Assam Tea with a Medicinal Kick

During my most recent trip to India in January, an inspiring young man named Lokesh Jadev taught me a delightful, throat-soothing way to prepare Assam tea.  Before I tell you more about this spice-up twist on a classic black tea, however, I’d like to share a little but about Lokesh.

I met Lokesh in 2006, during my first trip to the Deenabandhu Trust Children’s Home for destitute and orphaned children in Karnataka, South India (you can read more about this model non-profit institution here).  Lokesh and his younger brother Lakshman spent most of their childhood at Deenabandhu.  In the past 9 years, I have had the privilege of watching both complete high school and progress to university.  Lakshman is in the midst of completing his degree at a leading fine arts school in Bangalore.  Lokesh completed his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and zoology last year and is currently applying to graduate programs in India and abroad.  He has also served as a volunteer cadet in India’s National Integration Camp Cadet Corps, an organization that aims to help young Indian citizens develop comradeship, character and a spirit of adventure, as well as leadership and organizational skills.  During his year as a cadet, Lokesh had the opportunity to travel all throughout India, including a trip to Assam, where the delicious tea featured in the blog is grown.  When he’s not traveling or studying, Lokesh selflessly devotes his energy to helping the children and staff at Deenabandhu.  In the past few years, he’s developed a passion for cooking; hence we sampled this lovely tea.  I hope you enjoy this twist on Assam as much as we do!

Assam is one of the world’s boldest black teas.  It’s grown in the northeastern Indian states of Assam, just south of the eastern Himalayas.  Assam has one of the highest caffeine contents of all black teas, making it ideal to sip first thing in the morning.  In addition to being rich in disease fighting antioxidants, it has a healthy dose of flavonoids, a class of plant secondary metabolites that have been found to benefit heart health.  The addition of lemon, pepper, mint, and honey offer a delicious throat and sinus clearing effect.

Assam Tea with a Medicinal Kick 

Ingredients

  • 2-3 teaspoons of Arogya Organic Assam Tea
  • 2 cups Water
  • 1 Lemon, washed and halved
  • Generous Dash of Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
  • 4 Fresh Mint Leaves
  • Optional: 2 Cardamom Pods
  • Optional: Honey or Organic Sugar to taste

Instructions

  1. Boil the water. In the meantime, place the loose Assam tealeaves in a steeping basket or paper tea bag filter.  Place this in a teapot or good old Mason jar.  For stronger tea, use 3 teaspoons of tea.  If you’re using cardamom, use your fingers to gently crack each pod open.  Add to the tea basket or bag. Pour the hot water over the tea and let steep for 3-5 minutes. Remove the tealeaves.
  2. Squeeze in the lemon juice (feel free to filter the juice in advance) and grind some fresh pepper into the brew.
  3. Pour into two cups.  Add honey or sugar to taste and top off with the mint leaves.
  4. Enjoy!

by Sophie Slater