Kitchen Curious: Shake up your mornings with these wake-me-up drinks
For a long, long time, I’ve started my day with coffee. Not just any coffee. There has always been a particular way about it. I’ve spent years trying to perfect Spanish café con leche at home. Ditto with attempts to duplicate Cuban and Puerto Rican styles. When I swapped an espresso machine for an AeroPress, I wondered if that would deliver the caffeine hit I wished for.
Now, I find myself waking up to a different sort of morning pick-me-up. It’s one that barely involves caffeine.
“Vital Tonics & Soothing Teas” is a fairly new health book by Rachel de Thample (Kyle Books, $16.95). For those looking to jump-start 2019 with offbeat beverages, de Thample has drink ideas worth imbibing.
Among her wake-me-ups, a warm, wee mug of Morning Sunshine brightened all four days that I tested it. Clementines, plus fresh ginger and turmeric are truly sunshine on cloudy, cold winter days. Sicilian Garden Tea is puckery with lemon; fresh rosemary gives its subtle nuance. If you want more of an herb boost, add a few more sprigs and let the tea steep longer than the prescribed 5 minutes.
Butter-froth Coffee, which holds both ghee and coconut oil, is as good as any prescription for bulletproof coffee. The first time I chatted about that high-performance drink was in 2015, before it became hip among the health crazed impressed by its benefits, which are said to include improved cognitive function, increased energy, suppressed food cravings and fat loss. The interview subject: St. Louis Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak. At the time, bulletproof coffee was part of his daily regimen; a routine that rivals anything that perfect sports specimen Patriots QB Tom Brady puts in his body.
Ready for the drink of champions?
- 2 clementines
- 1 1/4-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 small fresh turmeric root, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 cup freshly boiled water
- Halve the clementines and squeeze the juice into the teapot.
- Add the squeezed fruit along with the ginger and turmeric to the teapot.
- Pour over the freshly boiled water, steep for 5 minutes or longer, then strain into a mug and drink.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 41 calories (percent of calories from fat, 4), 1 gram protein, 9 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, trace fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 1 milligram sodium.
- 1 lemon
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup freshly boiled water
- Strip the lemon zest using a vegetable peeler and put it into a teapot, then squeeze the juice into the teapot.
- Add the rosemary and cinnamon and pour over the freshly boiled water. Steep for 5 minutes, then strain into a mug and drink.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 13 calories (percent of calories from fat, 1), trace protein, 4 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, trace fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 1 milligram sodium.
- 1/4cup freshly ground organic coffee beans
- 2 cups freshly boiled water
- 1/4cup cold water
- 2 tablespoons grass-fed butter or ghee
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or Bulletproof Brain Octane Oil, available online)
- Brew the coffee using the hot and cold water.
- Pour the brewed coffee into a blender, add the butter and oil, and blend for 5 minutes, or until frothy.Pour into glasses and drink immediately.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 263 calories (percent of calories from fat, 91), 2 grams protein, 5 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, 27 grams fat (20 grams saturated), 35 milligrams cholesterol, 8 milligrams sodium.From “Vital Tonics & Soothing Teas” by Rachel de Thample © 2017 Kyle Books, reprinted with permission.
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About the Author
Ligaya Figueras is the AJC's senior editor for Food & Dining. Prior to joining the AJC in 2015, she was the executive editor for St. Louis-based culinary magazine Sauce. She has worked in the publishing industry since 1999 and holds degrees from St. Louis University and the University of Michigan.
