LAVENDER TEA
Apologies to my readers that don’t have a lavender bush: I have a tiny one, and I adore it. I have a small garden, but before that relied on my window ledge to grow herbs and other edibles. Now I have that small garden, my motto is I’m not going to grow anything that I can’t eat! So, lavender. Simple, hardy, delicious, versatile lavender.
This ‘recipe’, so simple that I feel it is more an idea than a stricture, is one I have been brewing up for a few nights now. I have recently (mostly) given up tea and coffee, seeking a more calming environment for my head and my days. The first few days were difficult without regular fixes of caffeine, but I feel better and more rested for it. That’s not to say I’m on a total ban, I had a cup of tea at my Nans house earlier; but I’m certainly drinking a lot less than I used to.
So, lavender tea. Light, lavendery, and extremely useful for those of us who struggle to sleep well at night.
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon of lavender buds per person
1 teaspoon of sweetness of your choice: honey, sugar, sweetener….
Pour boiling water over the lavender, stir well, cover with a saucer or similar, and leave for five minutes to steep.
Strain the tea into another cup to remove the lavender buds (optional, they are edible so you can leave them in if you don’t mind ‘crunchy bits’!
Stir in your sweetener of choice – and sip serenely… 🙂
Jack Monroe. Twitter: @MsJackMonroe
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/agirlcalledjack
(and here’s one I’m saving for bedtime!)
Categories: DRINKS, Recipes & Food, Vegan Recipes
Oh, I’ve never thought of lavender tea but often do the same with thyme which, incidentally, seems to have a kind of medicinal effect if you have a sore throat. I’m off to raid next door’s lavender bush now! Sleep well everyone!
Mmmm thyme tea! I imagine that’s delicious! I love making mint tea too, the Moroccan way with lots of mint and honey… 🙂
Thyme and lavender tea! Both good ideas and I have both herbs already – bonus!!
‘I’m not going to grow anything I can’t eat.’ Excellent motto! 🙂
Jack,
Besides being known for its chile ( Hatch chile peppers ), there is another reason foodies, organic farmers come to New Mexico:
http://www.lospoblanos.com/lavendar-organic-farm/
If or actually when you make it over here, i hope you get a chance to see this place, maybe even stay.
It is quite beautiful farm, and B&B…
Be well
Laurence
Coriander seed tea is good. Split the seeds just a bit with a grinder or a rolling pin and brew just as above – I use a little circular strainer that dunks into the cup. Lovely with a slice of lemon – a bit spicey and very soothing for the digestion.
Lavender is a bit hard to grow where I am but I keep trying. The two plants came back this year. I have hopes they get nice and big. This tea would be wonderful to try.
I love thyme tea, incredibly invigorating,I love the smell of fresh thyme and the tiny flowers in spring,I imagine all of these teas especially if fresh are very healthy.On another note.I wanted to say to you,if you need a washing machine??Why not ask if someone wants to donate one to you.I bought my last machine from the British Heart Foundation second hand,they have loads of them all donated.So many people love what you are doing,and would be happy to help you if they could.We are all trying to learn and help each other?Just a thought xx Jackie xx
Ooh, lots of lovely ideas. Rosemary is a shrub so hardy it should be called well hardy. That would probably make a good tea, maybe I’ll try it 🙂
Fantastic; I love lavender and agree it’s great for stressy people who find it hard to switch off and sleep. I know you rarely feature ‘sweet’ recipes but lavender is wonderful in shortbread, scones and home made vanilla ice cream.
I use thyme too, as the PP points out, thyme has powerful medicinal
Properties – it boosts the immune system. Sage is perfect for treating sore throats and mint is a decongestant as well as digestive aid. Knowing a few basics could potentially save money on over-the-counter remedies so I think it’s worth pointing out 🙂
I drink fennel and mint tea as a digestive, that darn IBS…., and it was great when breastfeeding, as it encourages milk production. I might give this a go, as I find chamomile tea (also good for sleep) tastes like cats pee…..x
I add rosemary to daytime tea while the teabag brews – good for clarity during the day. For sleep I put 6 fresh leaves in a cup of cold water & heat to almost boil, strain. But although it looks, tastes like warm water this is surprisingly effective – I make sure I’ve locked up before I sip ! I’m not allowed to suggest anyone else do the same, because various precautions apply. I leave readers to do their own research.
I love using lavender to cook – lavender biscuits are my favourite. I usually make them for the garden parties at the William Morris Society, and this year I actually overheard someone say, ‘Where are the lavender biscuits? They were really great last time’. You can guess how pleased I was!! I do make them from the organically grown lavender in my garden.
I have a lavender bush! I must try this!
Fantastic ideas here too in the comments section. Maybe I can be weaned off caffeine after all…
What a lovely, soothing post! I had a lavender bush once but it died. You, however, Jack, have inspired me to try again! I also find myself drinking less tea (never drank coffee) and more infusions… sage is an excellent (and somewhat unexpected) one: very, very herbal and very, very soothing.
Nice shot…we have bundles of lavender in the garden. Have to try this.
This is such a great idea – all of the herbal teas above sound fabulous – and how much nicer than those strange synthetic fruit tea bags? It all seems so obvious now you mention it , but then I often miss the obvious.
Thank you
Last year I had earache after a headcold I made a hot compress with lavender and chamomile essential oils a few drops of each in a small bowl of hot water,I used an old flannel held it to my face.Bliss the pain just melted away,lasted for several hours.Within a couple of days the earache had gone.
I found recently(!)it works the same for toothache – I used no pain killers in either case.Obviously I went to the dentist!
I love lavender, too, especially for cooking. I’ve experimented with couscous, stew and some fried veggies so far – no need to confine lavender to sweet treats, it is absolutely lovely in spicy ones, too (I only use small quantities) …
Lavender and garlic with lamb is nice. Bet it would be good with chicken too.
If you like the taste of lavender, you should take a look at a book called ‘The Lavender Cookbook’ by Sharon Shipley. If you don’t have a lavender plant, Barts herbs do dried lavender in their herbs and spices range.
Oh and Frances Bissell’s ‘The Scented Kitchen’ is good too…
when i lived in charlotte amalie, st. thomas, usvi, we had a lime tree growing outside our front door, and multiple hibiscus plants. a woman from st. kitts told me to pick some leaves from the lime plant, clean them off (they grew near a road so they’d get dirty sometimes) then add water, milk and your choice of sweetener to make a fresh delicious hot tea. for hibiscus tea, pick full blossoms, rinse well, cover with boiling water, add sweetener to taste. the hibiscus tea is especially good cold! thanks for your great ideas and your blog. 🙂 be well!
I buy dried Lavender flowers from my local wholefood shop. The cost pennies and last ages. I make Lavender shortbread biscuits and they are very popular.