Rosemary's Kava Chai
- Aunt Plantsy
- Nov 1, 2024
- 3 min read
If you haven’t tried this, you really should! I learned about this recipe in my herbalism course that I’m currently in. The teacher and wonderful herbalist, Rosemary Gladstar, created this recipe.
Ingredients: • 1/4 cup Kava
• 1 tbsp. Cinnamon chips
• 1/2 tbsp. Ginger (sliced or diced)
• 1 tsp. Cardamom pods (whole)
• 1/2 tsp. Cloves (whole)
• 1/2 tsp. Black Peppercorns
• 1 Vanilla bean pod (chopped)
• 4 cups water
• 1 can full-fat Coconut milk • Honey (to taste)
Instructions: 1 - Place the kava, cinnamon chips, and ginger in a small bowl.
2 - In a coffee grinder, grind up the cardamom pods, cloves, black peppercorns, and chopped vanilla bean.
3 - Bring the 4 cups of water to a boil, add all the spices, reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and infuse for up to 3 hours.
4 - Add the coconut milk, stir, and let sit overnight.
5 - The next day, strain out the spices and sweeten with honey to taste.
I’ve noticed that if I let this simmer for 3 hours, I lose a lot of liquid and once ended up burning it dry. This last time, even 2 hours seemed too much. Use your own judgment. The longer you can simmer it, the more medicinal and nutritional it becomes. I ended up simmering this last batch for 1-1/2 hours.
As for the honey, after I strain out the spices, I add the chai back into the pot with 1/4 cup of honey and warm the mixture up just enough to dissolve the honey.
I figured out that with just 1/4 cup of honey, it was just sweet enough for us and 1 cup of the kava chai ended up being 21 carbs for my husband, who counts his carbs. You can increase or decrease this amount to your own liking.
This drink is perfect for feelings of anxiety or overwhelming stress. It is also great for social occasions because it provokes feelings of calmness. I made a large batch of this and took it to our annual camping trip with a bunch of friends and new acquaintances. Everybody loved it and wanted more!
Just a word of caution about this drink: the kava does give a numbness sensation on the tongue and this is normal. This isn’t an allergic reaction and it is short-lived. Also, drinking too much of this could harm your liver but, every once in a while, it is perfectly safe. I’m drinking a cup right now as I'm writing this and watching the snow fall!
Here is a little bit of my materia medica on Kava:
ACTIONS/PROPERTIES: Analgesic. Anesthetic. Anticonvulsant (mild). Antifungal. Anti-Inflammatory. Antispasmodic. Anodyne. Aphrodisiac. Diuretic. Hypnotic. Muscle Relaxant. Sedative. Stimulant.
USES: Reduce anxiety, tension, stress, and panic attacks by relaxing the body and at the same time heightening awareness and lifting the mood, alleviates pain, mild tranquilizer, ease menstrual cramps, sore throat, sore gums, canker sores or toothache when chewing the leaves, ringworm (topically), athlete’s foot (topically), irregular urination, chronic UTI, urethritis, vesical spasms, enuresis, gleet, gonorrhea, acute vaginitis, spasmodic dysmenorrhea, muscle relaxer, trigeminal neuralgia, spasms, relieves insomnia, asthma, fibromyalgia, acute cholecystitis, ureter spasms, pain and spasms associated with interstitial cystitis, tension headaches, attention deficit and hyperactivity syndrome, inflammation, and topically as local anesthetic.
CONTRAINDICATIONS: Do not take more than 300mg/9 grams per day or for more than 4 weeks at a time. Do not take if liver problems are present or with drugs that adversely affect the liver or if symptoms of jaundice appear. Do not take if alcohol is being consumed. Do not take if pregnant or lactating, have Hepatic disease, renal disease, bile duct obstruction, taking other drugs, alcohol, anticoagulants or levodopa. Too much can make you nauseated and induce sleepiness, impair physical coordination, and even lead to unconsciousness. Also, large doses of the Polynesians can cause dry skin and bloodshot eyes but disappear when discontinued. May also cause skin eruptions if taken over a long period of time.
REFERENCES: The Science & Art of Herbalism by Rosemary Gladstar. Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health by Rosemary Gladstar. The Way of Herbs by Michael Tierra, L.Ac., O.M.D. The Green Pharmacy by James A. Duke, Ph.D. 300 Herbs Their Indications & Contraindications by Matthew Alfs. Herbal Medicine from the Heart of the Earth by Dr. Sharol Marie Tilgner. Please visit me online at www.peasbeewithewe.com
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