Drinking tea is good for you in more ways than one. If you consider only the benefits of drinking warm water, and all of the wonderful things that does for your body, that is enough reason to go from the dark side (coffee) to the light (tea). You can still have coffee first thing in the morning, or with dessert at night.
Herbal Tea
Herbal teas can cure many things that “ail” you. In the winter, especially, you need to take care to prevent illness or enhance your lifestyle. One article I read, referenced in this link, gives suggestions of teas for specific support.
The article recommended several tea blends to support the immune system. Actually, the article gives recipes for making the teas yourself. Follow the link above for recipes, or look for teas that contain these ingredients in your local health food store or – for those in urban areas – your grocery store.
- Astragalus, Echinacea (this was one of my mother’s favorite go-to teas), Ginger (another favorite of Mom’s), lderberry, Calendula, Garlic, Hyssop, Licorice, Holy Basil, and Medicinal Mushrooms.
To ease stress and encourage healthy sleep, look for these ingredients. (Again, recipes for homemade varieties can be found by following the link.)
- Chamomile, Linden, Milky Oats, Skullcap, Rose, Passionflower, Lemon Balm and Valerian.
To support digestion and circulation, use ginger. Plain ginger team can be too strong or off-putting for people. Mom used to combine ginger tea with other teas.
If you need to add nutrients to your diet, the article recommends the following (again, recipes can be found by following the link).
- Netties, Rose Hips, Red Clover, Alfalfa, Oatstraw, Chamomile, Mints.
Suggestion:
You might be able to find a tea store or a health food store that carries dry teas in bulk. If such a store is available, purchase small quantities of the teas that might meet your needs, taste them at home (if you can’t sample them at the store), and then you’ll know what works for you.
Fun Teas Already Blended
You can find any number of teas online or in a shops that cater to teas. I found a website that listed several fun-sounding teas specifically for winter. This is a particular vendor, and I am not recommending this shop over others. They just had fun stuff!
- Ginger Snap
- Harvest Apple Spice
- Raspberry Coconut
- Raspberry Ganache
- Run Raisin Biscotti
- Spiced Ginger Plum
- Sweet Orange Spice
- And Chai! Ginger, Tumeric Tantra, Vanilla Veda and Winter Chai
Are you thirsty yet?
Homemade Winter Chai
From this website comes a recipe for winter chai. It’s dairy free, gluten free, sugar free, wheat free, and vegan-friendly.
The ingredients:
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 6 whole green cardamom pods
- 6 whole cloves
- 1 (2 cm) piece ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 whole black peppercorns
- 3 cups water
- 2 black tea bags
- 2 tablespoons raw cane sugar
- 1 cup organic milk / almond milk / soya milk
Directions:
Place cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, peppercorns and water into a small pot and bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, Remove from heat and set aside to rest for ten minutes.
Return the pot to the heat and bring to boil. Remove from heat, add tea, cover and set aside to let steep for three to five minutes. Drain through fine mesh sieve, discard solids, then return liquid to the pot. Stir in sugar and milk and heat over low heat for one minute. Serve.
Not In The Recipe
Add other flavors as suggested in the teas above and make it your own!
In Closing
My all-time favorite is Honey Ginseng Mint, made by Gevalia. Soothing and clarifying, all at once! I still have some in my freezer, because Mom wanted it by the case. I inherited the tea, plus the cases I already had. The boxes of tea bags seem to do well in the freezer.