A Tuesday morning in mid-April, when the sky is still white and you haven’t quite found your motivation yet. That’s when this infusion does its job. Ten minutes, a saucepan, and a few spices that are already hanging around in your cupboard.
Ingredients :
- Cloves — This is what gives the infusion its character. Five to six whole cloves, lightly crushed with the flat of a knife to release the oils — you’ll smell the difference immediately. No need to add more; it’s a spice that speaks for itself.
- Fresh lemon — Bottled juice doesn’t work here. Half a lemon squeezed by hand, directly into the cup off the heat. Fresh lemon has that bright acidity that cuts through the warm spices — the other version just tastes flat and slightly chemical.
- Fresh ginger — A centimeter of root, sliced or coarsely grated. Fresh ginger has a different heat than ground ginger — sharper, cleaner, slightly floral. If you don’t have any, a small pinch of powder can help in a pinch, but it’s really not as good.
- Raw honey — Industrially heated industrial honey does the sweetening job but not much else. An unpasteurized acacia or wildflower honey really changes the flavor. A teaspoon, added off the heat — otherwise the heat makes it lose what makes it interesting.
