winter

These digestive bitters are a great way to support your digestive system or add a chai flavor to cocktails and mocktails! They’re made with whole spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and star anise and get their bitter flavor from dandelion and angelica roots.

In an effort to avoid descending into a dissertation about the history of my digestive system, I’ll simplify things by saying I’m prone to digestive issues. Healing major digestive issues (like leaky gut in my case) takes time and patience, which can be difficult in a western medicine-based culture when we seek immediate cures. I’ve learned to become highly attuned to my gut and support it in a multitude of ways, one of which is imbibing digestive bitters!

If you don’t take digestive bitters, you’re more than likely familiar with cocktail bitters like Angostura or orange. Bitters get their name from the bitter-tasting herbs like dandelion root and angelica root that provide the base and the medicinal qualities. The base of bitter-tasting herbs is combined with other aromatic herbs that lend flavor (i.e. make the bitter flavor more palatable) as well as medicinal qualities. The main difference between digestive bitters and cocktail bitters lies mostly in the intended use: cocktail bitters are typically focused on flavor and digestive bitters are focused on supporting the digestive system. You can read more about digestive bitters here if you like.

Over the years I’ve come to make my own batches of digestive bitters at home which allows me to play around with combinations and make it more cost effective. The digestive bitters I’m sharing today are not my standard mix of herbs but rather something special for winter or the holiday season that can be used in cocktails, mocktails, or as digestive support before or after a heavy meal. I’m planning to use mine for a holiday-esque old fashioned or hot toddy! They would also be delicious in a mocktail with a bit of sparkling water and citrus juice.

Chai-Spiced Digestive Bitters

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• Author: Courtney
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: about 8 ounces 1x

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Description

These digestive bitters are a great way to support your digestive system or add a chai flavor to cocktails and mocktails! They’re made with whole spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and star anise and get their bitter flavor from dandelion and angelica roots. 

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Ingredients

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• 7g dried dandelion root pieces (un-roasted)
• 7g dried angelica root pieces (or more dandelion root if you don’t have access to any)
• 5g cinnamon chips (i.e. broken cinnamon stick pieces)
• 5g dried ginger root pieces (don’t use powdered ginger!)
• 5g whole green cardamom pods
• 5g dried orange peel
• 3g whole star anise
• 3g whole cloves
• 2g whole black peppercorns
• Plain vodka (at least 100-proof)

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Instructions

Weigh out all of your herbs and combine them in a clean pint-sized glass jar. To make intensely flavored cocktail bitters, cover the herbs with 1 cup of vodka. If you plan on using these as digestive support, fill the remaining space in the jar with the vodka (about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups). 

Cover your jar with a lid and park it in a spot away from direct sunlight. Allow the herbs to steep, gently shaking the contents every day, for 3-4 weeks for cocktail use, or, 4-6 weeks for dietary use. (I’ve let mine steep as long as 8 weeks with some batches!) Strain your bitters through a sieve or cheese cloth into a clean bottle. Label with the contents and date then use how you like! Bitters taste best when used within a year.

The best way to use these is with a dropper bottle or a bottle with a reducer cap (like you see on bottles of essential oils). Here’s a good source for those types of bottles as well as bulk medicinal and culinary herbs.

Notes

As with any new supplements, if you plan on using these as dietary support, do so slowly to see how your body reacts. I take a small dropper-ful of digestive bitters before or after meals which is equivalent to about 20-30 drops.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes