Hot tea is a warm comfort during cold and flu season, especially with smooth, sweet additions like honey to help the drink wash down a sore throat more quickly. Provided that you’ve stored your coconut oil properly, it can serve as another welcome ingredient to splash into your tea. Coconut oil is a supposed modern cure-all made of fatty oils from pressed coconut meat, and it has many uses, both in skincare and in cooking. It may not be for everyone, but if the idea piques your interest, coconut oil can provide a unique flavor and smooth texture to your tea.
You only need a small amount, just a teaspoon or so, and make sure to stir it in so it emulsifies more easily as coconut oil won’t dissolve perfectly. This simple addition can add the sweet, milky flavor of coconut into your tea while also giving it a creamy, somewhat silky texture due to the way the oil melts. Keep in mind that if you’re looking for flavor, you should be specifically using unrefined coconut oil. There’s a difference between unrefined and refined coconut oil, and the unrefined type retains its original coconut taste while refined oil is neutral and tasteless, making it pointless in the flavor department.
Tips for preparing coconut oil-infused tea
As for what sort of tea you should use as a base, any sort of sweet tea or light fruit tea which blends with the earthy, nutty sweetness of coconut is worth experimenting with. Green tea is a popular choice for pairing with coconut oil as well for its supposed health benefits, and while green tea can have a range of flavors, plenty are grassy or floral enough to go nicely with coconut. On the other hand, some people prefer using stronger-tasting black teas to ensure that the flavor of the tea isn’t overpowered. Whatever you choose, coconut oil should only be used in hot tea because of its high melting point of 78 degrees Fahrenheit — in iced tea, it’ll solidify and you’ll feel like you’re chewing on a crayon between sips.
Incidentally, this quality is also what makes coconut oil a great butter substitute. Butter tea is another form of thicker, silky tea that comes from Tibet, and some folks like to mix butter and coconut oil into tea together to enjoy the best of both additions. If you’re trying to soothe your throat, coconut oil-infused tea also goes great with honey due to honey’s naturally sweet flavor. You can also add a splash of coconut milk for extra flavor if you’d like. There’s no conclusive evidence that coconut oil in tea can be a substitute for cold relief staples like ibuprofen or antihistamines, but if you enjoy how it tastes in your comforting, hot drink, that’s all the reason you should need to spoon some in.
