You don’t have to have a sore throat or a cough to fall in love with this aromatic cough and throat soothing tea but if you do, you may find it especially helpful. In this post, I show you how to make it at home.
Here’s a closer look at what you’ll need:
Slippery Elm Bark — have you tried slippery elm before? The inner bark of the slippery elm tree (incorporated here in powder form) has been used for centuries as an herbal remedy for a host of ailments including sore throats and coughs. Slippery elm is considered a demulcent — a substance that relieves irritation of the mucous membranes by forming a protective film. When slippery elm comes into contact with water, it produces a gel-like consistency (mucilage) that helps soothe and protect tissue. Unlike many other herbal remedies, slippery elm also enjoys the unique distinction of being approved by the FDA for sore throats. It can be easily ordered online.
Thyme — used in herbal cough drops such as the Swiss brand Ricola, this gentle and effective age-old remedy has been shown to help soothe irritated bronchial tubes, providing relief from cough more quickly and effectively than placebo in individuals with acute bronchitis — it also smells and tastes delicious!
Ginger — revered for centuries in Asia for its gorgeous aroma and impressive array of medicinal benefits, ginger exerts antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties through the action of gingerol, shogaol and paradol compounds that help tame inflammatory processes in the body that can take hold during times of illness. Ginger’s thermogenic (heat promoting) nature also helps support blood circulation and bring comfort to chilled bodies. The interplay of ginger and star anise creates a beautiful flavor in this drink.
Lemon — lemon offers one of the best dietary sources of vitamin C, a potent antioxidant, immune builder and adrenal gland supporter. Vitamin C is a water soluble nutrient that degrades slowly over time when exposed to prolonged heat. If you drink a hot lemon beverage within 1 hour of making it for example, you would continue to benefit from the vitamin C with minuscule loss.
Honey — honey’s bioactive properties are numerous. Heated honey, which has been used for centuries in TCM in the processing of herbal medicine, has been shown to have immune stimulating effects (both in vitro and in vivo) as well as night-time cough relief. Studies have also shown that mice infected with streptococcus pyogenes have prolonged survival rates when fed heated honey.
- 16 oz/500 ml water
- ½ Tbsp grated ginger (fresh ginger not ginger powder)
- 1 star anise
- 8 or so sprigs of fresh thyme (or 2 tsp dry thyme)
- Juice of 1 lemon (plus additional lemon slice/s)
- 2 tsp honey, or to taste
- 1 tsp slippery elm bark powder (I use one made by Micro Ingredients that I order online; it is a white powder that is easy to work with. Seal and store in a cool dry place after use).
- Bring water to a boil or near boil.
- In a tea infuser or sachet, place: grated ginger, star anise and thyme sprigs (you can remove thyme leaves from stem or chop as necessary to fit). Place infuser/sachet in designated mug and pour hot water over allowing the mixture to infuse for at least 7 minutes. Remove infuser from tea pot and stir in lemon, honey and whisk in the slippery elm bark powder until dissolved.
- I add a slice or two of lemon (with peel) and a stem or so of thyme and serve with a spoon for stirring all the goodness while enjoying. Not only incredibly soothing but also delicious!
- Note: the longer the mixture sits, the more gelled (thicker) the slippery elm bark will become. Also, if you increase the amount of slippery elm powder, you can expect a more gelled consistency.
Slippery Elm Bark: the inner bark of the slippery elm has been used for centuries as an herbal remedy for sore throats and coughs. It is sold in many forms and used in this recipe as a powder; it is available at health shops and online. I use one made by Micro Ingredients.
Interactions & Warnings: Taking slippery elm at the same time as oral medications can potentially affect the absorption of that medication. To prevent this interaction it is suggested to take slippery elm at least one hour after medications you take by mouth.
Fluids Generally — artificial indoor heating combined with outdoor cold and lashing winds during the winter months can be especially punishing and drying on our skin and airways. Fluid intake provides an important counterpoint and humidifiers can also be very helpful, in the bedroom and work spaces; you can add essential oils to the water, some of my fall/winter favorites: orange/eucalyptus/tea tree/frankincense/lavender. Fluids also help replace water lost from fever and respiratory tract evaporation and can also assist in loosening mucus build-up and alleviating nasal congestion.
Sleeeep — my number one health regimen; I don’t want to say sleep is everything, but pretty close. Especially in times of illness when our bodies are working so hard to repair, sleep is the forum to allow this to happen most effectively. What are your greatest sleep challenges? I want to know!
The information in this post is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for the advice of your physician. Always consult your physician or other health care professional directly before beginning or changing a course of health treatment.
You cannot imagine how timely this post is… I have a throat ache today and start worrying it’s the beginning of the flu I caught from my husband :-(
Anyway, the tea sounds wonderful and I’m very curious about the slippery elm bark! Sounds very mysterious…. I have never even heard about it!
darn husbands, heeheeh… slippery elm is really soothing and healing in warm bevies and easy to access if not in stores than online, I hope you get a chance to experiment Sissi; would love to hear how it goes if you do. cheers to you and your health.
Now that slippery elm bark sounds a bit nasty, not a fan of that gelatinous goo, but the rest of the tisane sounds delicious! Perfect timing for cough and cold season.
My number one sleep challenge is waking up at 2 or 4 am and not being able to fall back to sleep. I usually toss and turn for an hour, then i get up and work or read my favourite blogs.
Hi Eva, you won’t get the goo effect from 1 tsp just the soothing effects – if you add more than a tsp though it does tend to get thicker and thicker with time and quantity. The dead of night waking is challenging – i hear you – and common, especially for women. I’ve had some success with a version of 4-7-8 breathing also like alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhana) but prefer that one during the day.
Kelly
Seeing as my weekend was filled with delicate snowflakes falling to the ground and children making snowmen on our street this recipe comes with perfect timing. Can not wait to try it. Seems like our family will benefit from a jump on flu season. My greatest sleep challenge is to respect my natural rhythm of when I wake up and go with its flow.
Love learning about slippery elm. Appreciate your article. Thanks Kelly 🍁
still trying to wrap my head around the snow! heavens, how beautiful tho… and talk about all the cozy feels… I remember we’d always get a snowfall of sorts before Halloween in Ottawa✴ all the memories… Love your words about respecting your flow; sometimes our resistance is the tougher part. Sweet dreams and beautiful Sunday, x.
Looks like you are getting a jump on the cold and flu season. Thanks! It’s always best to have these natural healing drinks and foods beforehand. I’ve never had slippery elm bark but have read a few recipes with it without really understand why it was there. Thanks for the explanation of its use texture, benefit and FDA approval – shocking!! A local herb store sells it, so I’ll have to pick some up. Your tea looks wonderful and I love the creamy texture. Because of some swallowing issues I have, the thicker beverages work better for me. This is a keeper. thanks Kelly! Hope you are still enjoying some fall weather.
the mornings have been nice and cool lately which we love – even welcome the darkness at rise – so cozy! the fda approval process is a mystery indeed ;p I hope you enjoy the slippery elm bark if you get a chance to play with it; it creates that slippery, swelling effect (a bit like ground flax or chia in water) so hopefully that works for you; you can also experiment with adding more powder to further thicken. I just love this drink with its lemony goodness and robust ging zing! Happy Sunday MJ ♥