Wellness Tea Wellness Tea I started with the “chai” tea herbs. My interest is in the immune supporting herbs, not the caffeine, so I leave the black tea out. Powdered herbs will work in a pinch, but in general make the tea cloudy. Cinnamon – 3-4 3” pieces (read notes below for specifics) Ginger - Sliced length wise using a piece the size of the palm. Cardamom seeds or pods – about ½ tsp seeds or 6 pods Black Pepper Corns – ½ tsp Fennel seed – 1 Tbl Can add Anise seed – 1 tsp - My children were mid-teens and mid-adolescent, which meant colds and flu spread easily and I could get them to drink this with some maple syrup or local honey. We had dairy allergies, so used alternative milks. Later I was experiencing some health challenges myself, so I started adding Reishi Mushroom - a piece about 2 ½ inch square Chaga Mushroom – 1 Tbl of dry (use with awareness if you have auto-immune issues) The last few years with the spread of flu and colds, along with super bugs I bumped it up a bit by adding Astragalus Root – If your herb is cut and sifted use about 2 Tbl Sliced (preferable) use about 8-10 slices And Turmeric Root – 2’3 thumb size pieces sliced lengthwise Add Anise seed – 1 tsp I use a heavy bottomed stainless steal stockpot with a lid. Start with about a gallon of filtered or spring water. Fill the pot to about 2 inches from the top. Bring to a soft boil and turn off (about 30 min on medium heat). Keep the lid on as it preserves some of the volatile oils which try to escape with the steam. We dip from the pot and use a little strainer to catch herb bits and seeds adding more water as the level goes down. Our household drinks a lot of this tea, so we end up re-heating the teas 2-3 times a day. I enjoy it room temperature too. If it’s too strong, dilute with water. If you bring it to a roaring boil it's more likely to get cloudy. When the tea starts getting lighter in color and the flavors are less (about 4-5 days) add more of each herb. After about 4-5 more days (usually a little longer) I strain off all the herbs, refrigerate the tea and start a fresh batch of tea. If the tea starts getting cloudy I start a new batch. This tea is best straight from the pot, however an occasional latte’ treat is nice. I find hemp hearts add a nice creamy texture and a tsp organic grass fed butter. I have a Vita-mix, high speed is necessary for some nuts to get creamy, however with the hemp hearts in a blender works well. Soaked cashews are also a great creamy flavor. Soaked verses not soaked cashews are like night and day when it comes to "creamy". I find adding nuts simple, I'm sure the nut milks you purchase will work too, however I don't use them. I found some dried “Paleo” creamers with no added sugars which were nice. - I still prefer nuts when I make my latte's. Dairy tends to cause mucus, which is something I try to avoid! A little about each herb and why it’s in the tea. I provided some websites to give you more information if you are interested. Dr. Mercola and Dr. Axe have differing opinions sometimes, however they are both science based and provide the links to research. The focus of this tea is anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory, most of these herbs have many medicinal benefits including cardiovascular, aids in diabetic type illnesses, helps brain function. I buy local and organic when possible. Often the local grocery stores will order something if you can’t find it. Here are a few sources I use https://www.mountainroseherbs.com https://hifimyco.com The local Co-op Natural Grocery Farmer’s Market Cardamon - Elettaria cardamomum anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory https://foodfacts.mercola.com/cardamom.html https://draxe.com/nutrition/cardamom/ Cinnamon - Cinnamon “Ceylon” zeylanicum anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory anti-parasitic, helps with blood sugars Cinnamon which is unmarked and found easily in the markets is “cassia”. To get started use what you have and find “Ceylon” for continued use. https://draxe.com/nutrition/health-benefits-cinnamon/ https://foodfacts.mercola.com/cinnamon.html https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4003790/ Ginger – Zingiber officinale anti –bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory https://foodfacts.mercola.com/ginger.html https://draxe.com/nutrition/10-medicinal-ginger-health-benefits/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92775/ Black Pepper Corns - Piper nigrum anti –bacterial, anti-inflammatory https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30740986 https://foodfacts.mercola.com/black-pepper.html https://draxe.com/nutrition/black-pepper-benefits/ Fennel seed - Foeniculum vulgare antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory https://draxe.com/essential-oils/fennel-essential-oil/ https://foodfacts.mercola.com/fennel.html https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4137549/ Chaga Mushroom - Inonotus obliquus anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory (*caution for Auto-immune disorders) https://draxe.com/nutrition/chaga-mushroom/ https://articles.mercola.com/teas/chaga-tea.aspx https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15630179 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4946216/ Reishi Mushroom Ganoderma. lucidum anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4320875/ https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/07/29/reishi-mushrooms-fight-inflammation.aspx https://draxe.com/nutrition/reishi-mushroom/ Astragalus - Astragalus membranaceus. anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory https://articles.mercola.com/herbs-spices/astragalus.aspx https://draxe.com/nutrition/astragalus/ https://nccih.nih.gov/health/astragalus Turmeric Curcuma aromatica, Curcuma domestica, Curcuma longa antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory https://nccih.nih.gov/health/turmeric/ataglance.htm https://draxe.com/nutrition/turmeric-curcumin-benefits/ https://foodfacts.mercola.com/turmeric.html
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AuthorElaine McDaniel Archives
June 2020
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