How To Make Tea From Whole Cloves

At one point or another, all of us have experienced the self-conscious horror of bad breath or bloating after enjoying a meal with others. While this is understandable if you love doubling-down on the garlic for an ultra-flavorful garlic bread, it's still not the most comfortable feeling. That's where an ancient Ayurvedic remedy comes into play — clove tea. Ayurveda is a form of traditional medicine practiced throughout India that relies on holistic practices and remedies to heal the body and prevent disease. In this system, cloves are said to help both freshen breath and aid digestion — claims which are also backed up by modern science. 

In addition to these health benefits, a few more points in this beverage's favor is that it's absolutely delicious and ridiculously easy to make. In fact, the recipe for clove tea requires just two ingredients — several teaspoons of cloves and boiling water. Add the whole cloves to the bottom of a mug, or use a small ceramic tea pot if you're brewing several cups of tea at once. Pour the boiling water over the cloves, cover, and let everything steep for about 10 minutes. Once your tea is fully steeped, you can use a spoon to scoop out the cloves to prevent the flavor from becoming too strong and turning bitter. As it is, your tea will taste very spicy with background notes of bitter astringence. A touch of honey or a little simple syrup curbs the bitterness nicely and enhances the cloves' warm flavor.

One of the best things about this easy tea is it's versatility. You can enjoy it hot, as described, or brew a batch ahead of time and chill it in a glass pitcher in your fridge, as it's equally delicious cold. If straight clove flavor is a little strong for your palate, you can also blend it with flavors like vanilla, as its floral sweetness gently softens cloves' vibrance — whole pods, extract, or vanilla paste added while steeping all work well. It's also pretty common to find these spicy little flower buds in apple pie spice blends, so if you're making the most of your apple peels by brewing a delicious tea, feel free to toss in some whole cloves to steep, too, along with a cinnamon stick and a slice of fresh ginger. 

You can also steep the cloves together with a black tea bag, which pairs beautifully with cloves, or swap it out for a green tea bag, which will produce a sharper-tasting drink. Tasty caffeine-free options include lightly fruity red rooibos blends, floral and soothing chamomile, or berry-forward hibiscus flower teas. Alternatively, if you'd prefer to get your daily dose of eugenol in the morning, cloves also add unexpected spice and delightful flavor to your morning cup of coffee — just pop a few whole cloves to the bottom of your mug before dousing them with nice, hot coffee, and scoop them out after a few minutes as you would when making the tea.