In Chinese medicine, our treatments are guided by Eight Principles of Hot/Cold, Yin/Yang, Interior/Exterior and Excess/Deficiency. These principles help differentiate the underlying cause, or root, of whatever imbalances are present. For myself, I have a tendency to run cold, my skin is cooler to the touch, I get chilled easily, and if I go outside without bundling up properly my muscles stiffen up and my joints get achy and sometimes downright painful.
Cold from outside enters the body and can settle into the muscle layer creating all sorts of unwelcome aches and pains! I love finding ways I can incorporate Chinese medicine into my daily routines, and today it is with this Turmeric-Ginger tea, it truly warms me up from the inside out, dispelling the cold and that niggling joint pain right along with it.
4 inches turmeric root (actually it's the rhizome, but looks like a root)
2 inches ginger root
1 stick true cinnamon
3 cups water
Almond or Hemp milk
Natural sweetener (I use locally grown honey infused with cloves)
Peel and slice the turmeric and ginger into thin pieces. Place in a ceramic or glass pot (pyrex will do) with about 3 cups water. Bring to a gentle boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes. Pour through a mesh strainer, then add about 1/4 cup almond or hemp milk per 1 cup tea. Sweeten as desired.
I hear it’s fine to use ground turmeric in this tea but I prefer the root which is available in most grocery stores in the produce section. Per the first article in the resources below, 1 inch fresh turmeric = 1 Tablespoon powdered. That seems like a whole lot of turmeric to me, so you might need to experiment a bit.