This week I went and caught myself a cold, not a bad one, but I was getting fevers, body aches and headaches. All around I just wasn’t feeling good! So as soon as I realized this was happening, I started off by sending in reinforcements in the form of Vitamin C. I then decided to make myself some warm tea. I say warm, not hot because green tea tends to go bitter if you pour boiling hot water over it. We’ll get to that though! Here is my personal recipe for a tea that is perfect for those days where you need a good medicinal tea, with minimum effort.

This tea is known to help relieve symptoms of a cold, soothing the throat, relieving nasal congestion and relaxing the muscles. It also can help speed up the recovery process to get you back into fighting shape faster! That’s not all this tea is good for, drinking lemon, honey and ginger green tea also has a multitude of health benefits that make this tea an absolute health winner, some of these benefits include:

• Boosts natural immunity
• Is an anti inflammatory
• Good for relaxation
• If drunk daily before bed, it may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases
• It helps with constipation, appetite reduction, nausea and can aid digestion.
• It can help alleviate bloating, gas and heartburn

Honestly we could be here all day listing the numerous ways this tea is beneficial for our bodies, both in general health and for healing. The ingredients each play their own part in being beneficial, and together they create a super team.

• Peeled Ginger root (only about 1/2 a tsp per cup)
• 1 Tsp of Honey to taste (preferably Manuka Honey if possible)
• 1 medium sized lemon
• Lemon and Ginger Green Tea (or any Green Tea will work)
• Hot water
• About 2 Tbsp of cold water

Boil the kettle.

Roll the lemon on the counter to help release the juices, then cut in half. I prefer to use a lemon squeezing tool to get the most out of it, but you can squeeze it directly into the cup with your hands if you like.

I like to grate the peeled ginger root directly over the cup to catch the most juices, I only grate into it what I need and put the rest aside for another cup later.

Throw in the Green Tea bag and cover with a small amount of cold water. This stops the green tea from going too bitter when the hot water is added.

Add your honey and pour in the hot water. The amount of honey you use will be based upon personal preference, so just add as much or as little as you like.

I like to leave the spoon in the cup to give it a stir with every sip because the ginger settles on the bottom. You can always use a tea strainer if you do not like the ginger floaties, but I’d recommend leaving it in there for the added health boost. Plus, the longer you allow the ginger to steep in the tea, the more potent it becomes. Same with the green tea. Typically if I am making green tea I take the tea bag out after a couple of minutes, since it gets bitter the longer it stays in there, however in the instance that you are wanting it as more of a medicinal tea, I would recommend leaving both the tea bag and the ginger in the tea to make it a little more potent. You can also serve it with a slice of lemon to give it that extra zing!

Enjoy your cup of tea, dear Reader! Until next time,