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Warming Healing Golden Milk Spiced Chai

devon 8 Comments

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Warming Healing Golden Milk Spiced Chai

Devon Young 8 Comments

A viscerally warming blend of turmeric & traditional spices makes this golden milk spiced chai a soothing, comforting latte style tea with healing benefits

Ask a room full of herbalists what the first anti-inflammatory herb that comes to their mind is, and invariably you will hear the world “turmeric” among the replies.  In fact, I attended an herbal conference where the session speaker asked just that.  Nearly everybody in the room responded with a collective “turmeric”.  Well, somebody said Curcuma longa.

It might have been me.

Not confirming or denying.

So while it is no great secret that turmeric has some great anti-inflammatory potential, the knowledge of how we can reap the benefits of this ocher herb is a little more elusive. While a daily curry meal may be appetizing to some and not others – a golden milk spiced chai has a nearly universal appeal.

This is to say, I have not served this to a single person without them loving it.

Very well, then.

golden milk spiced chai

Turmeric Bio-availability

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) has long been recognized in Ayurvedic tradition as an extraordinary healing herb.  So profound is the anti-inflammatory potential of turmeric, even the most conventional of MDs seem to be aware of its benefits.  That said, the active constituent of turmeric called curcumin is notoriously “unavailable”, biologically speaking.  Figuratively speaking, turmeric is just not that into you.  Real-world translation: popping a capsule full of turmeric powder just isn’t going to do the trick.

So what’s an herbalist to do?

Make a Golden Milk Spiced Chai, actually.

In order to make curcumin more biologically available, we need to bring a few things to the picture.  In this case, we will use fat, heat and black pepper.  Heat tends to volatilize stubborn constituents, and fat helps to emulsify the goods, essentially.  Black pepper brings the spicy piperine to the party, potentially increasing the absorption rate by an astounding 2000% in humans (see the case study here).  So, in the process of slowing simmering this golden milk spiced chai in a full-fat milk of your choice, you are greatly increasing the nutrient availability and the healing benefits of turmeric.


FDA Disclosure

I am a trained herbalist with a degree in Complementary and Alternative Medicine, I am not, however, a doctor. Posts in this blog are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Before using any herbs, check for appropriate dosage, drug interactions, and contraindications. Information contained herein is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prescribe. Please consult your primary care physician regarding your specific health concerns.


golden milk spiced chai

Turmeric Herbal Energetics

Turmeric is a somewhat spicy, pungent warming herb with an astringent, slightly drying quality.  Teamed up with other warming spices like ginger, black pepper, cardamom and cinnamon, this golden milk spiced chai is like a visceral campfire, spreading comforting warmth throughout the body. The type of warmth that loosens stiff, cold joints and aching muscles. Additionally, these spices, along with star anise and sweet fennel seed, offer great stomach soothing benefits, and antispasmodic action on the reproductive organs and lower gastrointestinal tract.  If this wasn’t encouraging enough, turmeric offers astounding liver supporting action, helping to facilitate both phases of the liver’s natural detoxification process.  People with colder constitutions will find this golden milk spiced chai especially nourishing and comforting.

Golden Milk Spiced Chai includes organic black tea for gentle stimulating benefits.  Although I have never found black tea’s natural caffeine to be a problem if I decided to have a cup at night,  you might prefer a decaffeinated variety of black tea or an herbal variation such as honeybush or red rooibos.  I purposely kept the ginger and black pepper content in the below recipe modest to make it crowd-pleasing.  Spices can be adjusted or substituted to your preference. Personally, I like it SPICY, adding roughly double the ginger and black pepper than I indicate in the recipe. I formulate this tea in larger particle form (as opposed to powdered herbs), then strain through a tea strainer before serving.  A sweetener was not included in this recipe so people can adjust the chai to their personal taste.

Looking for more turmeric recipes? Try this golden curry powder blend!

Interested in learning more about 50 common wild medicinal plants?  Check out my new book The Backyard Herbal Apothecary!

Golden Milk Spiced Chai Recipe

Golden Milk Spiced Chai

This viscerally warming blend of turmeric and traditional spices makes this golden milk spiced chai a soothing, comforting tea latte with healing benefits.
5 from 1 vote

Ingredients
  

  • 5 oz Assam black tea or tea of your preference
  • 1.5 oz turmeric granules
  • 1 oz cinnamon chips
  • .5oz cardamom pods crushed
  • .5oz ginger granules
  • .5oz star anise crushed
  • 2 tablespoons fennel seed
  • 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper or more depending on your taste

Instructions
 

  • Combine the black tea, herbs, and spices and store in an airtight jar in a cool dry place.
  • To prepare, simmer one heaping tablespoon of blend in 8-10oz of a milk of your choice for 15-20 minutes. Strain through a tea strainer into mug, sweeten to taste and enjoy.

Devon Young

Devon is a writer and author on subjects of holistic and sustainable living. She has a degree in Complementary and Alternative Medicine from the American College of Healthcare Sciences, and her books, The Backyard Herbal Apothecary and The Herbalist's Healing Kitchen, were published by Page Street Publishing in Spring 2019 and Fall 2019 respectively. Her NEW book, The Homegrown Herbal Apothecary, dedicating to growing a medicinal landscape publishes March 2024. Devon's work outside of NittyGrittyLife.com can be seen at LearningHerbs.com, GrowForageCookFerment.com, AttainableSustainable.net, and in the magazine The Backwoods Home.

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8 Comments

  • Sue October 11, 2017 at 4:12 pm

    Where do you find turmeric and ginger granules? Everywhere I look its whole or powdered.

    • Devon October 11, 2017 at 4:17 pm

      I buy most of my herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs, but I have also found similar products from Starwest and Frontier. Hope that helps!

  • Genene Wight February 27, 2018 at 8:45 pm

    5 stars
    Wow! This sounds so wonderful! I can’t wait to get the ingredients and get some assembled and brewed! Thank you

  • Erika Gray September 23, 2018 at 7:09 pm

    Could you post equivalents of the powdered spices?

  • Leen October 31, 2018 at 4:48 pm

    Do you think rooibos tea is a good substitute for black tea?

    • Devon October 31, 2018 at 7:59 pm

      Yes! Rooibos is a great alternative to black tea.

  • Kathleen Ann Crochet-Stursa November 3, 2019 at 4:34 pm

    Thank you SO MUCH for not including sweetener! I have tried so many chai’s and they are tooth cracking sweet to the point I can’t even swallow the stuff. My recipe is more like yours and I too, add extra stuff ( I LOVE cardamom)! Thanks

    • Devon November 8, 2019 at 10:35 pm

      I definitely prefer to sweeten my foods and drinks to my own personal taste!

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    About Me

    About Me

    Meet the Nitty Gritty Mama, Devon!

    I am an herbalist, farmer, cook, and forager. I get my hands dirty and am not afraid to do things the "hard way". Sharing my Nitty Gritty Life with you! Read More

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