Make your own gourmet tea

I love tea and we have a nice little gourmet tea shop near us called Todd & Holland. They offer amazing combinations of all kinds of tea and a wide variety of lovely teapots and cups. It's a wonderful place to go. Unfortunately, they're getting more and more expensive. Too expensive for me, in fact.

So I've been making my own tea blends. Grocery stores that stock Mexican products often offer herbs in bulk. They're pretty cheap, particularly if you can find the large one pound bags.

You can also grow and dry your own herbs or make your own dried citrus peel. Once you get the ingredients, it's easy to come up with tasty combinations. Here's the one I made today:

1/2 C Hibiscus flowers (Called Jamaica in Spanish)
1/2 C Chamomile flowers
1/2 C Mint leaves
1/4 C Dried orange peel
1 T Dried rosebuds

I put about 3 heaping spoonfuls into my big 38 oz FORLIFE teapot.

For loose tea like this, it's great (but not required!) to have a tea press or a teapot with an infuser or strainer. And try using the tea twice. The second steeping will be weaker of course, but chilled and with a bit of honey, it's often strong enough for a nice, light refreshment!

Tea lasts longest stored in a dark cool place. Tins are perfect for this.

Of course, around my house, tea this yummy won't get stored for long.

Wren

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