“She makes tea by hand. Nettles, slippery elm, turmeric, cinnamon – my mother is a recipe for warm throats and belly laughs. ”

^{-Sarah Kay, No Matter the Wreckage}

The Saucy Dressings’ Chief correspondent and researcher recently turned up with a jar of turmeric tea. I’m not sure what inspired the purchase originally but I was keen to try it, and hoping to like it since I suspect I drink too much coffee.

Turmeric tea is not tea at all, but an infusion of turmeric, and in this case, according to the manufacturers, Wunder Workshop, three other ingredients: ginger, lemon grass and cinnamon. There are many other suppliers though – sometimes it’s cut with lemon, with coconut, with peppercorns, or with green tea.

They major on the turmeric however since turmeric offers a range of health benefits (post on that to come) as well as being a classic ayurvedic ingredient (post on that also). Turmeric tea will calm frazzled and frayed nerves.

The tea has a sort of earthy, pungeant, bitter-sweetness, and if you need any further advantages there is also the vibrant sunny colour.

It’s pretty simple to make, and I think the Wunder Workshop combination is the best I’ve found so far.

Recipe for turmeric tea

Serves 1

Ingredients

• 480ml/2 cups boiling water
• 2 cm/1” ginger, peeled and cut into match sticks
• 2 cm/1” turmeric root (or 2 tsps ground turmeric)
• 1 stick of lemongrass
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• 3 or 4 Indonesian long peppercorns
• A tranquil and comfortable place to sit and enjoy it, without any electronic devices anywhere near
• Some lovely and calming music – try The Hilliard Ensemble’s Parce Mihi Domine, below.

Method

1. Infuse the herbs and peppercorns in a small saucepan or in a tea pot for three or four minutes, strain and serve.

Jan Garbarek and The Hilliard Ensemble’s Parce Mihi Domine

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvKcK8P0p4g]