"Class Favorite" Yogi Tea
Makes 2 gallons of “raw” Yogi Tea.
Ingredients:
16 sticks of cinnamon [the 3" long kind]
1 heaping TBSP of black peppercorns- bruised or cracked
2 level tsp of whole cloves
3 level TBSP of green cardamom pods, or decorticated cardamom seeds
2 and 2/3 cups of fresh ginger, chopped small
A small palm-full of black tea like English Breakfast, or jasmine, or 6 tea bags
(caffeine or no caffeine , our choice)
Recipe:
Bring 2 gallons + 1 quart of water to a boil in a stainless steel pot.
When at boil, put in the cinnamon sticks, cloves, peppercorns, and ginger. The mixture will stop boiling. Keep the heat on high until it boils again and then lower the heat to a very slow rolling boil and cover the pot.
Boil for 1¼ to 1½ hours. Remove from the flame and let the tea sit for 1½ hours at least, but not more than 3 hours.
Strain the spices out.
Throw in the tea leaves, bring up to heat and steep for 10 minutes, stirring as you like.
Strain the tea leaves out.
This beautiful yogi tea liquid, called “raw” yogi tea, is them mixed to taste with milk. I recommend whole milk for better body. Raw cow milk is a favorite treat. Use a ratio of 50% tea, 50% milk, but some of you may like it stronger. You may use cow milk, soy milk, rice milk. This recipe, though, creates a more potent raw tea than other recipes, so you may find diluting it 50/50 is fine indeed. After adding milk, bring the mixed tea back up to a near boil. Sweeten with honey or stevia. Use 1/3 cup honey per gallon of mixed Yogi tea. For a special touch, add 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract per gallon of mixed tea.
The raw Yogi tea will last 2 weeks in the refrigerator, but once it is mixed, it has a life equal to that of milk, so mix only what you'll use in the next few days, or do what we do in our home, mix it by the mug serving.
Comments from Joan:
I do the additional step of peeling the ginger, which gives it a “smoothness” that will really gratify. One principle I believe in is the instruction to keep the pot at a low rolling boil and covered. The rolling boil distributes the ginger and spices continuously, and keeping it covered keeps the spice essences in the tea, rather than getting lost into the air. Do not neglect the final part of the recipe, steeping tea leaves or tea bags in the brew. The small amount of caffeine added is an essential part of the ayurvedic formula that makes this tea health promoting as well as delicious. For yoga classes, I do not use caffeine, because some students do not use caffeine and we enjoy the tea without milk.