The benefits of herbal tea and the benefits of turmeric are many. Many will ask "Is herbal tea good for you?" "What are the benefits of turmeric?" We are going to dive right into those here in this post along with a fabulous Lemon Turmeric Tea Cake Recipe.
Turmeric is likely part of your life already as it is used to color many foods such as a prepared chicken stock from the store, Turmeric is also the base for most yellow curry powders, so chances are that if you have eaten curry or a purchased chicken stock/broth you have already met our friend turmeric.
Herbal tea, also known as a tisane, is not actually tea at all. Herbal teas are made from many different types of herbs, but a true tea comes from the camellia sinensis plant or the tea plant. Herbal teas have many different benefits and are naturally free of caffeine. All herbal teas with the exception of those containing a plant like the cocoa bean or coffee bean are free of caffeine from the get go.
Before we start: This herbal information is just that, information. This blog post and I DO NOT INTEND to treat, cure, or diagnose any disease or illness. This is for informational, educational and entertainment purposes only. Please consult a physician before using herbs medicinally. Grab all the deets on the Medical jargon here.This post also contains affiliate links throughout. Translation: We get a little kick back for sharing certain products, at no additional cost to you, should you choose to purchase said items. And - thank you for supporting our farm and family! Read the full disclaimer here. PHEW! Let's carry on, shall we?
Now no matter how you consume your turmeric the root of this lovely plant, the curcuma longa plant, has many medicinal benefits. Turmeric can be taken in a capsule form, in powder, in a cut/sifted form such as in a whole 'leaf' or in this case herb tea, culinarily in food, as an essential oil and in so many other ways.
The main benefit of turmeric comes from the curcuma that is inside the plant, hence the latin name. While cucurma originates from Southeast Asia, South China, and Australia it can still be planted in many different parts of the world. For instance it can be planted in a pot right from the grocery store (organic is best) and then the pot may be brought inside during the colder months and you can then harvest your own turmeric root.
Turmeric is from the same plant family as ginger and being such they look very similar. Both hold many benefits for health as well. There is just something about the roots of plants that have so much good stuff in them! It must be because they go deep into the ground and suck up all those good nutrients so we can put them to use!
Turmeric is astringent, bitter and pungent. These qualities can be helpful in getting the digestive system moving along with blood flow. For that reasons people with blood clotting disorders or taking anti-coagulant or anti-platelet medications should avoid the use or turmeric. Turmeric can be a very warming medicinal plant. It's helpful to all the bodies tissues but really shines when it comes to the digestive system, female reproductive system, respiratory system and circulatory system.
Some great benefits of turmeric are1,2,3:
- Antioxidants help boost the immune system
- Skin Health
- Digestive issues
- Aides in depression
- Joint health and arthritis
- Helps fight diabetes
- Helps the liver detoxify
- Helps to drain the lymphatic system
- Supports Brain Health
- May slow or prevent blood clots
- Helps fight obesity
- Possibly helps reduce cholesterol
- Helps in pain management
- Inflammation
- Can be helpful for blocking growth of certain tumors
- May stabilize colorectal cancer growth
- Viral infections
- Upset Stomach
- HIV
- Ulcers
Now that we know some of the benefits of turmeric it's time to figure out how to work that lovely little herb into our diet. Now flavor wise turmeric doesn't have this yummy flavor like say chocolate or some sweet fruit. Turmeric needs a little assistance in the flavor department.
One of the simplest ways to get turmeric into your diet is to make a tea with it. I've always said that a good herbal tea is one of the easiest ways to start using herbs in your daily life. If I had to pick one benefit of herbal tea I would say that was it. For the ease of applying herbs to your daily life. But really the reason that herbal tea has so many benefits is because water is an excellent extraction method when it comes to pulling out the medicinal effects of many herbs.
We all have access to water (or at least I hope so if your online here ;) ) and we can make tea so easily. Not only is it simple to make herbal tea but those medicinal benefits that get extracted in the hot water and then consumed are most easily assimilated by the digestive system in this way and then the benefits carried out to the rest of the body. In the case of a sore throat or upset stomach the medicinal benefits of herbal tea are touching those systems of the body that need their help the most and in such they will be more effective.
Most of us are familiar with tea in one form or another and generally we know how to make up a decent cuppa when we need one. Skip those bags of tea at the store... the herbs have been ground up and had their surface area exposed. They have been sitting on that store shelf a LOOOONG time and are not going to have the same benefits as a whole 'leaf'/herb tea or one made with fresh turmeric root! So let's make us up a fresh batch of something yummy, shall we?
Quick Turmeric Chai Tea Blend Recipe
1 part Organic Turmeric Root cut/sifted
1/2 part Organic Cinnamon Chips
1/8 part Organic Ginger Root cut/sifted
1.) Blend all the ingredients together evenly in a bowl.
2.) Steep 1 tsp of your herbal tea in 6-8 oz of boiling water for 7-9 minutes. Enjoy!
If you want to make turmeric tea from fresh root just grate about 1 tablespoon of root and steep in your boiling water and then strain. Or dehydrate your own turmeric root and steep with the directions from the quick chai recipe.
Now if you are looking for other fabulous ways to use turmeric in your life we are quite the fans of this fine herb here and have blogged a few recipes with turmeric in them before such as our:
Golden Turmeric Chicken/Shrimp Curry
Curry Lemon Chicken Thighs in Coconut Cream Sauce
Today we are adding to that menu of turmeric goodness with a Lemon Turmeric Cake recipe. Perfect for that cuppa tea you just blended!
Photo by Kaylajoycreative
As the saying goes, have your cake and eat it too! Implying that you have to pick or choose one thing over the other. Sometimes that might means something that tastes good or something that is good for you. Well I think in this case maybe you get a little of both. And so many of the ingredients can be swapped out according to your diet preferences.
This lemony turmeric tea cake is not only perfect for any tea time occasion (can you say Mother's Day and St. Valentine's Day or Easter?!) but a fabulous dessert for any occasion. Or maybe even a Sunday brunch ::wink wink::
Now while we made our Lemon Turmeric Tea Cake with Farmhouse Teas' Golden Turmeric Spice Tea you can certainly use your own mix from above (the Quick Turmeric Chai) or just stick with some ground turmeric, cinnamon and ginger to get the same effect.
This cake would be excellent paired with a cheese board, some grapes and your favorite chocolate. Or just pair it with chai tea from Farmhouse teas, the Persnickety Peach Chai would be a fabulous combo.
So let's get to the grub...
Photo by Kaylajoycreative
Lemon Turmeric Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- Cake
- 1 cup full-fat yogurt
- 3 eggs
- Zest from 1 lemon
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1 cup sugar (or maple sugar)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup butter, melted and cooled
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (or all-purpose Einkorn)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp ground Turmeric Chai Recipe or Golden Turmeric Spice Tea
- Pinch of sea salt
- Syrup
- ¼ cup sugar (or maple sugar)
- ¼ cup water
- Juice from 1 lemon
- ¼ tsp ground Turmeric Chai Recipe or Golden Turmeric Spice Tea
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and generously grease a 9” bundt pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, and vanilla. Slowly whisk in the melted butter.
- In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder, ground tea, and sea salt.
- Fold in the sifted dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Pour into the greased bundt pan and bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- While the cake is baking, make the lemon turmeric syrup. Combine all ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, remove from the heat and let cool.
- When the cake is done let it cool for about 30 minutes before flipping out of the pan.
- Carefully flip the pan upside down to release the cake.
- Use a pastry brush to brush the syrup all over the cake - get the sides, top, edges, etc. Don’t worry, it will not make the cake soggy so use it up!
- Serve warm with a dust of powdered sugar or let cool completely before serving.
Photo by Kaylajoycreative
The benefits of turmeric are many from helping out with pain, inflammation and arthritis, to being helpful in tumors and maybe even helping to slow colorectal cancer3. Turmeric can be used for so many other things as well from culinary uses to dyeing cloth and more! We have just barely covered the surface of this wonderful plant.
Well, I don't know about you, but now I'm really hungry. I'm also wishing we had some chicken so I could make that fabulous Lemon Chicken Curry recipe. There is just something about curry and lemons, or turmeric and lemons that gets me every time. How about you? Tell me about how you already use turmeric in your life (chai, tea, latte, cake, savory dish, capsule, tincture, salve, dye) and share with me which recipe looked to be one you might try. Just leave your comments down below, I can't wait to see what you think of this super fabulous herb!
Resources:
1 Life Spa Dr. John Dillouard https://lifespa.com/turmeric-health-benefits-outperform-curcumin-turmeric-extract/
2 DrAxe.com https://draxe.com/nutrition/turmeric-curcumin-benefits/
3 WebMD Turmeric https://www.webmd.com/diet/supplement-guide-turmeric#1
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