Making Your Own Teas:
In the grain free diet strong tea is not allowed because when black tea is strong it can stimulate gastric acid production. To make weak black tea, seep 1 minutes than toss (or water plants with this) then place bag in a tea pot and refill with either a lemon slice, cinnamon stick or vanilla bean casing. Most of the bitter effects leech from the bag in that first minute and the added flavors help make weaker tea tastes just as good,
Or you can make your own teas. You need a tea pot or tea ball of similar strainer and there are certainly many fancy apparatuses out there as well. Tea is made by pouring hot water over herbs to release the oils or flavor of these herbs. All parts of a plant can be used but some parts of some plants maybe poisoned, such a honeysuckle berries but its flowers are not and can be used (and sweeten the tea). Herbs that we eat we can place into tea and many carry health benefits, for example thyme clears breathing, chamomile calms nerves, mints and ginger aid digestion and rosemary clears your muddled mind and nullifies toxins formed in grilling foods.
Beyond the basics above to create great and nourishing teas you really only have to include herbs and flowers from four groups. If you very what you are using from each group over time (and season) you will hit on medical and nourishing ingredients by happenstance. So create your teas from:
- Healthy greens - leaves of raspberries, thyme, sage, honeysuckle, or strawberries are flavor full and add depth to tea. This group has the highest vitamins including iron and often the strongest flavors. Many of these leaves can be dried for winter use.
-Beautiful blooms - bee balm, pansies, nasturtiums (peppery), roses including hips (high in vitamin C), and violets all work and add color. This is nice but winter flowers are hard to find except maybe rosemary that often flowers in winter. Flowers can be dried for winter use.
- Noble fragrances - chives (flowers and leaves), rosemary, marjoram, verbena, oregano, geranium and lilac. In fact most herbs add fragrance whether using leaves or flowers. This is why so many are found in this particular list. Herbs also carry the most health benefits as I already named. These are the few we use but there are many other not mentioned.
- Bright tastes - zests of all kinds, such as lemon, orange, or limes all enhance teas. Mints also can lighten a tea. You can also ream citrus fruits as we discard elements once tea is seeped. It’s faster and easier than running the skins over a fine grater and tea water doesn't mind long strings of zest.
Now for some of the teas we discovered have tastes we like.
Summer Days Tea
Add equal amount of leaves and flowers but only a tsp of zest per cup.
Raspberry leaves
Strawberry leaves
lemon zest or orange zest
Thyme leaves with and without flowers
This mixture is nice during the cold winter days to remind myself that summer will come. Both strawberry and Raspberry leaves dry easily. Thyme freezes and can be also grown indoors in winter in a pot. Pick raspberry leaves before they flower because flowering removes flavor of the leaves. Strawberries can be picked all season long if the bugs don't eat the leaves before you get to them. Gather a lot of leaves if you find you like this tea as I do. They go quickly once the season ends and sadly winter often outlasts these tea stores.
Citrus zest can be taken off fruit whenever you have citrus fruits, before pealing, zest or ream them then dry or freeze them. I keep these in small tins and withdraw what I need them per cup serving these up in my tea ball. Seep the tea for 5 minutes for a mild tea to ten for a stronger tea. Remove ball (or pour through sieve if using a pot) and enjoy.
Bergamot Tea
A weed in the garden who would think weeding these purple flowered plants also offers us a delicious tea?
Mix together in tea ball or pot and pour hot water over it handfuls of these leaves/flowers:
Bergamot leaves and/or flowers (1X)
peppermint leaves (1X)
Strawberry leaves (2X)
Let seep about 5 minutes. You can also use other mints but for weaker ones double the mints like you’re doubling strawberry.
Herbal Iced Tea
I like this tea and the flavor can be easily modified to fit any occasion. Ginger can replace cinnamon and lime, lemon, or fresh herbs can replace the tea bags (see making tea above).
4-5 green tea bags (Seeped one minute, liquid discarded then follow recipe below)
1-2 cups boiling water
1 1-in. piece cinnamon
1 lemon, thinly sliced, or cut up as we already cut it
Ice
Prepare Iced Tea
Place the tea bags in one to two of cups boiling water. Let steep for half an hour.
Pour into a pitcher along with remaining ingredients.
Add water to fill pitcher three-fourths full and refrigerate for about two hours.
Add ice about 20 minutes before serving.
