Drinking tea is a worldwide ritual for mindfulness, relaxation, and renewal. It can also be a way to use the excess herbs from your backyard garden, window box, farmer's market run, or hydroponic mini-grower. Here's how to make tea a part of your regenerative routine by doing basically nothing. (If only skincare was this easy...)
HOMEMADE MINT TEA (5 minutes total)
Refreshing, reinvigorating, a reset button for the senses.
- Pick mint leaves from their stems.
- Thoroughly wash mint leaves.
- Boil water.
- Pour steaming water into a mug.
- Place leaves in the mug.
- Wait 1-3 minutes.
- That's it. That's the tea.
Extra Credit: Mint tea is excellent iced, and mixes well with summer adds like fresh peach juice or coconut creamer. It's also a winner when served hot or cold with a shot of whiskey, lemon, and honey for a simple evening cocktail.
HOMEMADE CHAMOMILE TEA (10 minutes total)
Calming, soothing, a gentle nudge to put the phone down.
- Thoroughly rinse chamomile flowers.
- Pluck flowers from stems and set aside. (This will take a few minutes, because chamomile flowers are tiny and tightly attached to their stems.)
- Boil water.
- Place flowers only into a coffee filter or fine sieve.
- Put the filter or sieve on top of an empty mug.
- Pour hot water over the coffee filter.
- Wait 1-3 minutes for water to drain into the mug.
- That's it. That's the tea.
Extra Credit: For a comforting dessert tea, combine your chamomile with 1 tsp. of honey and 1/8 tsp. of vanilla extract!
HOMEMADE GINGER TEA (6 minutes total)
Corrective, awakening, a proven natural digestive aid.
- Wash, peel, and chop a small piece of ginger (like half an inch) into slices.
- Boil 1-2 cups of water.
- Place the ginger slices into the water and let simmer.
- Wait 5 minutes.
- Pour the tea into a mug.
- That's it. That's the tea.
Extra Credit: Got a tickle in your throat? Add a squeeze of lemon and some honey for a bit of sweet relief.