Drinking vanilla tea is an excellent way to relax your body and mind, and enjoy a number of other health benefits as well.
What is Vanilla Tea?
Vanilla tea, or vanilla chai tea, is an herbal tea brewed with vanilla beans or vanilla extract, along with black, white or orange pekoe teas, among others. Depending on your method of brewing this tea, you may have a higher sugar content in the sweet beverage, but the best way to brew the tea is with fresh vanilla beans. Synthetic vanilla flavorings won’t deliver the same nutritional benefits. Vanilla tea can be served either hot or cold and is consumed around the world, particularly as a stress-relieving brew. [1]
Benefits
There are quite a few benefits to vanilla tea, including its ability to kickstart the metabolism and improve gastrointestinal health, due to its active ingredient vanillin, as well as other antioxidants, in both the tea and the vanilla beans. This tea naturally lowers stress hormone levels and improves mood while calming the nervous system and aiding in healthy sleep. [2]
Vanilla tea Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Side Effects
- The side effects of drinking vanilla chai tea include side effects from consuming caffeine, such as tiredness, fatigue, and irritability, at least once the caffeine has worn off. [3]
- Pregnant women are not advised to consume this tea, as caffeine is not recommended for pregnant or nursing mothers.
- Some people are allergic to vanilla and its byproducts, but this allergy isn’t overly common.
How to Make Vanilla Tea
If you want to make vanilla tea, you can brew it with actual vanilla beans or by adding a few drops of vanilla extract into a normal cup of tea. This recipe is for the former, more natural approach to brewing a vanilla tea. [4]
Aromatic Vanilla Tea Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 vanilla bean
- 4 1/4 cups water
- 3-4 teabags black, green, white or orange pekoe
- 4 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Heat up 1/4 cup of water and the sugar on the stove in a saucepan.
- Slice 1 vanilla bean in half and scoop out the seeds, adding them to the water and sugar.
- Add the bean shell as well and allow the mixture to heat for 5-10 minutes until the sugar is dissolved.
- In a separate saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.
- Add the tea bags of your choice to the water and allow them to steep for 3-4 minutes.
- Remove the vanilla bean from the sugar mixture and add to the tea.
- Remove the tea bags and stir the mixture thoroughly before serving.
- Now, you can sit back and enjoy your cup of vanilla tea!
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