Make: Earl Grey Throat Drops

Cold season is among us, my friends. Let’s stay prepared…

We all know the symptoms. Stuffy nose, drainage (I’m gonna call drainage glitter from now on, because I really can’t say what I need to say in this post, and use the word drainage one more time). Though I’m not out to cure the common cold, I am here to make things feel a little bit better.

So, we are making throat drops. Yummy ones that are healthy for you because of their minimal — and natural — ingredient list. 4 ingredients, that’s it. Oh, and to make things even easier, you probably have these ingredients sitting right in your kitchen. Let’s do this.

Ingredients:

1 cup Earl Grey tea

1 lemon (juiced)

1/2 cup manuka honey

1 tbsp cloves

Make:

First, make a strong cup of tea. I chose Earl Grey, not only because I love the flavor, especially during this season, but because of the included bergamot. It helps the immune system, and hey, that’s the point of these, right? Feel free to choose any flavor you like (I might do turmeric next). Poor that cup o’ tea in a bottom-heavy pot and stick on the stove top.

Add cloves — they will only be in the pot for a bit before being strained. The oils in cloves are known to help break down the “glitter” in the back of your throat, as well as kill germs.

Squeeze lemon into pot, as little or as much as you’d like. It’ll give you a great vitamin C boost. Pour that sticky manuka honey right off the spoon and let it get the party started. Honey is a natural cough suppressant, and will in tandem soothe the throat.

Allow to boil, strain the cloves out, and get ready for turning up the heat. You want this bad boy bubbling hot — up to 300 degrees (be careful)! If you aren’t one to have a candy thermometer just hangin’ around, (like me), grab a glass of ice water and drop a tiny bit of the mixture into the glass. If it solidifies, it’s done.

Carefully spoon the mixture onto parchment paper. I put my paper over a marble slab, so it would be extra cool and harden quickly. This is the fun part — you finished! Don’t fret if they aren’t perfect circles. I mean, look at my mess. ;) Let the drops harden. Recycle the sheet of parchment you already used, and cut the drops into squares, stack a layer on top. Easy peasy, am I right?

I put mine in a tiny canvas pouch and dropped it in my daily backpack just in case.

Give these a try, tell me what you think, and if you have any other tips to make the cold season feel a little smoother, let us know in the comments!

Follow FP Madisyn on Instagram + take a peek at her blog!

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Wow, I’m going to try this! Time to stop using the strepsils and cetaphils!

– Charmaine
http://charmainenyw.com

7 years ago

This came at the right time! Perfect. Need to try this definitely.

Hugs,
Hannie from Missing Wanderer

Colette
7 years ago

Wow! Surprised by only four ingredients, and love that earl grey is one of them. Trying these out thanks!!!

7 years ago

These sound amazing! I love how simple they are :) Thanks for sharing!

Emma xo // The Wallflower Wardrobe

7 years ago

Wow, now this a great diy!!!!!!!

Megan
7 years ago

How would you clean the pot after this (or would you just throw it away)?

7 years ago

What a genius idea.

7 years ago

Do you have to keep them in the fridge or anything? And how long do they last? Great idea!!

7 years ago

Thank you so much for sharing this! I’m definitely gonna give these a try. I hate the taste of cough drops, and you really never know exactly what you’re putting into your body with those things. I also love that this has only 4 ingredients.

7 years ago

Wow this is so brilliant and I’m sure they taste so yummy! Thanks for sharing!

Carolee
7 years ago

I love this! Can’t wait to try them-it takes a cup of tea/honey/lemon to another cold fighting level.

7 years ago

These are absolutely amazing! What a cool idea.

Marie
7 years ago

I think you destroy vitamin C by boiling it..

kathleen
7 years ago

my solution will not solidify. what should i do? i tried the water trick and it dies not work. it has been on a high boil for 30 mins.

kathleen
7 years ago

my solution did burn and it was a huge mess. huge disappointment. Would not solidify until it burnt.

Morgan
7 years ago

My solution never solidified and just made a huge mess by over-boiling. Massively disappointed.

Anonymous
7 years ago

1/2 cup manuka honey?? That’s like $20 of honey…?? Organic cough drops are $8 for a sizeable bag… and don’t destroy your kitchen…

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

FP Madisyn
7 years ago

Kathleen + Morgan:

Hi ladies! I’m so sorry that you guys gave these a try and that they didn’t work out for you. The mixture was supposed to get to 300 degrees, and at that temp, it would still be liquid. The solidifying test was supposed to be done in a cold glass of water – spoon a bit out, drop it in the cold water, and if it solidified, then it is done.

Sorry if that was unclear!

Em
7 years ago

Boiling the honey would destroy the goodness in it, wouldn’t it? Also to Megan – I’m sure you can just boil water in the saucepan to clean it – if you were to throw a pot away after one batch of a few throat drops that’s pretty crazy.

7 years ago

This is great for the cold season! Would make awesome and thoughtful gifts for friends & family who are sick.

Kayla of Kaev Designs

Jessica
7 years ago

Tried making these and they turned out great. Ended up melting in my mouth with a taffy texture and had delicious flavor so thanks!

7 years ago

These sound amazing and I love honey! These would make a great gift for someone and much better than just buying a present with no thought behind it!

April
7 years ago

I tried this and the mixture didn’t solidify for me either, but I ended up using the liquid anyway by adding it to hot water and drinking it as a tea. It tasted really nice and actually helped to soothe my sore throat. Thanks for the recipe! :)