Posted in Homestead Kitchen
Here I sit, waiting for Spring, thumbing through my seed catalogs and feeling very impatient! But I think I can make it a few more weeks as long as I have my fireplace burning, lots of seed catalogs and a cup of hot herb tea!
Hot Spices Afternoon Tea
Ingredients
4 qts. water
1 tsp. whole cloves
1 stick cinnamon
5 level Tbsp. loose tea or 15 tea bags
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup orange juice
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Directions
Add spices to water. Bring to full rolling boil. Remove from
heat. Immediately add tea. Brew 4 minutes. Stir and strain.
Add sugar, stir until dissolved. Add fruit juices. To reheat
for serving, place over low heat. DO NOT BOIL! A delicious tea
to serve to a large group.
Calming Herb Tea
1 tsp. dried peppermint leaves
1 tsp. dried lemon balm leaves
Add these to a tea pot and add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of boiling water. Steep for about 5 minutes, strain and add sugar or tea for a soothing herbal tea.
Chamomile Herb Tea
2 tablespoons fresh chamomile flowers
2 cups boiling water
2 thin slices of apple
honey to taste
Rinse the flowers with cool water. Warm your tea pot with boiling water. Add the apple slices to the pot and mash them with a wooden spoon. Add the chamomile flowers and pour in boiling water (2 cups). Cover and steep for 3-5 minutes. Strain the tea into two cups (or one if it's just you!). Add honey to taste.
Four Friends Tea Blend
Equal amounts:
chamomile
rose hips
pennyroyal
lemon verbena OR lemon grass
Spiced Tea
Boil covered in 1 quart water:
peels of one or more oranges and lemons
1-2 cinnamon sticks
1 t whole cloves
OR 1/2 t ground cloves
piece of ginger root
OR 1/4 t ginger
1 whole nutmeg, cracked or grated
3-4 cardamon pods, broken open
1 t coriander seeds
Boil about 5 minutes, strain into a teapot and brew:
1 T black tea
About 3 to 5 minutes. Remove it at once, or strain again.
All about teas
White: tea made from unopened plant leaf, which has
been sun dried before use. Best white tea comes from
Green: Green tea leaves are heated by frying or
steaming immediately after they’re picked, sealing in
healthful properties.
Ooloong: Tea left to partially oxidize (or brown)
before it’s brewed.
Black: Favorite of English teas, fully oxidized before
it’s heated in same manner as green teas.
Yellow: So rare, it’s seldom seen in US; yellow tea is
a sort of secret recipe of Chinese cooks.
Pu-er: Considered the most healthful of teas and
undergoes some kind of second fermentation process.
Popular in
Chinese.
MAKING PERFECT TEA
Put loose-leaf tea into a filter or strainer in your
teapot.
Pour boiling water over tea. Never add tea to the
water.
Let steep about three minutes -- more or less. Time
depends upon how strong you like it.
Remove the filter or strainer before serving; each cup
filled 3/4 full.
If using sugar, milk or lemon, always add sugar first
to maximize flavor and temperature of tea.
Take time and relax as you sip.
Courier Press,
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