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Make Your Own Herbal Tea?


Callan

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Lately I've been working really hard to kick the snacking habit, and subsequently have been downing a lot of tasty herbal tea. I purchased this: http://www.amazon.co.../dp/B005Q8BL6I/

And couldn't be happier with many of the flavors! The Licorice Spice and Cinnamon Apple Chamomile ones are delightful, so is Mellow Moments.

It got me thinking, though... we're all getting good at making our own Whole30-compliant foods and drinks here, and even though these specific teas don't have wheat or soy in them (many do!), I remain curious about what "natural apple flavor" really means... and then I realized, hey, I have a dehydrator. I wonder if I dehydrated my own apples/oranges/whatever, if I could make my own awesome herbal teas?!

Has anyone ever experimented with something like this? I think it could be an interesting experiment, one to which I may well subject myself FOR SCIENCE! (And so that I could teach people how to make their own tea... because honestly, I just love teaching people things (even if they resent it).)

Unfortunately I don't have a garden, and even if I did, herbs wouldn't be growing under the 26 inches of snow we got this weekend, but wouldn't it be awesome to grow and dry your own tea herbs? *daydreaming*

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I make my own peppermint iced tea in the summer - just throw a few stalks in a pitcher of water and wait. It took me until I was 23 and moved to "farm country" to learn this, but a valuable skill nonetheless.

And I would totally read your blog posts on making your own tea :)

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You can make Masala Chai yourself as it's not calling for herbs.

This is the most basic form of masala chai. Simple and delicious.

4 whole cloves

2 cardamom pods, crushed and lightly roasted

1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces

1 piece ginger, about the size of a small grape, peeled and chopped

1/8 teaspoon black peppercorns, ground

2 cups water

2 tablespoons black tea (preferably Assam)

Other stuff you can add to your teas: vanilla extract, dried lavender, orange peel, dried lemon pieces, dried mango, dried apples, dried pineapples, coconut (obviously) lemongrass, fennel seed, goji berries, roasted almonds (yep), cocoa powder, nutmeg, saffron, rose petals, anise, licorice root and much more.

Some recipes here for example.

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EXCELLENT, thank you! Ooh, a chocolate-coconut tea... This is totally one of my new projects!

I think it will be a good idea to toast coconut prior. I am sure that there are a lot of cool tips out there (pintrest maybe?).

I also like to browse loose tea websites. This is my go-to tea shop around the corner. I get ideas from reading ingredients. My favorite tea blend is (not hard to guess) is called "Forever Nuts" and has apple, almond and beetroot. I made apple-raisins-papaya-almond-cinnamon custom blend.

Can't wait to hear about your chocolate-coconut tea. Please please include this in your log!

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