herbal tea

[Beth]

I started drinking lemon and ginger tea about a year ago, after it was suggested it might help an ailment of mine :D
after a few weeks I started to enjoy the taste and have stuck with it, but its not something I can drink all day long (have to start the day with at least 3 cups of PG! :D )

recently I have been feeling a bit run down, stress and the winter doldrums, you know how it is ;)

I saw some green jasmine tea and I like green tea so I thought I would give it a bash, and hoave now been drinking it for about a week, its supposed to help detox and stuff.
I rather like it!
the only thing is I can always taste it! :D even when I am not drinking it, a few hours I can still taste it, and sometimes I think I can smell it coming through my pores!!

does any one have any other herbal teas that they can recommend please? I hate the black currant one BTW! :lol: and water is good but can be a bit dull after a while!

[Annabel]

:)
Hi Beth, I am quite a fan of herbal tea. B)

I started drinking it as a way of cutting back on normal tea, especially at work....every five minutes someone is putting the kettle on and before you know it you have drunk 12 cups...

Anyway, I can recommend Peppermint Tea if you have a stomach ache, honestly it really works, and it kinda helps if you have a headache too, because the smell of it lifts you.

Mr Hubby Annabel loves Lemon and Ginger when he has a cold...I find it a bit too spicy..but I really like the Lemon Herbal Tea that M&S do, as do most of my colleagues at work...and it goes down very well in the Summer B) That one is nice hot or cold (some of em are yuk when they go cold :unsure: )

In the Winter I really like Orange and Echinacea, it has a cinnamony flavour to it, and it smells divine, like Christmas Cake being cooked... :clap2: Raspberry and Echinacea is nice as well and the echinacea is supposed to be good at warding off colds.

Also the classic camomile is nice if you feel like you need to wind down and chill out, i can vouch for it that it does get you sleepy!

Some people like the more herby based teas and some the fruity ones, I am more a fruity person...Somerfield do a really nice selection pack of various fruit teas with strawberry :thumbs: cranberry, apple, raspberry etc and combinations thereof :)

I like so many of them! :D Pink Grapefruit is nice and zingy, I always feel like I have detoxed a bit if I have one of those :rolleyes:

In terms of brands, Typhoo bought the London herbal Tea Brand and they were the nicest ones we found. Honestly at work we tried nearly all of them I think!

One tip I would give you is to make the tea in a small cup because the teas are kinda delicate and if you make them in a big mug the flavour goes all wishy washy and disappointing :sad: I think this is why a lot of people dont like them...also you really do have to let the bag steep for a good five minutes... :thumbs: :thumbs:

The good thing is they dont cost all that much so its not a big disaster if you buy one that is yukky - we bought mango and cinnamon once and nearly 8-X the smell was so weird!!!! then we tried one with lychee and nearly all passed out from the horridness of it!! :lol: :lol:

[Planet 24]

I swear by Paraguayan Mate Tea - it's horrible stuff and an acquired taste.It must be brewed in a china pot - very smoky but is supposed to be an universal cure-all for stress,migraine detox and stomach ailments.
If you can drink a couple of cups a tea each day for a week you WILL feel better. I've done it for the last 25 years( in those days you had to send to high class herbalists in London for it but now most Earth Food Shops stock it.

[sweethippygurl]

Ooooo, herbal tea! It's always a disaster when people visit the SHG household and ask for tea, as I have to say 'which one?' and hold the cupboard open for them to choose. Yes, there's literally a cupboard full :blush: :D

I loooooooove Twinings Orange, Cinnamon and Mango, it's totally delicious!

Beth, have you tried Whittards green teas? For some reason they don't seem to have that clingy taste...maybe it's just the jasmine, I don't know, it's quite a strong flavour...but Whittards to a green tea with lime in, which is really refreshing...

And the classic Twinings lemon tea, ooooooooooooo!!!!!

My Polish friend Jo swears by plain green tea, with a dash of raspberry syrup - never tried it, but she goes into fits when she talks about it, so I'm assuming it must be great! :D

Hope you find something delish soon!!!

[Beth]

thanks :D
I am a bit gross with my ginger tea, I like to leave the bag in so its really strong, I started taking it as ginger is good for your joints so they say ;)

I find twinnings good, and some of the supermarket brands a bit wishy washy, havent tried any of mark's tea though.

I havent managed to find any green tea in bags without the added aromatic flavour if you know what I mean, I think clingy is agood word to use, I will look out for the whittards, thanks :)

[mazza]

I can defintely vouch for the peppermint tea if you have a tummy ache, feel nauseous etc. It resides in my medicine cupboard rather than my food cupboard - that's how much faith I have in it! :D

I have recently started drinking camomile tea which really does work to make you :yawn: . It's excellent before bed!

I have used 'Night Time' blend in the past too which worked, but had a weird taste...but you do get used to it :) .

I'm not a fruity tea person...the smell is always better then the taste! I think the only nice fruity one I had also had coconut flavour...but I don't remember who made it!

The green teas are good too, full of antioxidants, but again a bit of an acquired taste for me :) .

One last tip - they lose thier potency very quicky, so store them somewhere where the temperature doesn't vary too much and also in container with a lid. And definitely use well before the sell-by date :thumbs: .

:coffee:

[hollygolightly]

Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Herb Tea (http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/frameset/detail/373700.html) :coffee:

[Beth]

thanks but gosh! thats expensive for 20 bags!!

[hollygolightly]

It is very nice tea though, Beth! ;) :lol:

[Annabel]

:D I have another recommendation!

I bought a box of 'Redbush Tea' in Sainsbo's last Saturday...if any of you have read ''The Number One Ladies Detective Agency' you will know that Mma Ramotswe drinks this constantly ...so if it is good enough for her..... :lol:

Anyway , I braced myself for it to taste like s********ings off the forest floor...but...it was rather pleasant... :thumbs:

It has a reddish brown colour and has a tea like taste but also a bit nutty or smoky(cant decide which) It is not an over powering taste at all. :coffee:

It says on the packet you can have it with milk or lemon...but I just had it straight and I let the bag steep for a good while. B) B)

[mazza]

Oo, I have seen that in Sainsbo's too and wondered if it tasted like s********ings of a spent camp fire!! :lol:

I might try some since you recommend it ;) :D .

[Beth]

Ooo I used to work with someone who drank smoked tea, it smelt vile!!! really really dreadful! he said it tasted nice! :D
everyone used to complain about it and I think for that reason he drank more of it! just to wind us all up! :lol:

[Mr Ribbit]

I was quite excited last year when I found that a tea shop not far from us sold a green tea called Gen Mai Cha. It has what I think is roasted rice particles in there. When I ordered a bag of the tea, the shop owner said 'Urghh, you don't drink that do you. :bigeyes: :blink: It's like drinking burnt rice water.' I told him I loved it and it was nothing like that, then I turned round to see ribbit's face which looked like :whistle: :rolleyes: .

I had to laugh because it suddenly dawned on me that the only reason I liked it was because I drank a lot of it as a child and you know, it does taste like burnt rice water! :lol: :hihi:

Ah well, never mind, I still drink it out of nostalgia. :lol: :rolleyes:

[Doktor Jon]

If you suffer from hay fever, the tea to drink is ..... nettle tea :blink:

Apparently it supresses the immune response to pollen. I tried it first two years ago, and actually stuck with it last season, with a fair degree of success.

Hey it's no substitute for green or fruit teas, but if it works, I suppose that's all that matters.
As for the taste, well let's just say you get used to it ;)

Cuppa anyone ...?

[mazza]

Ooo now, nettles are meant to be a 'super food' - fabulous for all sorts of ailments, anti-cancer properties too and we really ought to include them in our diet in quantity.

The thing is....where can you get nettles from that aren't full of pollution...or ahem...dog business :blush: :rolleyes: .

So I have never tried them!!! But would like to... :)

(sorry :blush: )

[Annabel]

8-X ooh, gross, Mazza!!! (but TRUE :hihi: ) But you know, shouldnt we all be growing a patch of nettles in our gardens since butterflies love them???

I have head that blackberry leaf tea is supposed to very good for you, for flushing out toxins and good for the digestion etc etc....i have got a box of bramble tea, but its more the fruit than the leaf!

Back to the Redbush Tea...it isnt smoky I have decided...maybe it would be more accurate to say its 'woody' but delicate! I really think its very nice... :thumbs: Go for it!

(I am not sure about the rice tea...it sounds very ...interesting.... ;) )

[mazza]

I'm not sure about the rice tea either 8-X :lol: :wow: !

He's a brave frog, that Mr Ribbit... :hihi:

[Mr Ribbit]

:lol: I think ribbit would use different words to describe my taste in tea! :lol: :hihi:

[Beth]

Twinnings did an offer a while back of a pocket tea bag holder! it came free in the boxes, you can get 10 tea bags in it if you squish them in, so now I always have at least ginger bags with me, it just pops in my bag :D I dont think its wise to mix tea bags though as the smell rubs off, and some of them really do pong! :lol:

I am looking out for another one so I can start carting the green tea around with me :D :coffee:

[Mr Ribbit]

Oh, that's a good idea. Missed that one but I'll keep an eye out for that sort of thing now. Isn't it good what people think of. :)

[Bonkers Mad!!!]

i don't like ready made teas :rolleyes: from the garden is better ;)

But you know, shouldnt we all be growing a patch of nettles in our gardens since butterflies love them???

ladybirds too, we all need ladybirds ;) and if you cut them and hang them in bunches from your door frames and windows in the summer, they keep the fly's down.

sorry, got off topic :blush:

[mazza]

I just had to say that (OK it's not really herbal, but it's organic and a bit different to the usual...) I found some Rooibus and Breakfast tea blend in the supermarket and decided to try it. I was intrigued because it says you can have it with milk if you like...why not eh?

It's goooood!!!! B)

I think I might get addicted to it :bigeyes: .

:lol:

[Annabel]

:thumbs: It is nice isnt it!!! I really enjoy it! and it definitely has a tea like flavour, but with a twist...mmm :rolleyes:

[Beth]

:) I found a selection box of green tea the other day with help from a friend :)
there are 4 different green tea flavours in it including grapefruit! yummy!! :D

I will have to go through this list and try all of them! :lol:

[mazza]

How's the green tea going then?? :lol:

I am digging this thread out again for moral support...I have bought some nettle tea bags (organic ;) ) and I am going to try them.

The more I read about the great benefits of nettles, the more I feel I have to have a go at introducing them to my diet!! :D


Eeek though!! :ph34r: :hihi:

[Beth]

the green tea is great thanks mazza! :D I am loving it! :lol: I seem to go through boxes of the stuff at work......but there again maybe someone is nicking them! :lol:
actually everyone makes a huge deal about how yucky they taste ;)
the only one I dont like is the green and earl grey teas, odd combination!

I have just tried a new one, I couldnt find any lemon and ginger bags last week but did find orange ginger and honey ones, they are quite nice but a tad sweeter than the L&G ones

do let us know what the nettle ones are like please :)

[Annabel]

:D Hi Beth, who makes the orange ginger and honey ones? they sound very nice... :)

i wonder about the nettle tea...have you tried it yet Mazza? :rolleyes:

i am still well into my Redbush Tea. I love it! :thumbs:

[Beth]

good ole twinings Annabel! :D

they are nice, the surprise is they turn red! :lol:

[mazza]

Hehe

I have tried it...it is actually OK from my point of view as I am not too keen on the fruity teas and this is definitely not fruity! :lol:

It has a mild taste, I think, and um....I guess it smells like hay :blink: .

It probably tastes the same too!!

I think it's a thumbs up from me though as it didn't give me any bad after taste or belly ache ;) .

When I think of all the good things it can do, then it makes it taste even better!! :thumbs:

Anti-cancer, antiseptic, antioxidant, diuretic, tonic (has iron - great for anaemia), lowers blood sugar, circulatory stimulant....I think I'll go get a cup just now! :coffee:

:D

[Annabel]

:thumbs: :thumbs: you sold it to me Mazza, next time I am i the supermarket i shall see if they have it, and the orange one you recommended Beth! :)

I love my herbal teas, in fact its time for some Redbush, right now!