Okay, am I onto something? Drinking Yogi Tea

LaurieLovesLearning

I have had feet, a back, and knees (torn medial meniscus) for quite some time now.

My knees have been good for a while...but they do that, going in fits & spurts. A Chinese TCM acupuncturist/acupressure practitioner told me years ago that my knees were cold and I needed to decrease the wind. He gave me a technique to try to help, but I was to keep extra cover over them as well.

My feet, well I am sure that plantar fasciitis was the issue. My right seems to have healed well for the most part and has hurt very little for a few weeks now.

My back...I have been doing some neck exercises & I think that may be helping with that a bit, but it was really good for 5 days (five!!!) Before I felt a tiny click & it started hurting again...but still not as bad as before.

For 2 days, my left foot has been hurting much less or not at all. It is a very strange sensation as I have gotten used to dreading getting up to walk or stand.

What I have been doing in the last 3 weeks is drinking a lot of yogi tea (fresh ginger, real cinnamon sticks, green cardamom pods, peppercorns & whole cloves in water, sweetened with honey, with a little milk added). These have great healing powers, some of it due to increasing circulation. I would drink this any day over water!

Could I be correct that this is bringing some healing to my body? It is really the only thing I've done differently (besides neck stretches) in this time.

I am leaning toward thinking so.

Linda Bittle

K.P Khalsa recommends ginger (in all of its forms) for carpel tunnel issues. Seems like it would work here, too.

shllnzl

I have had arthritic knees for years; they usually don't bother me though. I suspect that the turmeric and cinnamon that I add to my coffee each day has provided the help.

Avoiding nightshade foods tends to help my arthritic hands.

LaurieLovesLearning

@Mary Linda Bittle Well now. I will have to pay attention to that too. I have had that for years and have had different work done on my hands, and that which connects. My hands had been falling asleep and numbing at night. I don't think that has been happening either lately. Now I have more to watch for. Oh, this could get exciting if it is helping all of my hurts! It is really simple and very tasty!

This recipe that I use is K. P.'s recipe.

These spices were also featured in his latest "Relax" series by Learning Herbs. I right away said that Yogi tea combined many of the things he talked about.

Torey

@LaurieLovesLearning That certainly is a warming beverage. So good for those cold knees and getting rid of wind. Ginger is a good anti-inflammatory. Taking cinnamon results in lower C-reactive proteins which are indicators of inflammation. Black Pepper is recommended as an adjunct to improve the bio-availability of other herbs but it also has anti-inflammatory properties of its own. Cloves are anti-inflammatory. While cardamom doesn't seem to have any direct effects with regards to skeletal-muscular pains, it seems to have the effect of bringing the other herbs together to make a more effective blend.

So, Yes. You are onto something!

LaurieLovesLearning

I knew that they were warming, but I somehow really didn't expect to see any health improvements like this out of it. I just knew that I really enjoyed it, & that it is very safe (with the ceylon instead of cassia) & healthy.

I do plan to keep on making it daily. I wonder what else I might experience? That could be interesting. I intend to find out.

Awesome.

So then, here is the recipe for anyone interested:

Yogi Tea

1 gallon of water/16 cups

30 of each: whole cloves, green cardamom pods, black peppercorns (note, young kids like counting these)

5 ceylon cinnamon sticks

1 large thumb of peeled, thinly sliced fresh ginger

Bring to a boil. Simmer for 40 min. Add 1 black tea bag & boil for 5 minutes. Remove tea bag.

Pour into your cup. Stir in a touch of honey, and then a little milk in order to coat your digestive system.

I like to do this much and drink it throughout my day. If it is cold, I reheat it. It can sit out in a pot overnight if any is left & be reheated the next day. That is why I add the honey & milk into my cup & not the pot.

It will get a bit stronger as it sits & more concentrated if you accidentally boil it again...but you can always add more water too.

I have tried it with cassia, which is not as safe to ingest in larger quantities, and it doesn't taste nearly as heavenly. Nobody liked it. Once you use real cinnamon in this, you will never use the substitute "cinnamon" in it again.

@Merin Porter That is the complete recipe. I forgot nothing this time. ;)

marjstratton

I have a friend who has fairly severe reactions to nightshade family plants. Dry skin, arthritis, and other problems. I have quite a bit of inflammation going on also in the form of back pain, gut issues, arthritis in my fingers and toes, and the numbness, tingling in my hands at night. My friend has been telling me to take the nightshades out of my diet. There are some very helpful suggestions here.

My husband is pre-diabetic and learned about real cinnamon and its ability to help modulate blood sugar from some thing he has read, so we definitely use the Ceylon cinnamon.

LaurieLovesLearning

@Mary Linda Bittle So, my hands still have some issues, but I will be purposely watching them now. A person just gets so used to some things being off.

frogvalley

Potatoes are my trigger. Whether it's french fries, chips or potato starch in pie crusts, I hurt so bad I can't move.

My knees, however are resentment. I had a contractor coming over today so I was cleaning the house. Just as soon as I went outside to clean off the porch my knees hurt so bad I couldn't stand or walk a step. I came back inside to sit down, tried to think of what just happened and bingo, the pain went away. As soon as I had started to pick up all the junk, I started thinking about having to spend my Saturday picking up instead of getting to take a hike (as well as a few other tiny thoughts nibbling at my brain). Going to a place of realization, self control and then big girl happy thoughts, it went away as fast as it came. It works for me every time.

Tave

Wheat and potatoes cause joint pain for me. And I love potatoes :(

ltwickey

Thank you for the full recipe. Am looking forward to trying it. Hoping it will help my knees and back!

Merin Porter

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/880996#Comment_880996

Yum! Thank you so much for this, @LaurieLovesLearning -- I can't wait to give it a try when I can get all the ingredients together. Looks like we're heading into another lockdown here, so we're moving back toward just making do with what we have on hand.....

Merin Porter

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/880996#Comment_880996

By the way, @LaurieLovesLearning, do you just get the green cardamom pods at your local health food store, or buy them online, or ...? I've never bought them before....

LaurieLovesLearning

I did get them in the international aisle in a large grocery store. I also found them at Walmart. Last time we shopped, we couldn't find them anywhere.

A specialty store that caters to East Indians should have some.

I will most likely be ordering online next time since nobody seems to have them locally right now. I am starting to run low on my stash.

Can you believe that even whole cloves are hard to find?

NarjissMomOf3

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/881026#Comment_881026

Look into night shades. Have read that people can get pains by eating those..

NarjissMomOf3

O commented too fast! I see that several people have talked about the night shade and pain connection.

LaurieLovesLearning

@Mary Linda Bittle haha, You know, my one hand is going okay. My right hand hurts a lot. That surprised me, 🤔 but it should not have.

I went out that same day that I answered you determined to trim down a large black currant bush with my pruners. The sparrows love that bush, but we get no berries...AND there is lots of poop everywhere. I thought that if I trim it back, maybe the cats will catch a few of that huge flock (wishful thinking, I know)...

Well, what a stupid thing to do! There was a lot of pruning & some was tough. I almost got done except for a little bit in the middle. Well, now I am paying for it. That hand was good, but now it will need a recovery time. Yes...and more Yogi tea for me. Sigh. At least it tastes good.

COWLOVINGIRL

@LaurieLovesLearning That sounds almost like a chai tea! Sounds so good!!!

LaurieLovesLearning

@COWLOVINGIRL I have decided to always have a pot ready...at least in the winter. It is so very good. You will have to try it.

P.S. It smells like Christmas. Yum! And...it makes me happy.

frogvalley

@LaurieLovesLearning "Always have a pot ready" sounds like something I would like no matter what kind of tea. That's my goal for the rest of the year.

LaurieLovesLearning

One thing to remember about yogi tea is that it came before the modern chai. Its emphasis is more on the spices & healing properties & less on the tea, unlike chai. Chai isn't considered as healthy due to the change of balance of ingredients and focus on the black tea.

I have found other variations (K.P. even has taught some of these), but this one that I posted is supposed to be the authentic one.

Here is a little more backstory on this tea as was printed out with my recipe and also found on the link below).

"When Yogi Bhajan was a military commander in India there was an epidemic among the troops. He ordered all of his men to fill their canteens with yogi tea and drink nothing else, not even water. His Battalion was the only unit that didn’t get sick! Yogi tea purifies the blood, lungs and circulatory system. It cleans the liver and has many more unseen benefits. It’s good to drink this tea every day."

Homemade Yogi Tea | Cat's Kitchen

https://www.catsfork.com/CatsKitchen/homemade-yogi-tea/

Yogi tea is centuries old custom in India, that inspired the modern Chai. But there is a big difference between…

I was reading that to change the ingredients changed the interplay of the ingredients as they are formulated this way to work well together.

K. P. also brings the tea just up to a boil before adding the water. Essentially any of the milk's beneficial properties will change at that temperature. As I use raw milk, I prefer to pour mine into a poured cup of the tea after adding the honey.

treesong

Yes, you're on to something and keep going!! I love this base yogi tea recipe (thumbs up for ceylon!), @LaurieLovesLearning , yet I trade out the black tea for chaga and almost always change it up or add powerful anti-inflammatory upgrades like goji berries or turmeric. POW!!

Jack_Went_Splat

Looking forward to trying this soon! Just trying to locate the green cardamom. Thank you @LaurieLovesLearning!

LaurieLovesLearning

@Jack_Went_Splat I am not sure if you are willing to get some from Canada or not, as I would think that Mountain Rose Herbs should carry it, but we are awaiting an order from

https://harmonicarts.ca

in BC. The dollar is in your favor if you choose to do so.

LaurieLovesLearning

@treesong I would drink the chaga as a different drink. The black tea has importance in this particular mix (stated as "necessary") and really is not strong. I do not like the taste of black teas.

"The black tea is added last because it amalgamates the spices and sort of seals them. Also the tannins help assimilate the spices into the body."

Found on this page (where I originally found the recipe):

https://www.harisingh.com/YogiTeaByYogiBhajan.htm

This page explains what each ingredient's importance is and how they relate to each other.

Turmeric would not just need the pepper. I would suggest that to get the most out of that spice, that it needs an oil as well.

Now that I finally have a habit of yogi tea many times daily, I want to incorporate drinking golden milk once a day as well.

Be sure to look through the other recipes on the above page as well. Anyone brave enough to try jalapeno milk? 😳😬

soeasytocraft

Thanks for the link @LaurieLovesLearning. I know the recipe calls for green cardamom and that got me questioning the various varieties on the market. Would it be a big problem switching them out? I too need to source green cardamom. Hope to get an order to Harmonic Herbs together soon but kinda want to try it now before I moving on from the idea.

LaurieLovesLearning

@soeasytocraft Well, when we couldn't find green, we looked into black pods. They aren't usually interchangeable as far as we understood. They will have a different flavor & can have different properties, so, we stuck with green.

treesong

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/882539#Comment_882539

I'm with you on the black tea! That's why I like using different tonic herbs as a base and chaga just happens to be one of my favorites. Yogi Teas are an easy favorite too :)

Depending on the moment, I add in different ingredients and a splash of either MCT or Black Seed or Olive oil -- at this point I don't really think about it, but intuitively select combo to steep for the day or week.

My feeling is that there is synergistic plant wisdom that crosses cultural and geographic boundaries and I love when I find a combo that harmonizes!

nksunshine27

@LaurieLovesLearning , i had a question could you use green tea?

also i found that when i went to Peru that they dont drink milk, so me being an avid milk drink was wondering how that would effect me, well before i left i was starting to hurt in every joint, when i got there i didnt hurt anymore they do have a very fresh diet. so spent two weeks there when i got home i drank 3 glasses of milk and the next morning every joint in my body hurt again and i could barley get out of bed. so i cut milk out of my diet except icecream ocasionally and cheese and my joints stopped hurting. so everytime i just want a glass of milk i know the consequences. my joints a mildly going to hurt.

i make the golden paste i add it to rice and other things even yogurt. i made the golden milk one night but the milk countered the effects. there was a webinar on how we are all lactose intolerant. it is interesting.

LaurieLovesLearning

@nksunshine27 That may be a good question for @torey.

Green tea is from the same leaves of the tea plant as black tea, it is just not aged to the same degree. I imagine that it should have the same amalgamating properties. Edit: Whoops! I forgot about the tannins. Those are important and I think would be more so in the black tea. My husband caught that. ;)

The purpose of the milk is to ease the digestive system making it easier for those with sensitive stomachs. I often don't use milk as I reuse my cup. I do like it with milk though.

I have read of people using almond or coconut milk as a substitute. Just watch out for additives in them. Your body does not need that.

I don't know that everyone is lactose intolerant as there are some things that may mimic that. I would question what type of milk they used. I would also question what they had to gain by promoting that idea.

Torey

I am not sure whether or not the green tea would have the same effect as the black tea. Just not familiar enough with tea. I will look into it, though, as I'm not a fan of black tea and if this can be made with green tea, so much the better.

I made my first pot of yogi tea yesterday and I could really taste the tannins in the tea even diluted by that much. I preferred it without the honey or milk. Didn't try the milk but did try a wee bit of honey and even that was too much for me. Other than the taste of the black tea, I liked the flavour very much. I may drink it cold, though, as I don't drink many hot beverages.

I have heard of milk sensitivities causing this type of reaction but agree that not all people are lactose intolerant. I have read articles suggesting that if people who are lactose intolerant consumed raw milk and dairy products, they would likely not have the same reactions. People who are lactose intolerant lack enough natural lactase in their small intestine. The beneficial bacteria in raw milk products assist with the production of natural lactase in our intestinal tract. Pasteurization destroys the beneficial bacteria.