Simple ingredients to make your powerhouse tea with simple, culinary spices:

1/2 c astragalus root (available in health food stores or online)
3 cinnamon sticks

“handful” or to taste of the following fresh herbs: (I used about 1/2 cup of each, including the stems)

– sage
– oregano
– lemonbalm
– mint (a little more of this)

Directions:

Put the astragalus root and cinnamon sticks in a pot with enough water to cover by 3 inches (approximately 1 quart). Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20-30 minutes, watching that the water level doesn’t get too low. You can also partially cover the pot with a lid. You can add more water as you simmer to adjust for both strength and quantity. Strain off the cinnamon and astragalus and return water to the pot, adding the fresh herbs. Bring to a boil again, and simmer five+ minutes. If you like stronger flavors, you can allow them to sit in the hot water for another 5 minutes or so, but too long will make it bitter.

Strain off the herbs. They are compost safe since they were only in water.

Taste– if it is too strong, dilute it with more water. For a sweeter taste, add a bit of stevia or honey. I’m not a big fan of sugars, so unless the flavor is too strong, I don’t add it.

Enjoy your tea! Next week the post will contain the health benefits and other fun facts about the herbs we use in such soothing teas. Stay tuned!

Note about the herbs: It’s kind of like my grandmother’s recipes with a pinch of this and a dash of that. You have to feel it out. Some people like the flavor of one herb over another. Usually mint is the predominant one. Oregano, while a healing powerhouse, has a very strong flavor so try different quantities. You can also use dried herbs (which I do in the winter). The quantities are less because dried herbs tend to have a stronger flavor. You can omit any one of these, as well!

Store the tea in a glass container in the refrigerator.

If you like a “softer” tea, you can also just omit the mint and oregano and use sage, lemon balm and lavender together. That makes a lovely, relaxing tea.

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