AIP Thai iced tea slushie - black tea steeped with clove and cinnamon, sweetened with honey and finished with coconut milk over crushed ice

Spiced tea over crushed ice with a swirl of coconut milk is one of those drinks that looks complicated and takes about 10 minutes of actual effort, most of it just waiting for the tea to steep and chill. That gap between how impressive it looks and how little it asks of you is worth knowing about on a day when you want something that feels like more than plain iced tea.

Polyphenols are a big part of what black tea is, chemically, and ongoing research keeps tying that plant-compound family to a steadier immune and inflammatory picture over time. Hold that loosely, you're making this because it's good, not because it's doing clinical work. The tea does contain real caffeine, so it fits better in your morning or early afternoon than at the end of the day.

Steep it the full time so the clove and cinnamon really come through, sweeten it while it's warm, and give it a real chill before you build the glass. Pour it over crushed ice, finish with a drizzle of coconut milk, and watch the two colors swirl together for a second before you stir it into one.

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 2 black tea bags
• 1 whole clove
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla powder (swapped from vanilla extract for strict AIP)
• 2 tablespoons honey (omit for low-FODMAP)
• 2 tablespoons coconut milk (omit for low-FODMAP)

Method

Bring the water to a boil, then take it off the heat. Add the tea bags, the clove, the cinnamon stick, and the vanilla powder.

Steep for 10 minutes. Stir in the honey while the tea is still warm, then chill the tea for at least 30 minutes.

Fill two glasses with crushed ice and divide the chilled tea between them.

Finish each glass with a drizzle of coconut milk.

This is a steep-and-chill drink, so it needs no air fryer or Instant Pot variation.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*