Ingredients: organic turmeric, organic ginger, organic lemongrass, organic Malabar peppercorn
We don’t like to pick favorites, but we definitely have a thing for turmeric.
This anti-inflammatory, adaptogenic superstar stole Founder Lisa Govro's heart when she studied Ayurvedic cheffing. She developed our flagship tea blend Cup of Sunshine in 2012 to get more turmeric into more hands. For the company's first year in biz this was the only tea we offered - just one blend.
After Cup of Sunshine became a bestseller, we wanted to take things a step further with turmeric. Behold, Sunshine Dust.
In 2016, we tested this recipe with baristas from award-winning Sardella and Mud House over the course of 2 months before coming up with the perfect solution for our barista friends.
The Origins of Turmeric with Milk
Turmeric is a super huge health craze - there are Crucmin supplements
[change] Around the world, turmeric is cooked into savory sauces for flavor and color. Almost anytime you see that tell-tale bright golden color marking a dish, turmeric is the artist behind it. Yellow mustard has turmeric to thank, in fact. But it’s more than a kitchen ally. Originating in India and Indonesia as a cousin to ginger, it was passing from hand-to-hand all the way to Babylon and Egypt as far back as 1500 BCE, known even then as a powerful wound-healer.
In South Asia, where Ayurveda highly prizes its native turmeric, this root is warmed in milk for soothing wellness drinks. Sometimes taken in combination with other medicinal herbs, turmeric is often enjoyed on its own as haldi doodh (Hindi for “turmeric milk” — it has many names!). The fats in cow or coconut milk help your body receive all the benefits, since turmeric is fat-soluble.
In Cup of Sunshine, you can sip assured that our turmeric is not only certified organic, but it’s tested for heavy metals (like lead), pesticides, herbicides, moisture (because mold spores!), and bacteria. That’s right. We’re not messing around. We take our healing teas very seriously. They’d better be as healthy and honest as they are delicious.
A delicious, easy way to support your anti-inflammatory diet. Make a golden milk smoothie. An anti-inflammatory breakfast. Have some golden milk before bed to tuck you in. Get that good stuff all day long.
So wait - What are the Health Benefits of Turmeric?
It’s one of the few herbs extensively studied by both Ayurvedic and “Western” allopathic medicine. Turmeric's health benefits range from being anti-inflammatory, aiding digestion, boosting immunity with its antioxidants, and easing the effects of chronic stress.
And not only does it contain a large quantity of antioxidants, but it even increases your body's own antioxidant defenses to scavenge free radicals with more gusto.
It might be most famous for its anti-inflammatory power, and there's good reason for that.
Curcumin is a phytopolylphenol pigment found in whole turmeric and is the powerhouse behind the herb's anti-inflammatory power.
Curcumin is often isolated and extracted from our fave golden rhizome, and can be a powerful supplement for healing inflammation. Its supplements can be more effective at treating arthritis than allopathic medication for some people.
Additionally, there are neurotrophic aspects to curcumin. It boosts the brain's growth hormone BDNF, which enables the brain to make new connections, regrow damage, stave off depression, and perhaps even more (brain science is, like, a pretty mysterious field). It also shows promise for preventing or treating Alzheimer’s in animal models.
Curcumin also helps heart disease. Since curcumin improves the lining of blood cells ("endothelium"), issues like blood-clotting, high blood pressure have a harder time taking root in your body. One study in postmenopausal women found it was as effective as exercise at improving heart health this way!
Of course, intense, high-dose curcumin supplements can have some adverse effects, too. Liver issues can rise up with such powerful herbal medicine, and we still don’t know exactly what long-term effects might be.
every ingredient is good for you
We created a magical dust that's filled with good stuff. Turmeric gives that color and that crazy-healthy boost, sure, but there's more to the health benefits and flavor of Sunshine Dust than just turmeric.
Benefits of Lemongrass
Benefits of Ginger
[change up] And then there's ginger. Grandma might've given you ginger for nausea, and she was spot on. It does more than soothe your tummy, though - if consumed regularly, some of its compounds accumulate in your digestive tract, keeping a healthier digestive environment stable in your body. And with a crazy amount of antioxidants — like, only pomegranates and certain berries have more — it's a free radical warrior for your beautiful body, protecting you against disease.
Benefits of Peppercorn
[change up] We chose Malabar black peppercorn for the bold, fruity flavor associated with pepper from India's Malabar coast. But black pepper is a serious healer. It's most famous for its active ingredient piperine (often falsely cited as turmeric’s dance partner — more on that later), but it also holds a rich phytochemistry of beneficial volatile oils, oleoresins, and alkaloids — all immune-boosting, disease-fighting agents.
All these flavors come together for something that's bright, citrusy, fiery, and earthy at once. It's not just good for you - it's delicious, and unique. Sunshine Dust is definitely in a class of its own.
The tea.
Sunshine Dust is bold, earthy, warming, and spicy. And it's super easy to make into a latte at home for your self care rituals.
Get it direct: Add Sunshine Dust to smoothies, oatmeal, puddings, you name it.
Latte: Just 1 tbl well-mixed with 1/4 cup hot water (not boiling) will give you a golden paste you can then pour your milk of choice on top of. We like to add a few drops of honey, since Sunshine Dust is pure spices and herbs.
Recipes: Here are two of our favorites!
It's like magic dust. But real.
