Sugar and spice and everything nice,
that’s what winter teas are made of
By Savayda Jarone, herbalist
Each season brings different flavours and medicines to my tea pot. Winter is the cozy season for maximizing comfort with tasty food and drink. The cold and dark provide more indoor hours, more time to dig out my cookbooks to learn new recipes, to try new ingredients, and to play with tea blends.
Tea blending is an art and science for me, combining the desire for both therapeutic value and pleasure. The pleasure feature of the equation is expressed through complimentary flavours, colour, texture fat from cream or butter, and just the right sweetener. Using loose herbs, instead of tea bags, allows for creativity, freshness, and personalization of tea blends. Most herb shops like mine and health food stores offer bulk herbs to work with. A selection of fifteen herbs and spices, many of which may already be in your spice rack, gives you lots of creative combinations.
Last winter I taught an online course on the medicinal uses of common culinary herbs and spices, and I became better acquainted with the delights of spiced teas. In the winter I add at least one spice to my tea blends to add extra warmth to the brew—spices are inherently warming. I use ginger, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, black pepper, fennel, star anise. These spices offer strong flavour and in general act as digestive stimulants.
I am also attracted to eating more citrus fruits in the winter. When I do, I try to buy organic so that I can make use of the peelings for teas and medicine making. Citrus peels, especially orange and lemon, are high in antioxidants and cancer fighting compounds. They are also bitter, which is a good flavour addition to improve digestion. They round out the flavour of tea blends very nicely. They can be used fresh or dry; I have some drying in a basket by the wood stove; a dehydrator works well too.
If you are a black tea drinker like me, try combining varieties of black tea, and add herbs to the brew. I am currently using an Irish breakfast blend with extra Assam. Sometimes I add depth with a smoked tea called Russian Caravan, plus rose petals. I serve this blend with lots of blend and honey to counteract the high tannin content.
A tasty, hot tea provides an opportunity for a break during a work or study session, and it can be a great excuse to have a friend over for a visit. Elevate the tea experience by using your special tea set, maybe pick up some cookies, and make tea part of your winter rituals.
I wish you all the comfort and joys of winter.
Recipes
Click here for tea recipes that reflect some basic, universal health needs for those of us living in our northern climate. And they’re all rich in flavour to enhance the pleasure aspect of tea drinking.
