Recipe: Spiced Vanilla-Bean Steamers

Jess Thomson
Jess Thomson
Jess Thomson is a food and travel writer and the author of 8 cookbooks, including A Boat, a Whale and a Walrus. Her most recent book, A Year Right Here, is a food memoir about her family. She lives in Seattle, with her husband and eight-year-old son.
updated May 1, 2019
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Spiced Vanilla-Bean Steamers
This turmeric and vanilla based mocktail is your cozy alternative to boozy holiday drinks.

Serves4 to 6

Makesabout 6 cups

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(Image credit: Stephanie Russo)

It’s 20 degrees outside, but only in the sun. Your guests have trekked over for dinner, but before you can get down to making pasta together or get help setting the table, everyone needs to thaw out. There’s always mulled wine or spiked hot cider, but not every guest will want to start with booze. Enter: the tea steamer.

(Image credit: Stephanie Russo)

Tea-Based Mocktails Bring the Flavor

Tea is often overlooked as a soothing, cozy party drink — but sweetened with an easy vanilla syrup and served in big mugs folks can wrap their hands around, these tea-based steamers will get people talking. With just a splash of milk, they won’t fill people up, but the warming flavor of turmeric and ginger makes them more interesting (and significantly less sugary) than something like hot chocolate.

Look for turmeric tea in bags in the tea aisle — the fewer ingredients in the tea, the better, but turmeric-ginger tea makes a delicious (and slightly spicy) variation. Remove the seeds from the vanilla bean by cutting it lengthwise with a small, sharp knife and scraping the seeds out with a spoon. (If the bean feels dry or stiff, wrap it in a damp paper towel and microwave it for about 30 seconds, or until soft, before slicing into it.)

(Image credit: Stephanie Russo)
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Spiced Vanilla-Bean Steamers

This turmeric and vanilla based mocktail is your cozy alternative to boozy holiday drinks.

Makes about 6 cups

Serves 4 to 6

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup

    granulated sugar

  • Scraped seeds and pod of 1/2 vanilla bean

  • 2

    turmeric or turmeric-ginger tea bags

  • 1 cup

    whole milk

Instructions

  1. Place the sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to help the sugar dissolve. When the liquid is clear, add the seeds and vanilla pod and simmer for 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat and set aside.

  2. Meanwhile, bring 6 cups (48 ounces) of water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat, add the tea bags, cover, and let steep 5 minutes. Use a spoon to firmly squeeze the liquid out of the tea bags before removing them from the pot.

  3. Divide the tea between 4 large mugs. Add 1/4 cup of the milk and 1 to 2 tablespoons of the vanilla syrup (or to taste) to each mug. Serve hot.

Recipe Notes

Cold steamers: You can also make the drinks as directed, refrigerate until cool, and serve over ice.

Filed in:
Beverages
Breakfast
easy
Gluten-Free
milk
nonalcoholic