Many years ago Charles and I stopped drinking sodas. Charles drinks coffee in the morning but drastically reduced his coffee intake. We mostly drink warm water every day.
Some of you have asked me, why do we drink warm water? Charles and I became a convert to drinking hot/warm water years ago after reading and article then searching more information about the belief of drinking warm water being better for your body.
So the story goes, Charles and I became addicted to drinking warm water.
Yesterday I dehydrated some strawberries. They came off the dehydrator almost leaf thin and I decided these would be good for strawberry tea.
I will keep the strawberries air sealed in a jar and put in our pantry where it is dark.
The amount of strawberries you steep is up to you. I mostly drink warm water but I also like to make mild teas. I am sensitive to caffeine so I try to avoid all caffeine and why I just make a simple tea to have a different beverage.
you can put a saucer or small custard bowl over the top and let it steep for about five minutes. I drink it without anything added but you can add a bit of sugar or honey.
You can set a pretty table or just drink your tea sitting in a chair with a side tray.
There are many things that you can grow in your garden or yard that will make tea. Fruits and mints to name a few.
I enjoy growing herbs and some of the herbs you can use for tea and then there are the herbs that are medicinal. I am no expert to tell you about all the benefits of the herbs that I grow but feel good that I have them in our garden should anything ever happen that these herbs could be a benefit. I have several herb books and so I am careful to try and understand the herb that I grow.
One of our volunteer sunflowers has finally opened this morning. The past week I have been waiting to see this bright cheerful sunflower open.
To my surprise it has finally lifted its top petals.
On the way we pass some of the blueberries. I planted coneflowers several years ago too close to the blueberries not thinking about the size that the blueberry bushes would grow. Now they co-exist in a beautiful mix of blueberries and coneflowers. The coneflower are also called Echinacea purpurea and also is a medicinal plant.
I will surely be making blueberry tea in the near future.
Walking through the secret garden the squash blooms are open since it is early morning..
Here are a couple of herbs that will make tea. Lemon Grass or Rosemary. It depends on the need for the tea. Rosemary is often used in cooking but can be used as a medicinal tea. Always do a thorough research because some herbs can interfere with medications.
I love the peppery taste of lemongrass tea and it is a calming tea. But this is not the tea I want or need today.
Walking up to the newly planted, divided and transplanted herb garden I am really going for the one thing that I am craving.....
And that is chocolate mint tea. I love growing chocolate mint. This mint will grow and run throughout this garden.
When snipping off the stem, snip just above a cluster of leaves.
The chamomile will be blooming soon and that will make tea.
I read that lavender is making a comeback for culinary uses. It is my understanding the Lavandula angustifolia is just one of the culinary lavenders.
Catnip for teas for medicinal as well as culinary uses. And yes for your cat too :)
If I were to snip this catnip stem I would here just above this joint of where the leaves come out and have new tiny leaves emerging.
Here is lemon balm that makes a nice lemon balm tea.
Here is some spearmint...
I will snip some of this here where two leaves come off the stem. Just above those two leaves.
Here at the back porch is lemon balm that seeded itself here. It has grown since I last showed this lemon balm.
I should have put some dehydrated or fresh strawberries here on this plate to show you if you wanted to make tea for several people you could have a teapot of hot water and let them pick their tea. I would not do the medicinal herbs for this.
You could make blueberry tea, strawberry, raspberry, or mint tea. I do enjoy the fruit teas. For instance I steep Raspberries in hot water to make the warm fruit tea but the raspberry leaf makes a medicinal tea so I do not want to drink that just to have tea. That is more of a treatment tea and you have to know if the medication you take and the leaf you are using have any contraindications.
You can fill a small salt dip with honey for those that want to sweeten their tea and or milk if that should be desired.
Now for my cup of that chocolate mint tea, plain just like I like it. :) To make chocolate mint tea just put a few sprigs of chocolate mint ( more than what is showing above, I removed some of the mint before drinking) and pour boiling water over it and let it steep. Remove part of all of the mint and enjoy the tea.
You can grow this chocolate mint in a gardening pot or in the ground. I love to walk around the yard and brush my had across the herbs and smell the lovely aromas. Grandma Donna
