Teas and Ice Cubes

Tea feel the joy

For me, there’s a lot of comfort in a cup of tea. My childhood associations with tea are connected to memories of being safe, cared for, and loved. My grandmother always made me tea and toast, and I have many sweet associations.

Boil the kettle and make tea in a favorite mug. Wrap your hands around the mug and feel the comfort of the physical heat. Smell it, sniff it in and let it warm your soul. Take a sip, and as the warm fluid slides down your throat, notice how content you feel with the warmth in your belly. With each sip, envision a caring person from your past smiling at you. Feel their love, support, and care. Drink in the comfort and joy.

Taking a few moments to slow down can lower blood pressure, reduce tension, and relax muscles. Using visualization, you can weave a magical blanket of comfort and joy to snuggle into, wrapping yourself in good feeling.

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Here are some great Tea recipes and Make Ice Cubes with herbs and fruit in them to go with your drinks.

Mint lemon balm ice cubes

Make some ice cubes with lemon balm and mint made with Moon water(even better) These will help you get through the day with calmness and peace as well as protect you from negativity.

Wise Woman Tea

1 part sage
1 part catnip
1 part lemon thyme
1 part bee balm

sage is the primary ingredient of this tea it is a woman's herb that for women acts like estrogen, an herb of immortality, virtue, health and wisdom, can help with menopause, reducing stress & negativity, anticancer, & antifungal catnip helps with insomnia, anxiety, muscle aches and headaches lemon thyme to help with mood swings and insomnia bergamot(bee balm) for uplifting & joy to fight depression add amounts of each of these herbs and steep in hot water for 5 - 10 minutes strain and drink, add honey or sweetener of your choice. Be a wise woman

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Gut-Healing Tummy Tea

Recipe adapted from Grow Your Own Herbal Remedies by Maria Noel Groves (Storey Publishing, 2019).

I rely on this basic recipe for many of my clients with gut issues – it provides soothing mucilage, demulcent, and vulnerary gut-healing support. Perfect for ulcers, reflux, gastritis, heartburn, and leaky gut issues.

What you’ll need…

1 part dried marshmallow leaf or flower

1 part dried plantain leaf

2 parts dried marshmallow root

1 part dried fennel seed or Korean licorice mint leaf (or to taste)

Sprinkle of dried rose petals

Optional additions (per cup): pinch of licorice root, 1to 2 cinnamon sticks, 1 to 2 cardamom pods, 1 star anise pod, 3 to 5 whole cloves

Combine all of the herbs and store in an airtight container.

To brew: In a 32-ounce container (such as a French press pot or tea-infuser travel mug), cover 2 or more heaping tablespoons with hot water. Let steep for several hours or overnight. Feel free to move to the fridge once it cools.

Strain and drink over 1 to 2 days. (You can steep it for a shorter period of time – 15 minutes or so – but the mucilaginous herbs and the spices will be more potent with a long steep.)

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Rose Petal Tea

2 Tbsp. scented dried rose petals (pink or red)

1/2 cup black China tealeaves (such as Oolong)

.  If the roses are complete dried heads, then strip off the petals and use just the largest outside ones.  Measure out the tea.  

2 Scatter the petals over the tealeaves and stir them together.  

  Place the tea into suitable containers for storing or to give as gifts, Little wooden or cardboard gift boxes are great for this purpose.  

To present the box of tea as a gift, add a soft ribbon bow and finish off with a single dried rose as decoration.

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You can make jasmine, hibiscus, or orange-blossom tea in the exactly the same way.  Jasmine has a strong scent, so use half the quantity.  Experiment and taste until you have the proportions you like, because dried flowers vary in scent and flavor depending on origin and age.

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Make herbal teas just as you would make Indian or china tea as a base.  You could pack a tea infuser with the gift, so the person could make the strength they like.  Or a small teapot used just for herb teas, use a Tablespoon or so per person.

Chamomile makes a light-golden tea, red sage is darker and is good for sore throats and coughs.  Jasmine tea is highly-scented and just right to drink with strong and spicy foods, or after a meal.