HERB - Mint/Tea

[Katherine Blackthorne]

> >Peppermint is good for gas and upset stomach. Relaxes the lower 
> >esophageal
> >sphincter and lets you belch easier. This, however, can also make acid
> >reflux worse. 
> 
> This is not good since I already have the dreaded reflux thing!
> 
>  Have to stay off coffee to but the colas are fine. Weird 
> >huh!?
> >
> >Not really. Caffeine in coffee is usually at least twice what's in 
> >colas.
> >
> Thank you My Lord! I do feel better knowing this! But what about the
> teas? 
> Could the caffeine be lowered in the teas? And How is mint tea made? No
> alcohol tho' please. No matter how much I may like to have some.  :)
> 
> Rhiannon
> 

Milady Rhiannon,

Mint tea is made as all teas are made.  Take one spoonful of dried (or 1
handful fresh) mint leaves per cup of tea.  Place in a small cloth bag or
ceramic tea ball.  (_Do Not_ use metal -- it reacts chemically with the
plants and spoils what you're trying to get.)  Pour boiling water over it. 
Let sit for 3-5 minutes.  Remove leaves, add milk, honey, or sugar to taste
(No lemon juice for you, as you're already having acid problems).  Drink. 
If you do not have access to a ceramic tea ball, you can use one of those
little muslin "tea socks" they sell at the health food stores, or cut off
the foot of a *new* pair of nylons.
If you make tea from herbs such as mint or fennel (also good for stomach
woes, but tastes rather like licorice candy) it does not contain caffeine. 
To reduce the caffeine content in regular teas (the kind you buy at the
store and list "tea" as an ingredient), remove the tea-bag sooner.  
There may be some confusion because we use the word "tea" in two very
different ways.  The word "Tea" refers commonly to the leaves of the Tea
plant, grown mostly in India & China, which is where we get our various
black, green, & oolong teas.  Its leaves contain the chemical caffeine. 
The word "tea" (or "herbal tea") is ALSO used to refer to any drink made by
pouring boiling water over leaves, whether or not the leaves come from the
tea plant.  If you look at the boxes in the grocery store, you will see
some labeled "tea", and some labeled "herbal tea" -- the latter do not
contain caffeine.  As someone else indicated, "Mint tea" is commonly sold
two ways:  mint leaves added to black tea, or mint leaves alone.  In your
case, you would want the second one, so be sure to either read the label or
pick the leaves yourself!  :-)
Katherine Blackthorne
Province of Golden Rivers
Principality of Cynagua
Kingdom of the West
============================================================================
Go to http://www.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.