A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Speaking of Tea...

Recently I have discovered Rooibusch tea, also called red tea. I don't know if anyone else out there has tried it...but it is such a wonderful, full-bodied naturally non-caffinated tea! They come with flavorings too, like any other tea, vanilla, caramel etc.
My South African friend (where rooibush comes from) says that EVERYONE there drinks it...
and an interesting tip...
they boil the tea for a few minutes. It really brings out the flavor!
Just thought I would share
~Amie

www.yogitea.com Has some nice tea also and if go to their web site will mail you 2 free samples& a booklet of their teas and a .50 cupoun.

I have recently fallen in love with Chai tea. I make it myself with black tea (usually Darjeerling or Assam), Cinnamin, Cloves, Cardamom pods, and Ginger (all fresh). The only problem is that I'm fast running out of supplies and there isn't anywhere around here where I cna get fresh cardamom pods and ginger.

Also, I *love* mint teasar. I'm growing a mint plant for that express purpose.

All about Tea
How teas are made

Scroll to Tea Library.

Like many of you, I drink green tea, oolong tea, jasmine tea, black tea (Earl Grey/loose or baggged) for the antioxidant property (polyphenols), essential oils (bergamot), plus manganese, potassium, niacin, folic acid, and trace amounts of vitamins B1, B2, and K.

Tea is an essential beverage for us before, during and after meals.

Dear applescruff,
I don't know about your area...but, I get my ginger and cardamom pods at the local chinese market/shop. You could also try health-food, natural foods stores I suppose.

Chai tea is WONDERFUL! I have a bag of the spice mixture which I bought from a tea shop. You only use a pinch of it per cup (more or less to taste...in german it translates to a knife tip's worth of powder). I wonder if you search around for that kind of thing...or next time you find all the ingredients make a big batch of ready made mix. Put it in jars and store it in a dark closet.

We have gotten into a morning tea ritual...usually green tea...there are some with lemon or lime or grapefruit flavorings which are sooooo wonderful....or some herbal tea is also nice in the morning. We go for the Chai tea in the afternoon for a pick-me-up.


~Amie

Muskrat,

I'm at college right now in an itty-bitty town with no car. We ahve a health food store with the ready made mix, but I prefer to make it myself starting with raw ingredients. I suppose I'm going to have to break down and buy the mix stuff.

applescruff

Applescruff,
Try out this website:
http://www.sandmountainherbs.com/cardamom.html

At this site you can order spices and have them sent to your home:
www.purespice.com
Or this one does bulk spices (one pound) but kinda expensive:
http://store.ediblenature.com/buhespc.html
http://store.ediblenature.com/buhespfg.html
and here is the link for their bottled spices:
http://store.ediblenature.com/frontier--bottled-spices.html

The world has become a nice small cozy place with communications and technology.

~Amie

Applescruff I was going to say alot of mail order companies will ship to you but it looks like you got all the advice you need.
I'm planning on growing herbs mainly for herbal teas and medicinal use but their is so many herbs to choose from. I've been looking through Richters catolog and am having troble deciding on what to get. Can any one help narrow it down to essentials. Anything that I can grow inside is a plus but I'm building a greenhouse that can over winter at what ever temp. is needed, only one temperature, it's just that I'm my gardening zone fluctuates all the time. I've seen some say I'm in zone 2A and some say up(or down, Which ever way you look at it) to zone 3or4(wasn't a detailed map of my reigon).
So to clarify everything, I have a small somewhat shaded spot, a sunny deck, a 6-6" greenhouse and a west facing window I can put them in so almost any conditions can be met.
Thanks, mabey I should have just started a new post :rolleyes: .

Last things to note are that I don't realy want any culinary herbs for the moment and I'm a past smoker of ciggerettes among other things so anything that helps to clean out your lungs and clean out your system is good.
Thanks in advance.

Just thought I'd add insomnia pleggs me as well. :p

<img border="0" alt="[perplexed]" title="" src="graemlins/confused.gif" /> I just have to add one more thing just to clarify. It's not that that I don't want herbs that are cullinary it's just that I only realy want herbs that can be used as teas hence the reason it's in this section. Allright now I'll just wait and read more info on herbs that I find.
Oh... :rolleyes: Another reason I'm asking is I don't know which herbs used medecinaly are safe to use as part of a regular diet. My mom goes to a nature path some times so I guess I could get her to ask there but I'm going to be doing all my ordering soon and I don't know when she's going there next.

Muskrat,

Thanks for all the links! I think I might try ordering spices off the net.

Apples,

I did a quick web search and came up with a few common herbs.

CATNIP - Make a tea to to relieve colds and fevers. Also used to treat headaches and upset stomachs. Has mild sedative qualities.
CHAMOMILE - Use in a tea as a mild sleep aid or to aid digestion. Make a cream to treat dry, rough skin
CORIANDER - Chew leaves or infuse as a tea to relieve upset stomachs. Also used as a mild sedative
HYSSOP - Make a cream to treat bruises and burns. Infuse as tea to treat colds, flu, bronchitis and sore throats.
RED CLOVER -
VALERIAN - Roots used to relieve nervous tension, anxiety, insomnia and pain. Roots used in a cream to treat acne or skin rashes.

This is what a quick search turned up and I'm sure if you did a more extensive search you could find more. If you find yourself with time to kill, try these sites: http://www.magdalin.com/herbs/
http://www.holistic-online.com/Herbal-Med/hol_herb.htm

Let me know how your growing goes!

*smile*
applescruff

Thanks applescruff.
I've found a few of the ones you said, catnip, coriander, I already drink chamomile but I've heard it's not good to have consitently. I've looked through parts of that magdalin site, I'm starting to look through the other one right now!
I know I could have just done my own work but thought I'd try to speed up the process by asking.
I know you can't grow any more plants in your room but it's kind of nice that you have something good and a healthy life to look forward to. I'll be shure to keep you up to date on everything.

Apples, Have you tried Lemon Balm Tea for that insomnia?

Thanks for the tip.
Nope... I don't want anything that is to much of a seditive... Is it a seditive? I'll look it up. I just don't want to become relient on it(Can't help it I have an adictive personality) Just need something to help calm my nerves, increase circulation to my restless legs and help slow my mind as apposed to thought processes like this

Apples, I can personally attest to the sleep benefits of the lemon balm tea...(thanks, P&L )
No drugs, non-addicting, etc...

But...if you want to calm what my family used to call the "jitsies" in your legs....
See if you can find (in your health food store) a liquid calcium/magnesium supplement. It WILL help; my promise....

Thanks Jillie for answering that, I just had not gotten around to it, and YOU are WELCOME, thanks for the testimonial for the Lemon Balm, those "jitsies"(I LIKE that term) can be helped too with a good dose of BANANA'S

....which is extremely good advice, P&L ...oranges & 'nanners are great for a potassium deficiency...

But...

if ye ain't getting up there in years like we are... (we more "mature" folks tend to lose potassium) and considering Apples younger age...


... my $.02

Can I ask Jillie and Phil a question,
The "jitsie's" can they not be caused
by both not enough calcium and too much as well.??
Both I have heard are the culprits of that!!

Same as the charlie horse's?????????

Seems I've heard something to that effect??
Or am I mixing it with something else??

Weezie

Not too sure, Weez... it's not tooo common to have calcium overload unless yer over-doing dietary supplements...or have the arthritic-type calcium build-up in yer joints (More an affliction of us older folks)

Here's the stuff I use...& my-boss-the-doc recommends it...

restless leg syndrome

It tastes pretty good, too.

Well, with the ole brain~drain here, of what I remember is, Like in the charlie horse thing.. and the muscle (when I was pregnant, my doct. asked if I was either not taking or intaking not enough calcium or too much... I had told her probably too much, cause I was drinking alot of milk and I also eat romaine, and beans and alot of things that have calcium in it!!
And she told me to lay off eating so much and it did calm them down....

She said something to the effect that the calcium can go to the muscle *some how* when resting and build up in there, (*or like lie around in the tissue like??????) and that's a probable cause for such.
Not sure...
I used to get the Jitsie's all the time or a feeling of wanting to STRETCH my legs,
at night while lying on the couch watching tv.

Weezie

Ah, I think you're right about charlie horses & too much or not enuf calcium.... I was taking a guess with Apples being depleted.....


Apples? Ever been a guinnea pig???

I have a pound of St. Johns Wort, I know it can be capped and used, but It is all powdered, Can I brew a tea out of it?

I. Don't. Think. So.

Prolly hitting onesself in the head with a ball-peen hammer would be safer