Dosha Specific Digestive Tea Recipes for Optimal Health

Now that we are officially in autumn, also known as vata season in Ayurveda, we can expect the qualities of vata to increase in our inner and outer environments. You may begin to feel a chill in the air and in your body. Dryness can begin to affect digestion, leading to gas and constipation, and if ignored long enough, it can even lead to dry, cracked, rough skin. Life tends to feel more hectic as we transition from the long, lazy days of summer into the school year and the holidays. These factors may create anxiety, overwhelm and fatigue.

One way to maintain a balanced body and mind during seasonal transitions is to incorporate a digestive tea into your dinacharya, or daily routine. Ayurveda is a holistic science and understands that what is good for the inside of the body is also good for the external body. Thus, keeping your digestion healthy will not only keep your gut happy, it will also allow your skin to glow! 

According to Ayurveda, the root cause of all disease is improper digestion. Thus, sipping a digestive tea during your meal is a fabulous way to promote and maintain optimal health and wellness in your body. The herbs which formulate a digestive tea are called dipanas. Dipanas stoke your agni, or digestive fire, and help the body to digest, metabolize, absorb and assimilate nutrients from your food. When these digestive herbs, or dipanas, are infused into warm water to make a tea, they also moisten food. This moisturizing effect helps the stomach digest and breakdown food with greater ease.

*On a side note, it is important to remember that Ayurveda does not recommend drinking ice-cold beverages of any kind, as this creates a low agni. When agni is low, it is difficult to properly break down foods and digestive upset can follow in the form of gas, indigestion or nausea. Think of your agni as a fire within your gut, representing the digestive process that takes place when breaking down your food. It is important to have the proper fuel (food) and kindling (digestive acids & enzymes) in order to have a healthy fire (digestion), and if you were to pour ice-cold water on top of your fire, it would be put out. Hence, remember to always have your beverages, warm or at room temperature in order to maintain a healthy agni. 

Each of the three doshas have particular dipanas that work well with their governing qualities. Since vata and kapha are inherently cool in nature, it is best to counterbalance them with warming and stimulating digestive herbs. In contrast, pitta is inherently hot; therefore, it is best to balance with cooling dipanas. 

Below are some Ayurvedic Digestive Tea Recipes. If you are unsure which tea is best for you, here are a few guidelines to get you started:

• If you are currently experiencing dry skin, gas, constipation and/or excess movement in the mind in the form of anxiety and/or overwhelm, the transition from pitta to vata season may have increased vata dosha within you. Thus, we recommend you try the Vata Digestive Tea Recipe. 
• If you are currently experiencing indigestion, heartburn, loose stools, inflammation in the skin, smelly gas and/or heated emotions like anger, irritability or frustration, we recommend the Pitta Digestive Tea Recipe.
• If you are currently experiencing nausea after eating, sluggish digestion and/or a lack of motivation, we recommend the Kapha Digestive Tea Recipe. 
• If you are unsure what your current state of the doshas is, we recommend using the Pitta Digestive Tea Recipe as it is actually balancing to all doshas but does have a prahbhava, or particular affinity, to help soothe the hot quality of pitta. 
• If you are considered tridoshic, which means you are currently experiencing none of the digestive imbalances mentioned above or you have an equal balance of all three doshas, you can balance for the season and try the Vata Digestive Tea Recipe or the Pitta DigestiveTea Recipe. 
• If Ayurveda is new to you, please take our Discover Your Dosha Quiz and begin to learn more about your unique blend of the doshas. 
• Consider finding a local Ayurvedic Practitioner in you area in order to take a deeper dive into Ayurveda, self-care and self-inquiry. 
• If you do not have time to make your own digestive tea, check out our PAAVANI Loose Leaf Teas! These blends are all-organic, hand blended and formulated to maintain proper digestion, healthy skin and a balanced mind. 

We hope these recipes and our Ayurvedic insight help to keep you on the path of health and wellness during this busy, vata-vitiating time of year. We would like to leave you with this final thought- the choices you make daily result in your long-term health; thus, staying committed to your daily dinacharya rituals will leave you with healthy skin, body and mind for years to come!

*Beneficial for constipation, non-smelly gas & bloating

Ingredients:

4 cups water

1 teaspoon dry ginger root

1 teaspoon dry turmeric root

1 teaspoon dry licorice root

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a deep saucepan. Turn heat to medium-high and bring to a strong boil. Once it has come to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer. While the water is coming to a boil, with a slotted spoon, observe where the water line is on the spoon. Cook until the water line has been reduced by half, rendering 2 cups of tea. Once the water has reduced by half, turn off the heat and allow the tea to rest for 5-10 minutes before straining. Drink along with your meal to help aid healthy digestion.

Need immediate relief, but don't have time to prepare a tea? Create a churna by adding our Vata Spice Blend to warm water.

*beneficial for indigestion, heartburn & smelly gas

Ingredients:

4 cups water

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a deep saucepan. Turn heat to medium-high and bring to a strong boil. Once it has come to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer. While the water is coming to a boil, with a slotted spoon, observe where the water line is on the spoon. Cook until the water line has been reduced by half, rendering 2 cups of tea. Once the water has reduced by half, turn off the heat and allow the tea to rest for 5-10 minutes before straining. Drink along with your meal to help aid healthy digestion.

Need immediate relief, but don't have time to prepare a tea? Create a churna by adding our Pitta Spice Blend to warm water.

*beneficial for sluggish digestion & nausea

Ingredients:

4 cups water

1 teaspoon dry ginger root

1 teaspoon clove

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a deep saucepan. Turn heat to medium-high and bring to a strong boil. Once it has come to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer. While the water is coming to a boil, with a slotted spoon, observe where the water line is on the spoon. Cook until the water line has been reduced by half, rendering 2 cups of tea. Once the water has reduced by half, turn off the heat and allow the tea to rest for 5-10 minutes before straining. Drink along with your meal to help aid healthy digestion.

Need immediate relief, but don't have time to prepare a tea? Create a churna by adding our Kapha Spice Blend to warm water.