Healthy and magickal "Green" teas

I’ve been researching the magical and nutritional properties of herbs this week, and I learned that you can make “tea” from herbs I usually only used for cooking, so I thought I would share.

I have drank “pot liquor” before – the water left over from cooking vegetables, like asparagus. And I have sauteed beet greens and radish greens with good results. But drinking these green herbal teas was new to me!

You can make a “tea” from thyme, basil, oregano, majoram, parsley, tarragon, sage, saffron, rosemary, mint (of course) and other herbs. To make a cup, you would typically use about 1 tsp of dried or 2 tsp of fresh herbs per cup of “tea.” The nutrition benefits are fantastic, even in the dry form, and of course, no calories and lots of antioxidants.

But if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, you should research any herb before consuming it.

I enjoy fruity herbal teas, so I mixed raspberry herbal tea with thyme and it was really good – I used two rasberry tea bags (it was a large-ish cup) to 1 tsp of thyme. I also opened the tea bags because I read it gives the cup more flavor, although it’s a little more messy. I cannot wait to try other combinations with floral or fruit teas! I think it would be interesting to combine them, not only for flavors, but for the magical intentions.

You can cool some of these teas and use them as a hair rinse. Purportedly, they can help with hair loss and dandruff. Chamomile is good for blonde hair, and rosemary and thyme is good for dark hair.
Tea_herbal
Herbal tea, Wikimedia Commons

Today, I made a “tea” from boiled carrot greens (Mars energy), strained, some fresh parsley (protection) and a squeeze of lemon juice (clarifying) and it made me feel like MIghty Mouse :slight_smile:

Let me know if you have experience with this and any tips!

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I don’t have any tips for you @mary25 but it sounds interesting. I’m here to learn too.

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I never thought of using carrot greens for tea! I’ll have to try that. I could use some of that mighty mouse energy :wink: I heard that opening up the tea bag gives the herbs more room to expand and better to release the oils.

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Sometimes we cook corned beef and cabbage by boiling it with vegetables and the broth afterward (that otherwise gets disposed of) is actually decadent. If I’m being honest, I think I like the leftover water even more than the meal itself! :drooling_face:

I’ve never heard it called “pot liquor” before- I’ll be using that! :grinning: :+1:

Chamomile makes an excellent skin soother as well- especially for those of us with sensitive skin! You can use the cooled tea as a facial rinse, or simply dab the tea bag around the face- it works very well for moisturizing and soothing skin, and I’ve found it helps especially for dark undereye circles :blossom: :blush:

Due to some health issues I’ve had to significantly cut back on my caffeine intake lately. I used to drink a cup of black tea everyday (sometimes multiple times a day) but now I’ve substituted most of my tea with herbal blends.

Like with everything, too much of even a very good and beneficial thing is not good, so I would suggest alternating herbal teas (as opposed to drinking the same one every day).

Recent favorites have been Ginger/Peach/Turmeric, Chamomile/Lavender, and Blueberry/Elderflower- all of which you can get in the herbal tea section at the grocery store! :blush::tea:

(I couldn’t find the box of Blueberry Elderflower- we might have drank it all! But it is also by the English Tea Shop Company)

Thanks for sharing your wisdom and finds, @mary25- may you continue to enjoy herbal teas! :heart::blush::tea:

I’m also looking forward to hearing any tips or recommendations from fellow herbal tea enthusiasts :star_struck: :herb:

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This is something I’ve been experimenting with a tiny bit. I’ve got a chamomile plant, mint, rosemary, and garden sage growing, plus a few others. When I was sick last year I made a small cup of tea with herbs that I had grown myself and a bit of honey. It was delicious and soothing to both body and soul, especially considering I had grown the herbs myself!

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