• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Tara's Multicultural Table

  • Index
  • International Recipes
  • Travel
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Policies

Aynar (Lebanese Spiced Tea)

13 March, 2015 by Tara 10 Comments

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

A recipe for Aynar (Lebanese Spiced Tea)! This orange-tinted tea is packed with warming spices and served with a combination of chopped walnuts, pistachios, and pine nuts.

Close up of Aynar (Lebanese Spiced Tea) in a clear glass with chopped nuts.

Due Date

Today is Claire’s due date (and our 5 year anniversary)! Instead of welcoming home a newborn this week, she decided to surprise us and arrive last month when I was 36 weeks pregnant.

Baby with a purple and blue blanket and blue flower headband.

For being slightly premature, she has been doing amazingly well. My friend Lauren from Sew You Think You Can Cook even threw me a surprise virtual baby shower with a wonderful group of fellow bloggers, but Claire was already here by the posting date!

She was 6 pounds 3 ounces and 18 3/4 inches at birth and had already gained a pound and an inch by her two week appointment.

Big brother looking closely at newborn in hospital bed.

Evan loves having a sibling so far. He always has to know where she is, but will often tell me to give her to Dad so I can focus on him. He also keeps trying to get her to play with his toys.

Welcome to the family Claire!

Newborn baby in pink sleeper.

Aynar (Lebanese Spiced Tea)

Side view of Aynar (Lebanese Spiced Tea) in two clear glasses.

While I was pregnant, I started researching to see what foods and drinks are popular during the postpartum period around the world.

I came across a recipe for Aynar, a Lebanese Spiced Tea, from UmmObaidah Cooks.

Other recipes that stood out during my search were Lohusa Şerbeti (a seasoned red Turkish tea) and Beschuit met Muisjes (twice-baked bread topped with butter and anise-flavored sprinkles that have been dyed either pink or blue).

This Lebanese tea is is perfect for celebrating a new baby and helping in the postpartum period. Water is simmered on the stove with cinnamon sticks, fresh ginger, anise seeds, and nutmeg. Sugar is blended in to taste, then the tea is served with a small handful of chopped nuts for quite the soothing drink. 

The Aynar comes together with minimal prep, but does take some time to simmer on the stove. I usually cook the mixture between 1-1 1/2 hours. The longer the tea simmers, the stronger the flavor and color.

Adjust the level of sugar for the Aynar based on personal taste. I tend to stick with around 2/3 cup. Decrease to 1/2 cup for a more lightly sweetened drink or increase further to 1 full cup for a very sweet tea.

Place a layer of mixed, chopped nuts in the bottom of each glass before pouring in the tea. Most will float to the top. I used an assortment of what I happened to have on hand: walnuts, pistachios, and pine nuts (almonds are also popular).

If the holes in your strainer are too large to hold the anise seeds, add a coffee filter or cheesecloth to help catch the spices.

Looking for more tea recipes?

Try my:

  • Sudanese Cinnamon Tea
  • Teh Tarik (Malaysian Pulled Tea)
  • Shay bil Maramiya (Palestinian Sage-Scented Tea)
Side view of Aynar (Lebanese Spiced Tea) in two clear glasses next to assorted nuts and cinnamon sticks.

Aynar (Lebanese Spiced Tea) Recipe

Adapted from UmmObaidah Cooks

Aynar (Lebanese Spiced Tea) in a clear glass with chopped nuts.
Print Pin
5 from 4 votes

Aynar (Lebanese Spiced Tea)

A recipe for Aynar (Lebanese Spiced Tea)! This orange-tinted tea is packed with warming spices and served with a combination of chopped walnuts, pistachios, and pine nuts.
Course Drinks
Cuisine Lebanese
Keyword beverage, drink, Lebanese, Lebanon, tea
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
0 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings 8 cups

Ingredients

  • 8 cups (1.8 liters) water
  • 4 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 inch (5 centimeters) piece fresh ginger sliced
  • 1 tablespoon anise seed
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2/3 cup (135 grams) granulated sugar
  • Chopped walnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, and/or almonds for serving

Instructions

  • In a medium saucepan, place water over high heat. Add the cinnamon sticks, fresh ginger slices, anise seeds, and nutmeg.
  • Once the water comes to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Allow to simmer to desired strength and color, 1-1 1/2 hours.
  • Immediately before ready to serve, whisk in the sugar and simmer until dissolved. Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Discard the spices.
  • Place the chopped nuts into the bottom of each teacup. Pour in the hot tea and serve immediately.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

Filed Under: Beverages, Middle Eastern/African

Previous Post: « Irish Scones
Next Post: Irish Cream Dark Chocolate Pudding »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Elizabeth

    13 March, 2015 at 12:11 am

    Congratulations, Tara! I hadn’t realized until today that you were a new mother again. So happy for you. 🙂

    Reply
    • Tara

      19 March, 2015 at 9:02 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  2. lk529

    13 March, 2015 at 3:22 am

    Happy Anniversary! Now you get to keep this day to just the two of you, isn’t your daughter so thoughtful. 😉
    I’m so glad she’s doing so well. Can’t wait to meet her!!

    Reply
    • Tara

      19 March, 2015 at 9:03 am

      Thanks! Can’t wait to see you guys!

      Reply
  3. Michelle Boule

    11 March, 2021 at 3:08 pm

    5 stars
    Your daughter is beautiful! One day she’ll be helping you create wonderful recipes like this

    Reply
  4. Chenée

    11 March, 2021 at 3:19 pm

    5 stars
    This tea looks delicious and so easy to make. I love the combination of spices.

    Reply
  5. Lindsay

    11 March, 2021 at 3:20 pm

    5 stars
    What a beautiful baby! Congratulations to you and your family. This tea sounds so comforting, and I love the added nuts for both flavor and nutrition. Great idea for a healthy post partum drink.

    Reply
  6. Michelle

    11 March, 2021 at 3:49 pm

    5 stars
    What a wonderful tea, sounds delicious!

    Reply
  7. Darla

    10 November, 2022 at 6:00 pm

    Trying to make this now but I don’t know what the 1/4 for the nutmeg is referring to! Teaspoon?

    Reply
    • Tara

      10 November, 2022 at 6:29 pm

      Hi Darla! Sorry, that somehow got deleted. Yes it is 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

About Me

tarasmctable (1 of 1)

Hello and welcome to Tara's Multicultural Table! Check out the index to find recipes from around the world and learn more about me here.

Subscribe to Tara's Multicultural Table via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,156 other subscribers
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Categories

Amazon

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program and earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Tara's Multicultural Table via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,156 other subscribers

Featured Recipes:

Galaxy Doughnuts on a black background.
Seven Unicorn Cupcakes on a white pedestal.
Loco Moco Pizza on a round wooden board.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Tara's Multicultural Table on the Foodie Pro Theme