Recipe: Trikatu Tea

Trikatu—meaning “three pungents”—lights the digestive fires to promote healthy digestion of natural toxins (ama), aid clear breathing, rejuvenate lungs, and balance mucus production. Perfect for fighting off those springtime allergies and colds!

Ingredients

1 tsp Long Pepper
1 tsp Black Pepper 
1 tsp Ginger Powder 
Lemon, honey, and cinnamon to taste are optional.

Directions

Mix long pepper, black pepper,  and ginger powder to make Trikatu. Add 1 teaspoon of the spice blend to 2–4 cups of hot water and steep for about 10 minutes. Strain and enjoy your cuppa with lemon or honey.

Be careful as this can aggravate pitta; to balance it you can boil 10–15 raisins in the herbal tea or use less of the Trikatu spice blend. Honey also reduces kapha, but add it when the tea is lukewarm (honey with hot water is considered incompatible or a Viruddhahar in Ayurveda).