How To Make Turmeric Tea At Home: 7 Easy Turmeric Tea Recipes

In recent years, turmeric has gained popularity because of its incredible health benefits. A delicious way to add turmeric to your diet, is to drink turmeric in tea.

Turmeric tea might sound a bit odd at first, but it can be really delicious if you know how to make it. Watch out though – there are a few important things to know when you make a turmeric tea to maximize the benefits.

These are my favourite turmeric tea recipes that you can make at home. They can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. From just adding a teaspoon of turmeric to your morning cup of tea, or making a more elaborate turmeric tea latte to enjoy! 

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What Is Turmeric?

Turmeric is actually a flowering plant part of the ginger root family. Funny enough though, we don’t use the flower itself (not even to make turmeric tea). It’s all about using the turmeric root.

The roots of the turmeric plant are known as a rhizome. These are a specific type of root that grows horizontally. Turmeric is a thick rhizome root that’s a vibrant orange colour.

Typically the root is crushed down to a powder and used for cooking. Unsurprisingly, it also used to be used as a dye. P.S. It stains… everything.

You can use the powder, the root, or even the dried root to make turmeric tea. 

How To Make Turmeric Tea? Should You Use The Fresh Root Or Powder

There are both pros and cons to using either turmeric powder and root.

If you are swapping out the powder for the root (or vice versa) you will need to use a lot more of the root. The powder is very strong and concentrated. 

So 2 tablespoons chopped root, you only need to use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric instead. To use the root, you can use a grater or you can finely chop it.

Turmeric Powder: Pros Vs. Cons

Turmeric powder is the easiest type of turmeric to use for turmeric tea. 

You should be able to find turmeric powder in almost any grocery store with the other spices. When I’m using turmeric powder in tea, I like to buy a bit better quality. So, I’ll avoid buying no name brand that I would typically use for cooking. 

The main problem with using turmeric powder for tea? You loose some of the health benefits of turmeric during the process of turning the root into a powder. 

Fresh Turmeric Root: Pros Vs. Cons

If your main interest in drinking turmeric tea is for the health benefits, you’ll most likely want to use the root instead. For starters, you know exactly what you’re getting. There are no questions about artificial colouring or flavours being added. The curcurmin (the compound we have to thank for the health benefits) is a lot more concentrated in the root. 

But there are two problems with turmeric tea recipes with the fresh root. First, fresh turmeric root harder to find than turmeric powder. You can try looking at your local health food store or Asian market. 

If you are able to find it, there’s an even bigger problem… actually using it. As I said, the fresh root was used for both cooking, but also as a dye. Fresh turmeric root is a vibrant orange colour that essentially stains everything it touches. And I mean EVERYTHING! This makes it a huge pain to use and especially to clean up after. 

To use the fresh root itself in turmeric tea, you have to peel it and grate it. So if you decide to use turmeric root, I recommend using plastic gloves to save your hands from turning yellow.

See how to properly store turmeric root to maximize it’s shelf life.

What About Dried Turmeric Root?

You may be able to find dried turmeric root. This is a very interesting alternative to both the powder and the root. 

Dried turmeric has been peeled, boiled, and then dried. You can find it either whole or already grated. It was definitely last longer than the fresh root. 

What about the health benefits of using dried turmeric root? I’m still a bit unsure about the loss of health benefits of dried turmeric root. It’s obviously more processed than using the fresh root, but it’s less process than the powder. It is cooked, and we know that some benefits are lost in the cooking process. 

You may loose some health benefits but not as much as using the powder. Plus, you know that nothing was added  – it’s still the pure root. But most of all, if you buy dried turmeric root pieces, you avoid the mess.

When You Make A Turmeric Tea – You Always Need To Add…

You may have already seen a turmeric tea recipe and noticed it used black pepper. That might seem like an odd combination at first, but there’s a reason behind it.

Turmeric’s health benefits are all thanks to the compound curcurmin. Unfortunately, our body doesn’t easily absorb curcurmin. Researchers found that pepperine (the active compound in pepper) can increase your body’s absorption of curcumin by 2000%.

If you don’t like the taste of black pepper, or just find it downright weird to have turmeric tea with pepper, you’re in luck. Researchers found a second option that increases absorption – fat. This can be anything from oil, butter, and …. milk!

Aren’t you glad I didn’t say you have to add oil or butter to your tea!

So if you don’t like turmeric tea with pepper, simply turn your tea into a turmeric tea latte (otherwise known as A golden milk latte… jump to that recipe now!).

You need to add milk that’s high in fat to reap the benefits of curcurmin. That means no skim milk lattes! If milk isn’t your thing you can also add a high fat content milk alternative like coconut milk, soy, cashew, or oat milk or cream.

If you want to really maximize absorption – you can always add both!

FYI Drinking Turmeric Tea…

I won’t lie, turmeric tea is quite strange at first if you aren’t used to it. It was hard to finish an entire cup when I first started drinking turmeric tea – especially when I added black pepper. It was quite spicy and because it was hot, my tongue would be on fire by the end.

If you’re just starting out drinking turmeric tea, I highly recommend making a turmeric latte or trying a Vahdam blend. The milk really helps to lessen the heat of the pepper and turmeric. Making it much easier to drink.

7 Simple Turmeric Tea Recipes

Finally! Here are my 7 favourite ways to make turmeric tea at home. Like I said, you can make it as simple or as complicated as you like either using turmeric tea bags, turmeric powder, or follow my turmeric tea recipe with fresh root if you have time!

1. My Turmeric Tea Hack For Quick Tea: Vahdam Tea Bags

The easiest way to make a turmeric tea at home is to buy tea bags from Vahdam Teas. They sell a variety of delicious turmeric tea blends that are already packaged and ready to steep.

Don’t worry, these aren’t typical tea bags that hide bad quality tea. I’ve opened the bags to find beautiful dried pieces of turmeric inside. So there’s zero mess and you’re getting the benefits of the root.

Vahdam tea blends are a good option if you don’t love turmeric tea or are just starting out to drink it. They have blends, like, that take over the turmeric with cinnamon.

They have what seems like an endless amount of turmeric blends to choose from. You’re bound to find something you like. If you aren’t a huge fan of the turmeric taste, I recommend Turmeric Ginger,  Turmeric Moringa, and  Turmeric Spice. I find the turmeric isn’t as strong in these blends. 

If you want a strong turmeric taste go for Turmeric Ashwagandha. Unfortunately, they don’t have just turmeric tea.

Vahdam turmeric tea blends are also a great backup for when you don’t have time to make turmeric tea from scratch. I always make sure to have a few bags on hand!

2. Basic Turmeric Tea Recipe With Turmeric Powder

This is a quick and easy turmeric tea recipe if you want to make turmeric tea from scratch. I use turmeric powder for this recipe, but there’s nothing stopping you from using the fresh or dried root. 

It’s as simple as pouring boiling water over turmeric powder, adding some pepper to taste, and letting it steep. It’s as simple as that!

3. Simmer In A Pot: Best With Fresh Root & Bulk Batches

This is a much more involved turmeric tea recipe, but if you have the time, it’s worth it. You can also make a lot more turmeric tea with this recipe so double or triple the recipe and make turmeric tea for the rest of the week!

I like this recipe because I find the turmeric dissolves more in the water if you’re using turmeric powder. But I really like using a pot when using fresh turmeric root. This turmeric tea recipe with fresh root will extract more of the flavour and benefits of the turmeric.

But on the other hand, using a pot can be quite the hassle. First, it takes longer than boiling water in a kettle and steeping. A pot also wasn’t designed to pour the contents into a mug… so I make a mess every time. I recommend putting your mug in the sink when you’re ready to pour it out of the pot. 

4. The Powerful Rhizome Duo: Turmeric Ginger Tea Recipe

I’m going to be completely honest – I don’t like ginger. But for some reason I love the combination of turmeric ginger tea. I find the ginger really cuts the pepperiness of the turmeric. It makes drinking turmeric tea a lot easier. 

I don’t find I need to add a lot of ginger to counterbalance the strong turmeric flavour. But, if you love ginger, feel free to add more to taste! Plus, ginger tea has even more benefits! Now you’re getting twice the antioxidant and anti-inflammation power. But ginger can also help with digestion, nausea, headaches, and migraines, blood pressure, and weight loss. 

I like adding fresh ginger and making this recipe in a pot on the stove. Follow my tips for making turmeric tea in a pot, or follow my basic turmeric recipe if you’d rather steep the tea! You can also use dried ginger pieces. 

5. Immune Boosting Turmeric Tea Recipe

Turmeric is a crazy immune booster making it the ultimate drink to warm up with and keep you healthy in the colder months. 

To build up your immune system even more, add some other immune boosting ingredients – like honey and lemon! Make the most powerful tea yet! You can make this recipe using both a kettle and steeping the ingredients, or you can make it in a pot.

6. Caffeinated Turmeric Tea Recipe

If you aren’t a huge fan of drinks that aren’t caffeinated, or maybe you’re just in need of a pick me up, I have the turmeric tea recipe for you!

Simply mix in some turmeric with your morning (or afternoon) cup of tea. I like to use a basic orange pekoe tea, nothing too fancy, but you can use your favourite black tea for this recipe. 

As with the other recipes, you can choose to use either turmeric powder or the root – just make sure to adjust the amounts. And you can choose to steep it or make it in the pot.

7. Golden Milk Turmeric Tea Latte

A golden milk turmeric latte is the perfect recipe if you aren’t a fan of turmeric tea with pepper (which is understandable).

This is a delicious creamy and sweet pick me up to get the benefits of turmeric tea! I only ever make this recipe in a pot to let the ingredients steep in the milk. 

How Often Should You Drink Turmeric Tea?

Turmeric tea is safe to drink everyday. In fact, turmeric is one of the safest and most beneficial spices to consume.  

The World Health Organization says that 1.4 mg of turmeric per pound of body weight is okay for daily intake. That being said, there are some risks to be aware of especially with over consumption. I would recommend limited your turmeric tea consumption to 1 drink/ day.

Where To Buy Turmeric For Tea

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Last update on 2024-04-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API