. Now, I’m going to show you how to make turmeric tea.
More Cleansing Beverages
If this turmeric tea has you searching for other great drinks that help heal your body naturally, then check out my list of great cleansing drinks:
- The Best detox tea: This is a great way to wake up your body without caffeine.
- Lavender sleep tea: I love sipping this in the evening to help ready my body for sleep.
- Ginger switchel: A great drink to help ease the symptoms of hot flashes.
- Metabolism morning tea: Another great option to drink upon waking, or drink before you eat a carb-heavy meal to help keep your blood sugar stable.
- Peach probiotic smoothie: Getting probiotics into your body can be fun and delicious, like using kombucha as the liquid base in your next smoothie.
Whether you’re starting a cleanse, or just looking for a way to start your day that doesn’t include coffee, these, like the turmeric tea recipe, are great options that will help your body vs. harm it.
How to Make Turmeric Tea
Ingredients
- 1 cup water hot
- ½ tsp turmeric ground
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp black pepper ground
- 1 tsp raw honey
Instructions
- Combine water with turmeric in a mug. Stir well to break up any clumps.
- Add remaining ingredients and stir again.
- Let stand for 2 minutes, then drink.
Notes
- Hot lemon water can be sensitive on your teeth. I suggest using a stainless steel straw as your stir stick and then gently sipping it when it’s the perfect temperature.
- For even more benefits, use turmeric root instead of ground turmeric.
- Swap honey with maple syrup to make this recipe vegan.
Fabulous! Delicious and sooo tasty. Thank you!
You’re so welcome, Cathe! Glad you loved it.
Can I use VIRGIN coconut oil?
I made this with ground turmeric and it was really nice— I felt light and energized! I was curious if I wanted to use sliced turmeric root — could I do that? Or would it need to be ground?
Hey there Dani – great question! Yes, fresh sliced turmeric root would work great here! As it’s more potent than ground, we would suggest starting small and adding more as desired.
Lemon and honey with a healthy boost! Nice.
Better than expected! Simply because of the turmeric I was a little nervous to try it, but it’s enjoyable and the health benefits go without saying.
Can this be drunk with cold water instead of hot?
Hey Larissa! I don’t know about cold but maybe warm water instead of hot. You do need some heat to melt the coconut oil and honey and mix everything together.
Hi, is it possible to make this by batch? I want to prepare it at once so I can have it on the go every morning. If it’s possible, where can I store it and how? Thanks!
Hey Willa! That’s a great question. We are all about making mornings easy peasy! What I do with the lemon ginger morning tonic and what I think you can also do with this recipe is combine the ingredients (besides the water) ahead of time and freeze in ice cube trays. This tonic has more ingredients so here’s what I think would be the easiest approach:
1. Figure out how many servings you need to prepare, i.e., how big your ice cube tray is. I have an ice cube tray that holds 15 cubes so I would make 15 servings.
2. Multiply all your ingredients (except the hot water) by the number of servings you intend to make and add everything to your blender. (You will probably need to melt the coconut oil before adding it to the blender to make blending easier.) Blend everything thoroughly but don’t over blend. You don’t want a bunch of air bubbles in your “tonic concentrate” before you freeze it and you don’t want it to get too hot because high heat negates the benefits of raw honey.
3. The combined ingredients equals roughly 2.5 tablespoons per serving so add 2.5 Tbsp. of the concentrate to each section of the ice cube tray and once all are filled, distribute any remaining evenly. Place the tray in the freezer.
After your cubes are frozen, you can leave them in the tray or remove them and place them all in a freezer-safe container. Each morning, all you have to do is prepare your water (hot but not boiling- remember the honey) and drop one cube into your to-go mug of hot water. Let it sit for ~5 minutes (probably needs a stir or two if you can), and out the door you go with your turmeric tea! 😀
I am looking forward to trying this recipe. Question: Can I use lime if I don’t have lemons?
Hi Herlinda! This particular recipe works best with fresh squeezed lemon juice. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t taste as good nor work as well if you used lime.
I absolutely love this recipe! I am currently injured and have been drinking this tea to help with inflammation. I cannot believe the benefits I am receiving from it.
I discovered this during thrive summer and its become a regular morning drink , I don’t even have to look in the book for the recipe anymore
Hey Kadane,
That is so awesome that you have this recipe down packed!!
It is so good for you plus delicious.
Cheers!
Another diet to consider. Thank you for sharing!
Hey Sarah,
Of course! Hope you give it a try and enjoy it.
Cheers!
I’m also wondering about the coconut oil?
So sorry, Amy! Our mistake. The ingredients list has been updated. Use 1 Tbsp. coconut oil per serving.
Hi, I don’t see the coconut oil listed in the recipe, but you mentioned it in this morning’s email. How much should I use?
I’m also curious about that!
I personally used 1 tsp and blended everything together and that was pretty good. The consistency was a little frothy after blending it, which I like.
I think the coconut oil is in the Turmeric Tea Latte.
Hey everyone! Whoops, we left out the coconut oil from the ingredients list. Sorry about that! It’s been updated.
You’ll want to add 1 Tbsp. of coconut oil or, if you have it, 1 tsp. of MCT oil instead.
Coconut oil is in this recipe and it’s also in the Turmeric Tea Latte (a.k.a. Golden Milk) recipe.
You need to upgrade the calories too. Coconut oil, 1 tbsp, is 120 cals.
Great post, thank you, Jen!
I’ll definitely try that.
Honey loses its benefits once it’s heated above like body temperature, so maybe just use maple or agave syrup.
All the best, Tina
That’s true about the honey, Tina. Excessive heat can have detrimental effects on the nutritional value of honey. Heating up to 98.6ºF (37ºC) causes loss of nearly 200 components, part of which are antibacterial. Thanks for pointing it out.
We recommend using pure maple syrup as a substitute (that would also make this drink vegan, for those interested). You could also wait until your tea has cooled sufficiently or use warm water instead of hot water. We prefer not to use agave because it’s highly refined and has a high fructose content, which causes blood sugar levels to spike.
I’m allergic to nuts. What can I use in place of coconut oil?
if I’m not mistaken, there are no nuts in coconuts, it is a fruit
My friend is allergic to tree nuts and coconut is among the nuts she cannot eat. If you’re allergic to peanuts but not tree nuts you should be fine. But if you’re not sure I would avoid it (or ask your doctor).
Gabrielle, coconut is not a botanical nut; it is classified as a fruit, even though the Food and Drug Administration recognizes coconut as a tree nut. While allergic reactions to coconut have been documented, most people who are allergic to tree nuts can safely eat coconut. If you are definitely allergic to coconut, you could look into MCT oil. Even though it comes from coconut oil, it is pure and free of any other nutrients other than fats so you may not have an allergic reaction to it. Either way, I’d recommend speaking with your healthcare provider if you have any other questions. 🙂
That looks great, but where is the coconut oil you mentioned in your email linking to this blog post?
So sorry, Amy! Our mistake. The ingredients list has been fixed.
Need to change the calories too.
1 tbsp oil = 120 cals
If you’re going to post nutrition info it needs to be correct. Coconut oil has 120 calories and 14 grams of fat in one tablespoon. Your info makes the turmeric tea seem like a great healthy option but it truly isn’t if you are on a low fat diet.
I had a Beginners Luck smoothie today and loved it so I am now looking at other things beyond the smoothies. I can’t believe any of your nutritional info now.