3 Simple Soothing Sore Throat Tea Recipes
Sweet tea used to be the only type of tea that I could bring myself to enjoy. My palette has expanded as I have gotten older and I now love sipping hot tea every now and then. I have played around with different hot teas, especially teas with health benefits, over the past few years. Since we are heading into the winter months when sore throats abound, I want to share a few of my favorite soothing sore-throat tea recipes with you!
Soothing Sore Throat Tea Recipes
When one of my kids (or myself) starts to feel a tickle in our throats, I pull out the elderberry syrup & fire cider and then we sip on warm soothing teas. These three tea recipes are our favorites to help reduce the symptoms of a sore throat.
Sore Throat Tea Recipe #1: Ginger, Honey, & Lemon Tea
This is my favorite winter sore throat tea. I’ll be honest, I even drink it even when I am not sick. It is so sweet, simple, and soul-soothing!
Ginger adds a spicy warmth that helps to ease congestion along with strong anti-inflammatory properties. Honey sweetens the tea, soothes the throat, and provides natural antioxidants. The lemon juice adds a zesty flavor and a vitamin C boost to help your immune system fight off whatever is ailing you.
Ingredients for Ginger, Honey, and lemon Tea:
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 TBSP lemon juice (fresh lemon juice is best, but bottled works just fine)
- 1 TBSP fresh Ginger or ½ tsp ground ginger
- 2 TBSP local raw honey
How to Make Ginger, Honey, and Lemon Tea for Sore Throat Relief
STEP 1
**If you are using fresh ginger, grate it or thinly slice it so it can be incorporated into the tea better.
First, add the hot water, ginger, and lemon juice into a small saucepan. Whisk the ingredients together to combine them. Do not add the honey yet as the heat will kill off many of the nutritional properties.
STEP 2
Bring the tea mixture to a slow boil.
STEP 3
Continue heating for 1-2 minutes…just enough to get it nice and hot.
STEP 4
Remove the saucepan from the heat source and strain out the ginger. Stir in the honey until it dissolves into the hot water.
STEP 5
Let the honey lemon tea cool enough to not burn your mouth. You still want it to be pretty warm. Enjoy!
Health Benefits of Honey & Lemon
How can Ginger Help Soothe Sore Throats?
Ginger contains the bioactive compounds gingerol and shogaol. These compounds have strong antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties that can ease pain, fight infections, and boost immunity.
How can Honey Help Soothe Sore Throats?
A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, BUT a spoonful of honey IS the medicine!
Honey coats the throat which gives a soothing effect to a scratchy throat and it relieves coughing. Honey also has antifungal, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties AND it is high in antioxidants.
How can Lemon Help Soothe Sore Throats?
Lemons help to break up mucus and they provide Vitamin C which is essential for a healthy immune system and fighting off the infection that is causing your sore throat.
Ginger, Honey, Lemon Tea
Ingredients
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 TBSP lemon juice (fresh lemon juice is best, but bottled works just fine)
- 1 TBSP fresh Ginger or ½ tsp ground ginger
- 2 TBSP local raw honey
Instructions
STEP 1
**If you are using fresh ginger, grate it or thinly slice it so it can be incorporated into the tea better.
First, add the hot water, ginger, and lemon juice into a small saucepan. Whisk the ingredients together to combine them. Do not add the honey yet as the heat will kill off many of the nutritional properties.
STEP 2
Bring the tea mixture to a slow boil.
STEP 3
Continue heating for 1-2 minutes...just enough to get it nice and hot.
STEP 4
Remove the saucepan from the heat source and strain out the ginger. Stir in the honey until it dissolves into the hot water.
STEP 5
Let the honey lemon tea cool enough to not burn your mouth. You still want it to be pretty warm. Enjoy!
Sore Throat Tea Recipe #2: Soothing Cinnamon Milk Tea
Cinnamon milk tea is my kids’ favorite homemade tea to drink when they are dealing with a sore throat. It has the consistency of hot chocolate with the soothing & healing properties of cinnamon and ginger. Cinnamon and ginger infuse warmth into the milk and they both provide strong anti-inflammatory properties to ease the pain of a sore throat and relieve congestion.
Ingredients for Soothing Cinnamon Milk Tea:
- 3/4 Heavy Cream OR 1 cup milk
- 3/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger or 2 TBSP fresh ginger root
- 1 TBSP Local Raw Honey
How to Make Soothing Cinnamon Tea for Sore Throats:
STEP 1
**If you are using fresh ginger, grate it or thinly slice it before adding it to the milk.
Combine the heavy cream or whole milk with the cinnamon and ginger in a small saucepan.
Do not add the honey yet as the heat will kill off many of the nutritional & medicinal properties.
STEP 2
Whisk to combine all of the ingredients. Make sure that there are no lumps left if you use ground cinnamon and ginger…otherwise, you could end up with a clump of powder in your mouth when you take a sip. Ick.
STEP 3
Heat the mixture over medium-high heat until it is almost boiling. Continue stirring to prevent the milk from scorching.
STEP 4
Remove the milk tea from the heat source, stir in raw honey, and pour into a teacup or coffee mug.
STEP 5
Allow to cool off just a bit. Enjoy your soothing cinnamon sore throat tea!
Health Benefits of Cinnamon & Ginger
How can Cinnamon Help Soothe Sore Throats?
Cinnamon has antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties that may help to fight off whatever is causing your sore throat. Cinnamon also contains antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory effects.
How can Ginger Help Soothe Sore Throats?
Ginger has anti-inflammatory effects that can soothe your sore throat. Ginger also stimulates the immune system to help fight off viruses and infections.
Soothing Cinnamon Milk Tea
Ingredients
- 3/4 Heavy Cream OR 1 cup milk
- 3/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger or 2 TBSP fresh ginger root
- 1 TBSP Local Raw Honey
Instructions
STEP 1
**If you are using fresh ginger, grate it or thinly slice it before adding it to the milk.
Combine the heavy cream or whole milk with the cinnamon and ginger in a small saucepan.
Do not add the honey yet as the heat will kill off many of the nutritional & medicinal properties.
STEP 2
Whisk to combine all of the ingredients. Make sure that there are no lumps left if you use ground cinnamon and ginger...otherwise, you could end up with a clump of powder in your mouth when you take a sip. Ick.
STEP 3
Heat the mixture over medium-high heat until it is almost boiling. Continue stirring to prevent the milk from scorching.
STEP 4
Remove the milk tea from the heat source, stir in raw honey, and pour into a teacup or coffee mug.
STEP 5
Allow to cool off just a bit. Enjoy your soothing cinnamon sore throat tea!
Sore Throat Tea Recipe #3: Golden Milk- Turmeric Milk Tea
You can make a simple turmeric tea with just water, honey, lemon juice, black pepper, and turmeric, but I prefer this golden turmeric tea with whole milk for a creamier texture. Turmeric is packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties that can boost the immune system and reduce swelling & throat irritation.
Ingredients for Golden Turmeric Tea:
- 1 1/2 cups Whole Milk (or coconut milk)
- 1/2 tsp Ground Turmeric or ½ TBSP of fresh turmeric root (grated or thinly sliced)
- 1 tsp Cinnamon or 1/2 Cinnamon Stick
- pinch of Black Pepper or 1/4 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 TBSP Raw Local Honey
How to Make Golden Turmeric Tea for Sore Throats:
STEP 1
First, mix the milk, turmeric, cinnamon, pepper, and vanilla in a small saucepan. Use a fork or a whisk to break up any clumps.
**Do not add the honey yet as the heat will kill off many of the nutritional properties.
A dry clump of turmeric in your mouth would be even worse than cinnamon… be sure everything is mixed well.
STEP 2
Heat the mixture over medium heat until it reaches a low boil. Continue stirring to prevent the milk from scorching.
STEP 3
Pour into a teacup or a coffee mug. Enjoy this soothing golden milk tea while hot.
Health Benefits of Turmeric
How can Turmeric Help Soothe Sore Throats?
The active substance in turmeric is curcumin. Curcumin is a polyphenol is known for its powerful antioxidants that fight free radicals in the body’s cells. It also contains anti-inflammatory compounds that can calm the inflammation in your throat. Curcumin, however, is not absorbed well into the body. By adding black pepper to the tea, the absorption rate is increased so you can actually reap the benefits that turmeric offers.
Golden Turmeric Tea
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Whole Milk (or coconut milk)
- 1/2 tsp Ground Turmeric or ½ TBSP of fresh turmeric root (grated or thinly sliced)
- 1 tsp Cinnamon or 1/2 Cinnamon Stick
- pinch of Black Pepper or 1/4 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 TBSP Raw Local Honey
Instructions
STEP 1
First, mix the milk, turmeric, cinnamon, pepper, and vanilla in a small saucepan. Use a fork or a whisk to break up any clumps.
**Do not add the honey yet as the heat will kill off many of the nutritional properties.
STEP 2
Heat the mixture over medium heat until it reaches a low boil. Continue stirring to prevent the milk from scorching.
STEP 3
Pour into a teacup or a coffee mug. Enjoy this soothing golden milk tea while hot.
Where to Source Ginger, Turmeric, and Cinnamon
You can simply purchase ground ginger, ground turmeric, and ground cinnamon (or cinnamon sticks) at your local grocery store. Many grocery stores also sell ginger root. If you want to purchase from a reputable supplier that really knows their stuff when it comes to using food as medicine, I highly suggest Moutain Rose Herbs. While they do not sell whole roots, they do sell ground & dried ginger root, turmeric root, and cinnamon along with cinnamon sticks.
If you prefer to purchase whole roots, check out these options:
More Sore Throat Home Remedies
- 12 Simple & Effective Natural Sore Throat Remedies
- Simple Homemade Cough Drops: Lemon, Ginger, & Honey
- Homemade Elderberry Syrup
- Homemade Fire Cider for Immune Support
- 5 Sore Throat Soothers
Wow! Love this tea recipe! As a tea lover, this post is for me. Actually, every day I drink tea more than three times. But I didn’t know about this benefit of lemon tea before reading this post. Thanks for sharing this valuable post!
Natural sore throat remedies. Many thanks!
Thank you for sharing these throat recipes. I will keep them in my notebook. I just have a question about adding honey to early. Does this not take away the health benefits of the honey? I was always told not to get heat up the honey on the stove, but to add after I take it off. I am just curious about this. Thanks again for sharing.
Good point! This is an older post that I need to update. I LOVE making these teas, but I now add the honey after the heating process.