Desperate for caffeine I have been doing the beverage equivalent of hot racking coffee. The thyroid issues are leaving me totally feeling the way a used paper coffee filter looks. I prefer herbal teas, and since they don’t have caffeine there seemed to be no purpose in drinking it at the moment. But today, I don’t know…I just needed something to say, “hey me, take a break!”

I like mango combinations. Stash’s MangoPassionfruit is not particularly mango-y, or passionfruit-y. It is sort of like baby asprin with a little mango flavor added. It is delicate and sweet. It did not knock my socks off, but it is pleasant and gentle.

I think I am going to make a gelatin out of it and I am going to try it in popsicles. Both of those seem to be places where this tea would shine.

Iced? I am betting it would be great.

If your nerves are frazzled, and you need a contemplative moment to pull yourself together this may be the oral Calgon you are looking for.

I found this at my Tom Thumb/Safeway store so it is readily available. I haven’t ordered off line in awhile and we don’t have a real tea shop close by. Like many of you, sometimes the tea I am drinking is the most readily available.

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Researchers studies 65 people with high blood pressure and found that those drinking hibiscus tea had an average of 7.2 percent drop in their blood pressure.  This information can be found at Natural News.

Hibiscus has long been used for medical and health purposes.  It strengthens the immune system as well as helps reduce cholesterol.  It cna be used as a relaxant and is a great diuretic.

Hibiscus actually adds a sweet flavor to herbal teas and has long been used by companies like Celestial Seasonings.  In fact, here is a partial list of the Celestial Seasonings teas that contain Hibiscus:

• Red Zinger
• Wild Berry Zinger
• Lemon Zinger
• In fact all of the “Zinger” teas
• Saphara Blackcurrant Hibiscus

There are a number of other brands that carry hibiscus or you can make it youself using the recipe found at Food Network. Hibiscus gives a wonderful, refreshing flavor to teas that makes it perfect for almost anyone.  Teas with hibiscus in them make excellent, natural alternatives to Kool Aid. Between the great flavor and the health benefits Hibiscus tea is a no brainer.

Image:Wikipedia, photographer Aravindan Shanmugasundaram

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I really, really liked this tea. It was fruity, with almost a winey flavor. It is more accurately a tisane rather than a tea because it has no tea in it. It is prevalently black currant and blackberry, with the tang of ginseng, sweetened with a little vanilla. It doesn’t have any caffeine at all, so if you are watching your caffeine intake this is an excellent alternative to morning coffee. I sweetened it with a little sugar to bring out the flavors of the fruit. Don’t expect to taste the vanilla, though. It was lost in the other flavors.

I really thought it was addictive and as I was sipping it I was concocting iced Revive tea, Revive tea popsicles, Revive punch, and even Revive tea jelly. Hey, an added bonus..Black currants are really high in antioxidants!

I am not sure if I imagined it or not but after I finished the cup I did seem to feel more energetic and awake than I had before. If you try this, let me know..I would like to know if I am imagining things or not! LOL!

Allow the bag to steep longer than you would a normal tea since it is dried fruits and not tea leaves. Five minutes would not be too long. The tea brews a dark purple, almost like grape juice.

It also comes in a Cherry and cinnamon version.

Image(c) Marye Audet, Apron Strings and Simmering Things 

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Jennifer and Peggy at Treehugging Family are focusing on Earth Day at b5 all month.

Some of the big environmental issues facing consumers today is greenhouse gas, carbon footprints the size of the Jolly Green Giant, and socio-ethical issues concerning working conditions and Fair Trade for farmers and workers. It can be overwhelming to try to juggle everyone’s needs when you just want a cup of something hot and relaxing!

So, did you ever think about growing your own herbal tea blends? Herbs grow prolifically almost anywhere, do well on windowsills, and in containers, and are easy to transform from fragrant green leaves and colored flowers to a steaming cup of yum.

Basically, you need to choose your herbs, follow planting directions and remember to water them once in awhile. Pick the leaves and blend them, then steep as you would any loose leaf tea. Sweeten with some honey…add dried fruit…it is up to you where you go with this.

Dry herbs by hanging upside down, or in a dehydrator. Store in airtight glass jars, in a cool, dark place.

Not only will you be keeping your carbon footprint more on the line of a Japanese Princess, but you will be beautifying your own environment, and doing something to move toward your own self sufficiency. That is always a good feeling.

Basically to make herbal tea from fresh herbs-use two or three springs of the herb in a teapot. Pour boiling water over and steep a few minutes.

For dried herbs, use a teaspoon of dried herbs per cup. Steep about two minutes.

Of course, you will want to use the trial and error method here and adjust to fit your own taste and herbal needs.

Here are some great combinations for you to try:

• Lavender flowers, lemon balm, chamomile
• Mint, lemon balm, chamomile
• Lemon verbena, dried orange, mint
• Lemon balm, crystallized ginger
• Chamomile, dried apple,dried cranberry, cloves
• Chamomile, lemongrass, peppermint, dried orange
• Lavender, dried strawberry, raspberry leaf
• Grow and add stevia to any tea for natural sweetness. Add very sparingly!

There are many others, such as fennel, anise, and sage…the various flavored basils..that will make good teas. Just check out some of the heirloom seed catalogs for ideas. My personal favorite for heirloom seeds, especially for unusual types of herbs and vegetables is Heirloom Seeds. This company is dedicated to maintaining the old varieties of vegetables,herbs, and flowers.

Whether you get really serious about this, or make a few teas for fun now and then, growing herbs for tea can be a great family project.

Image: Morguefile.com

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Mmm. Teavana Raspberry Sangria.  It just sounds good, doesn’t it?  Do you know that I fed the used tea, after I had made my drink, to the chickens and they loved it ?  Why wouldn’t they?   Have you looked at all the dried  fruit in this stuff!

I really, really liked this tea.  It was tangy and fruity with a lot of raspberry flavor.   The aroma drew in every one of the kids in this entire house, no small feat- that, so my recommendation is not to brew it when you want some quiet time.

Perfect sweetened.  Sort of a sophisticated kool-aide I suppose.  I am looking forward to trying it this summer, sweetened with too much sugar,  so icy cold that the pitcher steams up and water drizzles down the outside, poured in frosted glasses with a slice of lime..and sipped slowly on the front porch.

Don’t get me wrong, this was great as a hot tea.  But it is trying to hit 70 degrees today, and I am looking wistfully at the empty vegetable garden, and the horses are looking wistfully at the pasture we have them locked out of (so it can grow) which is just tinged with with lightest green of spring.  For the first time ever I am tired of crackling fires and being cold.

But I am very ready for summer, and Teavana Raspberry Sangria tea is a summertime tea.  Drink it now to remember that there are days when it is too hot to do more than page through a magazine, as you recline limply on the couch.  Drink it now, so you can close your eyes and mentally walk through  moist woods in the morning, picking ripe berries as you find them and enjoying the solitude.

For those of you that are more prosaic and less poetic : that translates as a combination of hibiscus blossoms, apple bits, and rosehip peel flavored with raspberry (and I think raspberries in the tea? I thought I saw some).  very high in antioxidents.  4.50 for 2 oz.

Good stuff, either way.

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