Turmeric Tea
Turmeric tea is a warm and soothing blend of ground turmeric, lemon juice, and honey. It provides good-for-you anti-inflammatory compounds that provide a range of health benefits. And it just tastes good!
No matter the season, it always makes sense to wrap your hands around a warm cup of turmeric tea. Similar to golden milk, it’s comforting and soothing, with a bold earthy flavor that’s slightly sweet. The tea’s vibrant color comes from turmeric, the golden-hued ground spice that gives curry its signature color.
Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory powerhouse and possesses many health benefits. That’s why it’s a favorite ingredient of mine! And today, I’ve added a healthy pinch of ground black pepper to this recipe which helps your body better absorb the curcumin, the powerful antioxidant found in turmeric (though you can always strain that out if you’d like). This tea is perfect for sipping any time of day, but it’s especially soothing right before bedtime.
Turmeric Tea Ingredients
Turmeric is one of my go-to’s when I’m whipping up healthy beverages like my jamu juice and turmeric smoothie. The flavor of this tea is milder than my jamu juice, making it a satisfying drink that you can enjoy all day long. Here’s what you need to make it:
- Turmeric: I used ground turmeric here since it’s much easier to find and keep in my pantry.
- Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice lends a bright pop of citrus flavor.
- Honey: I like my tea with a hint of sweetness. If you prefer, you can use maple syrup instead of honey.
- Black Pepper: Just a pinch of black pepper helps your body absorb the curcumin from the turmeric.
Can you use fresh turmeric instead of dried turmeric? Absolutely! Just grate about 1 ½ teaspoons of fresh turmeric root.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below
The Health Benefits of Turmeric
Turmeric is terrific for anyone with autoimmune conditions (like me) due to its powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Studies have shown that curcumin can help with certain autoimmune conditions by regulating inflammatory signals. Turmeric’s antioxidant ingredients also helps fight chronic inflammation which can diminish your immune system, making this tea a perfect addition to your wellness regimen during cold weather.
If you’re looking to boost brain health, turmeric encourages the growth of new neurons and may decrease cognitive decline. It may also slow down heart disease and aging (and who doesn’t love that?).
How to Make Turmeric Tea
If you can boil water, you can make turmeric tea! Just a few simple steps and you’ll be sipping to good health.
- Add the water, turmeric, lemon juice, honey, and black pepper to a small pot, then whisk together.
- Heat on high just until the tea starts to boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Let the tea cool for a minute or two. Pour into your favorite mug and enjoy.
Turmeric Tea Recipe Video
Want to see how easy it is to make this tea? Watch the video below!
How to Customize Your Tea
Once you’ve made your basic turmeric tea, have a little fun with the recipe!
- Add a sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg or ground cloves for a toasty spice flavor.
- Make this a more robust tea by adding a bag of chamomile tea or green tea to the pot while it simmers.
- Try swapping the lemon juice for freshly squeezed orange juice.
More Healthy Drink Recipes
When it comes to healthy drinks I’ve got plenty of options for you. Give some of these other recipes a try!
- Ginger Shots
- Elderberry Tea
- Green Juice (power-packed!)
- Apple, Carrot and Beet Smoothie
- Best Green Smoothie
Easy Turmeric Tea
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons honey
Instructions
- In a small pot, add water, turmeric, lemon juice, and black pepper. Whisk together and heat over high heat. When the tea just starts to boil, turn the heat down to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Once the tea is finished simmering, turn off the heat, add the honey, and let the tea cool for a minute or two.
- Pour the tea into a mug through a strainer to remove the black pepper and enjoy.
Nutrition
Recipe originally published September 2020, but updated to include new information.
I made this recipe several times this Winter, and although I liked it a lot, I think I am more partial to Golden Milk :-) I’ve just noticed the tips on adding spices or swapping the lemon juice for orange juice, though, so I will give this a try.
Just one tiny question, Lisa. Have you tried turmeric tea as an iced version? Would you recommend it?
Thanks,
Aurore
Hi Aurore – yes, you can definitely have a chilled turmeric tea in the summer – it’s great!
Delicious! I may have added more honey than it called for because it’s so good.
Glad you’re loving this turmeric tea!
Thank you so much for caring about people. GOD BLESS YOU!!!
Aw, thanks for the kind words Synthia!
Too much lemon juice for me. I will halve it next time.
Hi Lisa. I just started your Whole30 plan but I have a question about the honey. It’s listed on the ‘what to avoid’ list, and yet this turmeric had honey and it’s included in the Whole30. Can you please shed some light on this? I would like to follow the Whole30 exactly as I should. :) Thank you so much!!
Yes, you’ll need to avoid any additional sugars such as honey. So any recipes (even salad dressings) will need to be made as is without the sweetener.
Thank you for your answer! I am so sorry, but I made a mistake in my initial question. I wanted to say: the above turmeric TEA has honey, yet I saw it included on the Whole30 list. Is honey permitted in the case of this tea? 🙏
BTW, you are my favorite person to follow for recipes. You are just WHOLESOME overall!
Honey is not allowed on Whole30, so any recipes that are included will need to simply omit the sugars.
Perfect timing. I decided to switch to a plant-based diet and was looking for ways to increase my turmeric intake. I love lemons so I washed, quartered and scored the outside of my lemon and squeezed it and put the whole thing in the water. Perfect! Thanks.
Be sure to also check out my other turmeric recipes on the site :)
I just tried this today & added a couple of slices of ginger. It tasted really lovely, thanks for a fab recipe!
Glad you enjoyed this turmeric tea Sharon!
I can make and refrigerate over night? For a little time saving, and then I can reheat the next day? Thank you
Yep, that should be fine!
Thank you for this recipe! I am hesitant to heat turmeric, lemon, honey for loss of health benefits. Would love to see a recipe to make it without heating, and maybe just zap it for a few seconds before consuming? Thanks!
Absolutely love this recipe, we used to make this every morning as a shot for my grandmother when she woke up to boost her immunity as much as we could, in fact I still make it for myself as a shot for a sore throat. The only thing about honey is that it loses most of its antibacterial components if heated, some say it’s toxic even consume heated honey, but I haven’t read up too much about that yet. So I just skip honey and just eat a teaspoon of it before or after this drink. :)
So happy you and your grandmother love this turmeric tea!
Love your recipes Lisa.
I like to add Ceylon cinnamon stick and cloves to the mixture.
I would also recommend holding off on the lemon juice and honey until the tea has cooled a bit, this way you not only have the lemon taste and sweetness from the honey, but also all the nutritional value of these ingredients, which unfortunately are destroyed in high temperatures.
Best
I tried this Turmeric tea and was nice after I got to drink it for a while.
So delicious and warming! I love the pepper flavour. I’ll be making this again. Thanks Lisa!
Can you use tumeric paste instead of the powder? If so, how much? I’m looking forward to trying this tea!
I haven’t tried this with turmeric paste, but I’m thinking it could work!
Great tea recipe – thank you! The added lemon does the trick. I stumbled on your site looking for a good tumeric tea recipe, since I hadn’t had much luck in the past. Very impressed – just subscribed to your newsletter and Youtube channel.
Cheers,
Ana SF
Welcome to the Downshiftology community Ana! Excited for you to try tons more recipes to come.
Can you drink it cold?
You can if you’d like!
I really like this turmeric tea recipe I tend to add ginger as well. I just can’t stand the powdery taste of the un- dissolved spices. Any advice on how to make it better?
I put equal amounts (1 tsp each) of powdered ginger & turmeric and the pepper in a “tea bag” you can buy at specialty tea shops. Then heated it up in 2 cups water on the stove. Added some honey. Works and tasted great!
Could you or anyone here put a link to these tea bags?
Have you tried adding fresh ginger?
You can certainly add fresh ginger if you’d like!
I love turmeric tea so much and its benefits, and the colour is so lovely and inviting to snack on just at anytime and 8 also brightens my skin on the out side
what’s the shelf life if i make a bigger batch and keep some in the fridge? Thanks.
This will keep for a few days in the fridge.
Amazing! I wanted to start introducing Tumeric into my daily routine for the health benefits but I don’t enjoy the flavor or the smell of it at all. I made this tea and it’s so good!! Thank you so much for sharing!! :-)
Wonderful! I’m so glad you’re enjoying this tea, Rebecca!
Let you know when I need that how to make tea to turmeric powder to health benefit ..information will let know you ok
I’ve been logging in some of my favorite recipes into Myfitnesspal. I tried your tea & knew that I’d be making it on a regular basis, so added it. The total Myfitnesspal came up with made more sense than yours, since honey & lemon juice have calories!! Theirs added up to 84. Was wondering why theirs is 3x more. Just wondering which one is correct.
Hi Vanessa – honey is really the main calories in this drink. And honey has 21 calories per teaspoon. So the nutrition on mine seems to be fairly accurate (as there’s two servings in the recipe). :)
What happens if you have no lemons or lemon. Juice. Do you still have the same effect?
If you don’t use lemons, it will remove the citrus flavor from the tea, and it’s added benefits.
This tea is absolutely delicious! I make it with freshly squeezed orange juice instead of lemon juice and with maple syrup instead of honey. I add cinnamon or nutmeg depending on how we feel. I is the perfect drink on a cold Canadian evening!
simple and easy and very informative. THANK YOU
Wow…Yum..Im pleasantly surprised at how good this tastes..I usually don’t really like tumeric tea..But this is amazing.
I’m in menopause and have been looking for a anti-inflammatory drink now that my beloved coffee has turned on me and now makes me sick. I love golden milk it really helps me sleep so I was excited that you referenced it in your article. I’m looking forward to trying your Easy Turmeric Tea. I’m thinking it may become part of my morning routine.
Hope you enjoy this turmeric tea Kimmie, and that it helps with any menopause issues you’ve been dealing with!
I love this recipe!! Having it on ice right now. You mentioned this helps with menopause. Does it help with hot flashes? and… Thanks for all you do.
Sounds perfect, thanks, going to try it for sure for muscle aches. Can I also add Cayenne pepper along with the Ginger? Where to buy ORGANIC ORGANIC products in South Africa, please?
You can add both items if you’d like! It might alter the taste a bit though – but I’m sure it will be delicious.