Archive for January, 2010
Using Your Fresh Herbs In Infusions, Herbal Teas, or Decoctions As An Herbal Medicine.
Recently it has been shown that high herbal tea and quality teas have many health benefits, especially Black and Green Tea. With all the news on Black and Green Tea lately, you may be considering adding it to your daily diet regime. If that is so, only use the best quality and freshest tea available for the maximum health benefits. Also consider the health benefits of herbal teas using fresh herbs. Think of these as herbal medicine.
Millions of people all of the world have been drinking tea and infusions for centuries specifically for herbal medicine. In America, it has been considered a cheap convenient drink for soothing the soul and stimulating the senses. Yet there is a far more important reason that people drink tea more than any other beverage: the tea leaf has potent health-enhancing powers. The Japanese have known this for thousands of years and the modern West is just catching up to the remarkable health benefits of drinking tea.
To make a tea or infusion you must steep the fresh herb in boiling water. Many think of teas and infusions as the same, but there is a slight difference.
When making teas or herbal teas you are brewing it and you don’t leave it steeping for very long. An easy way to brew it is to place the tea bag or fresh herbs into a measuring cup with 8 ounces of water. Microwave for two minutes and you have a cup of tea. Fresh herbs make a marvelous cup of tea and are considered essential in herbal medicine.
Infusions on the other hand stay in the boiling water longer, anywhere from 10 – 20 minutes. Obviously the longer the fresh herbs steep the stronger the brew will become and it will become a more potent herbal medicine. Infusions should be used immediately after brewing to reap the most out of this herbal medicine, especially when using fresh herbs. Rule of thumb is to use 1-2 teaspoons of dried, crushed, or powdered herbs. If you want to get the most out of this herbal medicine use fresh herbs and double the amount to steep. After the steeping time your infusion will be at room temperature. It is okay to warm it back up if you prefer it hot.
Infusions can be therapeutic as well as being considered herbal medicine. While your infusion is steeping bend over the container and breathe in the steam. This will act as a decongestion when you are suffering from colds or allergies. Close your eyes, try to envision this herbal medicine as attacking the germs in your system. Visualizing the fresh herb infusions attacking the malady will help to fight illnesses quite well, according to some published studies. It is like the grounding technique used in yoga. Here again, fresh herbs make the best infusions in herbal medicine.
There is a problem with infusions as they tend to be quite bitter. And of course, if you can’t drink the infusion then it will not be an advantageous herbal medicine. To make it taste better try adding honey or sugar. If you still can’t get it down, try a different infusion. There are many different fresh herbs to try when brewing your herbal medicine.
Decoctions are a different story as they don’t use strictly fresh herbs. Here you would use the dried roots, flowers seeds and barks for their medicinal purposes, not fresh herbs. To get the most from your mixture heat will be used since it is more difficult to extract their active chemicals. Start by boiling the roots and allow them a good head start. Next add the bark, the seeds, the flowers and any spices in that order. Allow a few minutes of simmering after each addition. Then simmer the herbal medicine slowly for 10 to 20 minutes.
Now you have another use for your fresh herbs. This gives you yet another excuse to plant a beautiful herb garden
Happy Healthy Gardening!
Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.
This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.
Kama Sutra Oils of Love
Product Description
Oils of Love are Kama Sutra’s original all-time best sellers! These delicious, silky oils impart a delicate scent and an irresistible warmth. Caress a few drops onto the body, then blow gently to release their powers and let lavish kisses follow. Each water-based oil is hypoallergenic, dermatologist tested and latex safe. All nine flavors will tempt kiss after kiss. Note: Oils of Love are ‘oil’ only in name, they are actually water-based formulas that wash away easily with water. Flavor Description: Plump, ripe strawberries tingling with a taste of sophisticated bubbly. Product Contains: 3. 4 fl oz (100 ml) bottle, Kama Sutra Strawberries & Champagne Oil of Love
Buy Kama Sutra Oils of Love at Amazon
Buy Kama Sutra Oils of Love at Amazon
How to Make Delicious Iced Tea Using Gourmet Teas
According to the U. S. Tea Association, 85% of tea consumed in the US is iced. Unfortunately, the bulk of the iced tea consumed is made of low quality tea, such as the iced “tea” you find in fast food establishments. Their tea is often made of tea-flavored syrup. Many people also use low quality tea bags to make iced tea. However, you can make delicious, healthy, and original iced tea using whole leaf gourmet teas.
Iced tea is cold and refreshing on a hot summer day but it can also be a delicious, thirst-quenching way to enjoy your gourmet teas throughout the year. After all, it can get old drinking your gourmet teas hot all the time. Why not change it up on occasion by drinking your gourmet teas on ice? Not only is preparing iced gourmet tea fun, it is also a lot more flavorful and healthy for you.
The Benefits of Using Loose Gourmet Teas Instead of Tea Bags
Tea bags are full of tiny pieces of tea leaves known as tea dust. Tea dust goes stale a lot faster than the whole leaves found in loose gourmet teas. Furthermore, the flavor and health benefits can’t be compared to what whole leaf loose tea offers. To put it simply, tea bags create inferior tea. You’ll be able to enjoy a much tastier and healthier glass of ice tea by starting with loose, whole leaf tea.
Don’t be afraid to get creative! Blend gourmet teas of different flavors to your liking in order to create an original flavor of iced tea or simply pour your favorite ready-made tea blend over ice. There are several ways you can create delicious and unique iced tea using gourmet tea. . Here are some ideas you can use to make iced teas that would serve as the perfect beverage for a tea party, weekend get-together, or picnic.
The Basics
Making iced tea is very similar to making hot tea but there are a few differences. For one, you should double the amount of tea you use when you make hot tea. In order to create sweet iced tea, add sugar while the tea is steeping rather than at the end when the tea is consumed. The flavor turns out a lot better that way. After the tea is done brewing, pour it into a glass filled with ice. It is best to cool the tea immediately because the scent and flavor of the tea is preserved that way. Add some lemon or mint to the glass for tea that is refreshing and delicious.
If you need to prepare iced tea for a large group, you can also make refrigerator iced tea, which can be prepared far before the party. In fact, it takes twelve hours to brew refrigerator tea. To make it, use one heaping teaspoon of tea per cup of water. Place the water and tea in a glass pitcher and let it sit in the fridge overnight or for twelve hours. Before serving, sieve out the leaves, pour the tea into glasses, and serve.
Fresh tea tastes the best so only make as much as you are going to drink. Drink it immediately for the best flavor. Use ice cubes instead of chips or crushed ice to prevent the tea from getting too watered down.
Use six heaping tea spoons of loose tea for each quart of tea you would like to prepare. If you are using quality gourmet teas, you should be able to use it two more times to brew iced tea. The water you use should also be of high quality to make the best tasting iced tea. Don’t use tap water. You should also make sure to use good water to make ice cubes for your iced tea.
Ice Cube Tips
To prevent your iced tea from getting watered down, consider using juice or freshly brewed tea instead of water to make ice cubes. Orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, or any other fruit juice you enjoy can add a fruity kick to your iced tea. You can also try adding mint leaves to the ice cube tray before you make ice cubes so when the ice cubes melt, there are mint leaves floating in your glass.
Sangria Iced Tea
To make a refreshing, fruity iced tea, pour chilled tea over chopped up fruits like strawberries, plums, mangoes, blueberries, and other fruits you enjoy. Let the tea sit for at least thirty minutes so the flavors of the tea and fruit blend. When serving the sangria iced tea, garnish each glass with sliced fruit.
Milky Iced Tea
To create a sweet and delicious milky ice tea, blend your favorite non-fruity black tea of choice with ice, milk, and chocolate or vanilla syrup. You can also create simple vanilla-flavored ice tea by just adding some vanilla syrup to your usual glass of iced tea.
