Homemade Whole-Spice Infusion Recipe

The recipe

Exact quantities, then the method.

This is a fragrant, caffeine-free infusion you make from scratch with whole spices: cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise and fresh ginger, with a strip of lemon peel to lift it. Whole spices give a cleaner, rounder flavour than ground, but they release their oils slowly, so this one wants a good eight minutes in the cup.

Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for the Homemade Whole-Spice Infusion recipe. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/recipes/fruit-tea/homemade-whole-spice-infusion/

Strain it well and you are left with a clear, amber, gently spiced drink. Makes one cup.

⏱ 10 min 🍽 Serves 1 📊 Easy 📚 Fruit Tea Recipes

You'll need

2 green cardamom pods, gently crushed
1 cinnamon stick fragment (about 3cm)
2 fresh ginger root coins, peeled and gently crushed (about 15g)
3 whole cloves
1 whole star anise pod
1 thin strip of fresh lemon peel, pith trimmed off
300ml freshly drawn water, brought to a true rolling boil
1 Pattiya Bamboo Tea Strainer
2 warmed 300ml cups
Optional: 1 teaspoon of clear honey, for the sweet build

Method

Warm two cups with hot water and pour it away.
Crush the cardamom pods and ginger, then put them in one cup with the cinnamon, cloves, star anise and lemon peel.
Pour over 300ml of freshly boiled water and cover with a saucer.
Steep for a full eight minutes; whole spices give up their oils slowly, so they need the time.
Pour through a fine strainer into the second cup to leave a clear, fragment-free infusion.
Stir in a little honey at the end if you want it sweet.
Crush the cardamom and ginger just before brewing, as their aromatic oils fade quickly once broken open.

What you'll end up with: A clear amber cup, warming and aromatic, with cardamom and cinnamon leading and a gentle heat from the ginger and clove underneath. Naturally caffeine-free, lovely on a cold day.

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