Recipes Tea 101

Perfect Tea for a Cold: How to Make a Medicine Ball

February 15, 2023

Right now, it's flu season, which means that not only are folks getting sick, but even more people are doing everything they can to ward off all sorts of illness. During this period, staying warm in cold weather and sipping on beneficial teas can go a long way to staying healthy.

When it comes to healthy teas, medicine ball tea ranks highly in both benefits and flavor. Intended to stave off sniffles, sore throats, and more, medicine ball tea brings together lemon, honey, citrus, mint, and other ingredients that have a cornucopia of health-boosting effects.

Want to learn how to make a medicine ball at home? Check out this awesome recipe.

Ingredients

8 ounces lemonade
8 ounces water
1 tablespoon honey
1 jade citrus mint green tea bag
1 peach-flavored tea bag
Lemon slices, for garnish (optional)

Directions

Pour the water and lemonade into a small saucepan and bring it to a simmer.
Remove from the heat. Add the teabags, cover, and let steep for 3-5 minutes.
Discard the teabags. Add in the honey, stirring until fully dissolved.
Pour into an Ember Mug², top with lemon slices (if desired), and enjoy!

Ember Tips

Can I make medicine ball tea in the microwave?

If you are feeling really under the weather, you might just want to hurry things up and get back to bed. In which case, simply heat the water and lemonade in the microwave. Then, steep the tea and add the honey directly to the mug.

Can I use lemon juice in place of lemonade?

Medicine ball tea is going to taste better with lemonade. However, if you would like to use lemon juice to cut down on the added sugar, this is doable. That said, you will likely want to increase the amount of honey used to help balance the tartness of the lemon juice.

Make it mint-ier

If you want to get even more minty goodness out of your medicine ball tea, you might want to consider adding in a bit of peppermint extract to add extra decongestant properties without increasing the sugar content of the drink. Alternatively, you can also steep fresh mint leaves or use them as garnish.

Cut out the caffeine

If you are looking for the best tea for a cold or the best tea for a sore throat, medicine ball tea is great. However, it does have caffeine, and you might be looking to get back to sleep afterward.

If you are looking for a caffeine-free medicinal tea to drink when you feel a cold coming on, there are lots of great options, such as eucalyptus tea, ginger tea, and others.

Does it need to be warm?

If you just want a sweet lemony kind of tea, you could drink medicine ball tea over ice. However, if you are looking to extract as much cold-fighting potential from the beverage as you can, then it is best to drink it warm.

Other healthy teas to drink

While medicine ball tea is one of the best teas for a sore throat, there are a variety of beneficial teas to sip on from morning to night that can help ward off sickness.

For instance, teas like black tea house tons of antioxidants, flavonoids, and other healthy compounds. Meanwhile, licorice root tea has various antiviral and antimicrobial properties that can keep your immune system strong all winter long.

No matter if you decide to make up medicine ball tea at home or one of the others mentioned here, be sure to drink it out of an Ember Mug².

Because temperature matters.