“Blow Away That Cold” Herbal Tea
2 teaspoons raspberry leaves and hips
1 teaspoon feverfew flowers
½ teaspoon fresh, grated ginger root
Brew as an herbal infusion.
Chamomile Tea
To prepare a fresh chamomile herbal tea, steep 1 tablespoon of the fresh flowers (or 2 teaspoons of dried) in one cup boiling water for five to ten minutes.
Clove Tea
To make your own strong decoction of clove tea, boil
3 ounces of the chopped root in a pint of water for one-half hour. Sieve away the root, and you will have a medicinal-
strength brew.
Flaxseed Tea
The taste of this infusion is soothing and gelatinous. When preparing flaxseed for an herbal tea, it is suggested that you first grind the seeds. Then add 2 teaspoons to 1 cup of boiling water and allow to steep for at least ten minutes before drinking.
Gingko Tea
Herbalists recommend using 1 teaspoon per cup of boiling water. Infuse for 10 minutes until the brew turns yellow. Strain and drink.
Honeybush Tea
Prepare honeybush tea by boiling 2 to 3 tablespoons in a quart of water for twenty minutes. Strain and serve. Africans drink both honeybush and rooibos with sugar and milk, but the infusion tastes equally good without any additives. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for a sweet, sugar-free iced tea.
Irish Moss Tonic
To make an Irish moss tonic combine ½ ounce of the dried seaweed with ½ ounce cocoa, and boil in 1 pint milk and 1 pint water for ten to fifteen minutes. Strain and season with licorice or cinnamon and sweeten with honey. This type of herbal preparation falls under the category of “white infusions” in color healing.
Lavender Rose Tea
Following is a recipe that takes advantage of the light flavor of rose petals in combination with the clean taste of lavender.
½ cup Lady Grey green tea
1 tablespoon red rose petals
2 teaspoons lavender buds
½ teaspoon allspice berries, crushed
Blend ingredients well, and use ½ teaspoon per cup.
Licorice Decoction
To make your own strong decoction, boil 3 ounces of the chopped root in 1 pint of water for one-half hour. Sieve away the root, and you will have a medicinal-strength brew.
Morning Tea
You do not need to search high and low for a gourmet scented tea to enjoy a flowery brew. Simply combine edible blossoms and spices of your choice (such as rose, honeysuckle, lavender) with your favorite loose green tea. When you do this, you also reap the health benefits of the added botanicals. The following is an example.
2 teaspoons Lady Grey green tea, any brand (Two popular varieties of this tea exist. Both consist of Earl Grey tea. One variety adds lavender for a clean taste, and the other adds Seville oranges for a citrus taste.)
½ teaspoon lemon verbena leaves, fresh or dried, to refresh you
½ teaspoon alfalfa to give you a shot of vitamins A, B, C, K, and minerals
¼ teaspoon ginseng for revitalization
¼ teaspoon guaraná for energy
Pinch of safflower for stimulation (or saffron, although be aware that saffron is very expensive)
Mix all of the ingredients together, except for the fresh lemon, and store in the refrigerator in an airtight jar. Depending on how strong you take your tea, this recipe will render several cups. Some people prefer to only use ½ teaspoon per cup of hot water. Add a squirt or two of lemon to each serving to enliven the brew.
Parsley Tea
To prepare parsley tea, chop ¼ cup of fresh leaves or measure 2 teaspoons of chopped dried leaves. Pop in a few seeds if you are drinking the tea to counteract symptoms of arthritis or rheumatism. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over the leaves, steep for 5 minutes, strain away the leaves and drink hot. Parsley can taste bitter, so you might want to add a fresh chopped stevia leaf, honey, or even a squirt of lemon to your brew.
Rooibos Tea
Prepare rooibos somewhat differently from other herbal teas. Use 1 to 4 teaspoons per cup of boiling water, steep for ten minutes instead of the usual five minutes, pour through a coffee filter and enjoy it plain or sweetened. In spite of using more of the herb, rooibos is economical because you can re-steep the leaves up to three times before you need to discard them. The infusion also tastes delicious iced.
Spicy Chai
1 cup Chai, brewed from a Chai teabag in milk
½ teaspoon kelp, a nutrient that cleanses arteries and the reproductive system, increases vitality, and is a remedy for eczema, asthma, anemia, headache, and goiter
¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ground
¼ teaspoon green or black cardamom pod, crushed
Blend all ingredients and stir with a licorice or cinnamon stick.
Vanilla Milk Tea
If you go the decaffeinated route, you can also serve this to children.
4 cups soft, filtered water
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon White Peony tea
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Honey (or stevia) to taste
Boil the water. Meanwhile, in a separate pot, bring the milk to a simmer and add sweetener. When the water has boiled, add the tea and steep in a covered nonmetal container for five minutes. Sieve away the tea leaves and add the sweetened milk and extract. Stir well and pour into cups. Serves six.
Russian Tea
Russian tea is a full-bodied black tea brewed strongly in a samovar, a metal urn. Traditionally, the water is heated by passing a tube filled with hot charcoal through the hollow center. These days, most samovars are energized by little propane units that fit into the bottom like in chafing dishes. However, you don’t need a samovar to brew a fortifying pot of Russian tea. By tradition, the tea is served with lemon and sugar cubes. Russians like their tea very sweet, so they might add 1 cup sugar, which may be too sweet for most people. The natural sugars in the juices and spices in this recipe should be enough.
5 cups Russian Caravan (or Irish Breakfast) tea, strongly brewed*
½ cup orange juice, fresh squeezed
¼ cup pineapple juice
¼ cup lemon juice, fresh squeezed
1 teaspoon cinnamon pieces, crushed
1 teaspoon allspice, crushed
½ teaspoon cloves, crushed
Sugar to taste
Add the rest of the ingredients to the hot brewed tea and bring to a boil. Let mixture steep for five minutes, then pour through the strainer into a warmed teapot. The strainer will capture the leaves and bits of spices so they don’t lodge in your teeth. Pour from the teapot into glass mugs. Serves six.
*Note: Brewing tea strongly means increasing the ratio of tea to water, not extending the brewing time, which can make the tea bitter and unappetizing.
Iced Green Earl Grey Tea
Here’s a variation on traditional Black Earl Grey tea. Brew a cup of your favorite green tea, adding a few fresh bergamot leaves to the brew. Since you are going to add ice, you should add twice as much tea as you would if you were going to drink the tea hot. Pour over ice and enjoy. If you cannot find fresh bergamot in the store, grow your own. Since bergamot is a mint, it is easy to grow in almost any climate and spreads readily throughout the garden. This mint will also thrive in a pot in a sunny window.