Cinnamon Red Hots Tea Recipe

This red hots cinnamon tea recipe tastes like those bright little candies, but it’s really a super healthy treat! I have tried through the years to like healthy teas. Like green tea. I KNOW it’s super good for you, but…I just couldn’t dig it.

And then there was Matcha tea. I bought a box after reading about it, and I tried it. I really tried. But. Erm…I was underwhelmed with the flavor. It sat around in my tea box not being loved.  Until now. Last year, my friend Cyndi posted on Facebook about trying cayenne cinnamon tea.

Cayenne? Sounds painful. But she said that it tasted like red hots! I was intrigued.

I’ve been a fan of hot cinnamon candy since I was a little girl. My Dad used to show up at school with pockets full of atomic fireballs to hand out to my friends. One year, he had the bright idea to tell us kids that on Christmas day the world smells like cinnamon. We woke up with burning upper lips, since he’d snuck in and wiped some cinnamon oil under our noses. Ha! As much as I *love* cinnamon flavor, I’m not a fan of the burn.

Aside from tasting like candy, my friend also talked about the health benefits of using cinnamon and cayenne.

She said that she was, “hoping to get my circulation working better and stay warmer. I’ve always been on the cold side. Not only have I noticed that I am feeling warmer, I have also noticed much better digestion, more energy, and help with my blood sugar…I’m completely sold on cayenne. Amazing herb!”

I’ll tell you more about the benefits in a minute, but suffice it to say I was intrigued enough to try her tea idea.

I started experimenting, and using up some of those packets of unused teas. WOW! I was hooked. If you like the taste of red hots or atomic fireballs, then you should try this!

You can tailor the amount of kick, and build your way up to more spice if you want. My amounts are for a gentle kick… you can always add more. And be aware that cayenne loses its heat as it ages. So if you reorder fresh cayenne, just be aware that you may want to back off the measurements a bit to find your comfort zone. 

If you get it a little *too* spicy, you can always add some cream to tame it back. Fat helps calm down the kick.

I started out making this by the cup, and am now enjoying it by the thermos full. It’s THAT delicious! I’m gonna have to get more boxes of green tea to keep up my new habit. And this is a habit that I can be proud of, since this is a SUPER healthy tea recipe!

Cinnamon Red Hots Tea Recipe Benefits

First, this tea (unlike red hots candies and fireballs) is sugar free. Just like the cinnamon candies, it’s got a sweet, cinnamony kick that’s slightly addictive. And there’s SO many more benefits to this grown up treat.

I’ve tried using regular black tea with this tea recipe, and I just really, really love it with green. Specifically green matcha tea. I found the Kirkland’s brand Green Tea with Matcha at Costco for under $20 for 100 tea bags.

Green tea is one of the healthiest things you can drink, and is full of antioxidants. It’s beneficial to blood vessel health, as well as the heart, brain, and memory. (Pour me another cuppa!)

It’s thought to be protective against Alzheimer’s, congestive heart failure, high cholesterol, and may help stabilize blood sugar¹.

Matcha: If you find green tea with Matcha, you’re in for even more benefits! Matcha is a powdered concentrated form of green tea. Dr. Axe says,

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the catechins in matcha green tea (EGCG, EGC, ECG, and EC) are so powerful that it is believed that they actually help prevent cancer.

Green tea is also thought to promote weight loss and boost metabolism while lowering bad cholesterol levels. AND in studies, it promotes cell regeneration, and aids recovery from strenuous workouts.² 

Cinnamon: Because this is a water extraction, you can use whatever cinnamon sticks you have on hand. I really love the taste of ceylon cinnamon, and the lower coumarin (blood thinning component) makes it a healthier choice for regular consumption if you’re using lots of powdered cinnamon in recipes and drinks. Cinnamon is a wonderful herb for enhancing digestive “fire”, and has been used to help stimulate healthy gastric secretions in cases of nausea, gas or bloating, and even anorexia. ³

Cayenne is an herb that I’ve shied away from, due to its intensely spicy nature. Cayenne comes in different heat grades…and especially if you’ve got a fresh batch it can really be potent stuff! Cayenne has been a part of herbal medicine since ancient Egypt, and is thought to be a powerful stimulant for the digestive system, heart, and circulation. ⁴

Red Hot Cinnamon Tea Recipe Printable & Pin

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I use the Trim Healthy Mama Sweet Blend sweetener (my affiliate link to their store)
& the Kirkland’s brand Green Tea with Matcha is my favorite (my Amazon affiliate link- or find it at Costco!)

5.0 from 2 reviews

Cinnamon Red Hots Tea Recipe

 

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If you like Cinnamon Red Hots candy, or atomic fireballs, then you'll LOVE this super healthy tea! It gets me all warmed up for winter- I drink it by the thermos-full. And it's got an impressive resume of benefits that you can read more about on my blog. NOTE: Cayenne comes in different potencies, and loses its heat with age. If you're sensitive to heat, start with the smaller amounts listed here and work your way up.

Author: Gwen

Recipe type: Drinks

Ingredients

• 
  By the cup:
• one green tea bag- I like the Kirklands green tea with matcha powder (here)
• 1 small cinnamon stick (3-4 inches)
• 1/16th teaspoon cayenne pepper - or two of the small stevia extract spoon fulls
• 1 teaspoon sweet blend or 1-2 packets of Truvia or sweetener of choice
  By the Thermos (Quart)
• 1 quart (4 cups) boiling water
• 1 to 2 large cinnamon sticks (or 3-4 small)
• 3 green tea bags
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne, or to taste or heat tolerance
• 1 tablespoon sweet blend, or 3-5 packets of Truvia or your sweetener of choice to taste
• cream, optional

Instructions

1. Bring water to a boil, adding cinnamon sticks to water.
2. When water comes to a boil, pour off into cup or thermos.
3. Add cinnamon stick, tea bag(s), cayenne, and sweetener.
4. Allow to steep 5-10 minutes or overnight for strongest flavor.
5. Taste and adjust heat and sweet.
6. Serve and enjoy!
7. If you overshoot the heat, add a splash of heavy cream- the fat helps blunt the heat of cayenne.
8. If you let the tea sit between cups, shake to blend the cayenne, or your last cup will be the spiciest!

Notes

Adjust cayenne to your heat tolerance. If the cayenne in your spice cabinet has been there a while, you may get away with using a good bit more. However, if you replace it, be aware that fresh cayenne has a substantial *kick* to it.

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Resources:

1. Green Tea Benefits
2. Matcha Benefits
3. Cinnamon Benefits & Contraindications, more Contraindications
4. Cayenne Benefits & Contraindications

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