Original Yogi Tea Recipe

Posted on February 5th, by Jai Gopal in Health, Recipes, Resources. 22 comments

Yogi Tea

Bring water to boil.
Add all spices except black tea bag. Boil 30 -45 min. Longer is stronger.
Finally, add black tea bag and boil another 5 min. **The black tea is added last because it amalgamates the spices and sort of seals them. Also the tannins help assimilate the spices into the body.
If adding milk & honey, do so after adding the tea bag and letting it steep– OR BETTER add milk and honey to individual cup or a small batch. That way you can store the raw tea in the fridge and prepare with milk and honey as you go.
If you go cup by cup, you can leave the raw tea on the stove on the lowest flame to enjoy all day.

**Milk helps to ease the shock of the spiciness on the stomach and intestines so drink with milk if you’re sensitive.Note: for a stronger tea you can let the spices sit and sink to the bottom. If the tea gets really strong you can cut it with milk or reconstitute with a little water.

When Yogi Bhajan was a military commander in India there was an epidemic among the troops. He ordered all of his men to fill their canteens with yogi tea and drink nothing else, not even water. His Battalion was the only unit that didn’t get sick! Yogi tea purifies the blood, lungs and circulatory system. It cleans the liver and has many more unseen benefits. It’s good to drink this tea every day.

ayruveda black pepper black tea cardamom cinnamon cloves ginger Health recipe Yogi Bhajan yogi tea

22 thoughts on “Original Yogi Tea Recipe”

Lois McCoy on September 30, 2010 at 6:54 pm said:

In 1980 YogiJi (Yogi Bhajan) gave me a 40 day diet of beet greens (only) plus Yogi Tea, after two immediate members of my family died of cancer. It was not difficult, so I am sure he gave me a lot more than this diet, I am now a healthy 80 year old. Wanted to make the tea again and came to this site to be sure I had it right.
Thanks for being there for us all,
Sat Nam
Lois
mimi ertsery on November 18, 2010 at 3:06 pm said:

hello!thank you very much for the recepie.my english is not very good,would you please help me by explaining how many liter of water you mean?and what lg means for the ginger?thank you very much!cant wait to try it
Alcyone Nettels on November 29, 2010 at 8:45 pm said:

Twenty-five years ago there was a Golden Temple (Health Food Store) here in Anchorage, Alaska. I soon obtained the recipe for Yogi Tea. My children remember coming home from school and smelling the scent it filled the house with. I served it for years to them especially in the chilled winter months. I lost the exact recipe (very important for correct amounts of ingredients)and decided to search the Internet. Thank you for posting this. I am planning on personal gifts this year to my children that will include this grand tea of childhood memories and health. Sat Nam,
Alcyone
Pamela Barnes on July 9, 2011 at 1:56 pm said:

…making it now in the 100+ degree heat of the desert in Phoenix, Az…it’s wonderful any time of the year…..especially with honey….
Melanie on July 26, 2011 at 4:25 am said:

Drank some for the first time this weekend! Felt absolutely wonderful after !!! Will drink it every day from now on!!!
Jai Gopal on July 26, 2011 at 9:39 am said:

Sat Nam Pamela,

Try it ice cold, it’s very refreshing. I generally drink it straight when cold– no milk or honey. Yogi Bhajan actually said that it’s very healing to drink it raw, cold first thing in the morning and in the evening before bed and he said when you do this you should sip it. Sat Nam!
Pingback: Yogi Tea – The All Around Best Tonic for Health and Well-Being « Ensoma Body Works
laguna on December 16, 2011 at 8:06 pm said:

those who know Ayurveda know that one should never heat honey to boiling point!! warm is the most one should do ever. It destroys all the good qualities and turns it toxic. I don’t know why people are still so ignorant of this. That is why raw honey is always desired as apposed to honey that has been heated and filtered. Raw organic sugar is perfectly fine.
Pingback: This Sunday: Chanting, Yogi Tea and Icosium Kafe « Savitree
Jai Gopal on February 2, 2012 at 1:05 pm said:

Thanks laguna. I knew that heating honey for too long breaks down the components. I don’t agree about the sugar though– at least in my experience any processed sugar is tough on the system… but it tastes pretty good! Thanks for the comment. ~Jai Gopal
deborah perry on March 25, 2012 at 6:31 am said:

I had a friend in the 70′s who gave me this recipe and I remember it so well… just today i am suffering with a bad throat and a cold I cannot shake and thought of this wonderful tea… and like the other person who wrote here, the scent of the house when this was brewing was heavenly! so glad to have found the recipe again!
thank you
Jai Gopal on March 26, 2012 at 2:22 am said:

You’re welcome Deb. Enjoy.
saysha on April 5, 2012 at 6:16 pm said:

first had yogi tea in 2007 when i practised kundalini yoga at my instructors home.WOW!! loved it…it tasted ethereal… been feeling down lately…need a good few cups of tea and some kundalini yoga to set me right…
Meher Bhagat on April 24, 2012 at 9:56 pm said:

Can I substitute black tea with green tea?
(I usually don’t drink black)
Sat Nam!
Holly on August 11, 2012 at 2:21 pm said:

Mimi,

I know someone else will have the exact calculations, but a gallon is a little less than four liters.

The “lg finger ginger” means a piece of ginger about the size of a large finger.
Joanna on August 31, 2012 at 7:52 pm said:

What size of tea bag? Just a regular one which is fairly small? Thank you
Jai Gopal on September 5, 2012 at 11:54 pm said:

Hi Joanna– a regular tea bag will do. The tea does something alchemical to the spice mixture. Some say that the cardamom and other spices negates the caffeine in the black tea. Nonetheless one tea bag in a gallon is fine.
Jai Gopal on September 6, 2012 at 12:36 am said:

Sat Nam Meher Bhagat. Some people leave out the black tea altogether because they don’t like caffeine. You can do what you like. The recipe is the recipe though. If you have a recipe for chocolate cake and put orange instead you ain’t gonna get the chocolate cake.
alex on September 24, 2012 at 4:34 am said:

sat nam everyone!

i just wanted to add that i personally use one carton of almond milk and one of soy milk, (2 cartons all together, per batch) instead of regular cow’s milk. i usually keep the water quantity down to increase the strength a little more than usual but i’ve been making this stuff for a little while now. it’s a brilliant tonic and elixir
thank you for posting the recipe though as it always helps to have a staple ingredient amount to work from..

happy cooking
Christine on October 4, 2012 at 8:51 am said:

I agree with alex – soy or almond milk is the way to go. So much better than cow’s milk& better for you I keep the spice mixture on hand (chopping the cinnamon) & then make smaller batches of the tea for 1 & adding the fresh ginger when I brew the tea.
Suzanne on March 5, 2013 at 11:21 am said:

I use coconut milk and it makes it even that much more delicious!
Carrie Berry Doe on March 31, 2013 at 2:52 am said:

Thanks so much! excellent recipe!

22 thoughts on “Original Yogi Tea Recipe”

Lois McCoy on September 30, 2010 at 6:54 pm said:

In 1980 YogiJi (Yogi Bhajan) gave me a 40 day diet of beet greens (only) plus Yogi Tea, after two immediate members of my family died of cancer. It was not difficult, so I am sure he gave me a lot more than this diet, I am now a healthy 80 year old. Wanted to make the tea again and came to this site to be sure I had it right.
Thanks for being there for us all,
Sat Nam
Lois
mimi ertsery on November 18, 2010 at 3:06 pm said:

hello!thank you very much for the recepie.my english is not very good,would you please help me by explaining how many liter of water you mean?and what lg means for the ginger?thank you very much!cant wait to try it
Alcyone Nettels on November 29, 2010 at 8:45 pm said:

Twenty-five years ago there was a Golden Temple (Health Food Store) here in Anchorage, Alaska. I soon obtained the recipe for Yogi Tea. My children remember coming home from school and smelling the scent it filled the house with. I served it for years to them especially in the chilled winter months. I lost the exact recipe (very important for correct amounts of ingredients)and decided to search the Internet. Thank you for posting this. I am planning on personal gifts this year to my children that will include this grand tea of childhood memories and health. Sat Nam,
Alcyone
Pamela Barnes on July 9, 2011 at 1:56 pm said:

…making it now in the 100+ degree heat of the desert in Phoenix, Az…it’s wonderful any time of the year…..especially with honey….
Melanie on July 26, 2011 at 4:25 am said:

Drank some for the first time this weekend! Felt absolutely wonderful after !!! Will drink it every day from now on!!!
Jai Gopal on July 26, 2011 at 9:39 am said:

Sat Nam Pamela,

Try it ice cold, it’s very refreshing. I generally drink it straight when cold– no milk or honey. Yogi Bhajan actually said that it’s very healing to drink it raw, cold first thing in the morning and in the evening before bed and he said when you do this you should sip it. Sat Nam!
Pingback: Yogi Tea – The All Around Best Tonic for Health and Well-Being « Ensoma Body Works
laguna on December 16, 2011 at 8:06 pm said:

those who know Ayurveda know that one should never heat honey to boiling point!! warm is the most one should do ever. It destroys all the good qualities and turns it toxic. I don’t know why people are still so ignorant of this. That is why raw honey is always desired as apposed to honey that has been heated and filtered. Raw organic sugar is perfectly fine.
Pingback: This Sunday: Chanting, Yogi Tea and Icosium Kafe « Savitree
Jai Gopal on February 2, 2012 at 1:05 pm said:

Thanks laguna. I knew that heating honey for too long breaks down the components. I don’t agree about the sugar though– at least in my experience any processed sugar is tough on the system… but it tastes pretty good! Thanks for the comment. ~Jai Gopal
deborah perry on March 25, 2012 at 6:31 am said:

I had a friend in the 70′s who gave me this recipe and I remember it so well… just today i am suffering with a bad throat and a cold I cannot shake and thought of this wonderful tea… and like the other person who wrote here, the scent of the house when this was brewing was heavenly! so glad to have found the recipe again!
thank you
Jai Gopal on March 26, 2012 at 2:22 am said:

You’re welcome Deb. Enjoy.
saysha on April 5, 2012 at 6:16 pm said:

first had yogi tea in 2007 when i practised kundalini yoga at my instructors home.WOW!! loved it…it tasted ethereal… been feeling down lately…need a good few cups of tea and some kundalini yoga to set me right…
Meher Bhagat on April 24, 2012 at 9:56 pm said:

Can I substitute black tea with green tea?
(I usually don’t drink black)
Sat Nam!
Holly on August 11, 2012 at 2:21 pm said:

Mimi,

I know someone else will have the exact calculations, but a gallon is a little less than four liters.

The “lg finger ginger” means a piece of ginger about the size of a large finger.
Joanna on August 31, 2012 at 7:52 pm said:

What size of tea bag? Just a regular one which is fairly small? Thank you
Jai Gopal on September 5, 2012 at 11:54 pm said:

Hi Joanna– a regular tea bag will do. The tea does something alchemical to the spice mixture. Some say that the cardamom and other spices negates the caffeine in the black tea. Nonetheless one tea bag in a gallon is fine.
Jai Gopal on September 6, 2012 at 12:36 am said:

Sat Nam Meher Bhagat. Some people leave out the black tea altogether because they don’t like caffeine. You can do what you like. The recipe is the recipe though. If you have a recipe for chocolate cake and put orange instead you ain’t gonna get the chocolate cake.
alex on September 24, 2012 at 4:34 am said:

sat nam everyone!

i just wanted to add that i personally use one carton of almond milk and one of soy milk, (2 cartons all together, per batch) instead of regular cow’s milk. i usually keep the water quantity down to increase the strength a little more than usual but i’ve been making this stuff for a little while now. it’s a brilliant tonic and elixir
thank you for posting the recipe though as it always helps to have a staple ingredient amount to work from..

happy cooking
Christine on October 4, 2012 at 8:51 am said:

I agree with alex – soy or almond milk is the way to go. So much better than cow’s milk& better for you I keep the spice mixture on hand (chopping the cinnamon) & then make smaller batches of the tea for 1 & adding the fresh ginger when I brew the tea.
Suzanne on March 5, 2013 at 11:21 am said:

I use coconut milk and it makes it even that much more delicious!
Carrie Berry Doe on March 31, 2013 at 2:52 am said:

Thanks so much! excellent recipe!