The Stillroom

With all of the news lately on consuming drinks with aspartame, it reminds me of just how bad this stuff is.   Look it up.  Studies show that it brings on a very long list of symptoms that range from headaches to tinnitus.  I’m not going to lie here, I drink one coke zero a day and that might not seem like much but I’m quitting it.  I want to see if the ringing in my ears stops, or my muscles stop aching, or my heart stops palpatating, or my irritability stops,  my rash goes away, depression disappears,  the vertigo and nausea will stop.  My insomnia will go away and my breathing difficulty stops and my memory loss is not so bad.  Jupiter.

Oh, I’m back.  The tea. One of the great things about tea for me is that it can soothe you when you don’t feel well and it refreshes and quenches thirst on  really hot summer days.  One of the things I really enjoy about having the tea shop is that I get to mix and match my teas to create some really nice flavors of iced tea and pass the good ones on to you! One of the combinations I created this week was to a half gallon of water on the stove, add two decaf English Breakfast, bags, two regular English Breakfast bags and one coconut mango oolong. Steep for about ten minutes and let it cool. I poured it over ice and  it was delicious.  I like my tea slightly sweet so I add a half pack of Stevia to a glass with ice.  I have brewed the blueberry herbal and it is not only great but it also brews up a beautiful dark blue color. So pretty in a glass pitcher!  Iced chamomile is light in flavor and tastes like a good apple.  I use the English Breakfast, a couple of regular and a couple of decaf as the base in most brews.  I made a mash up of three English Break with two of the Vervain (lemon verbena) and it is excellent.  I was surprised that the result was more of the lemon flavor and it’s very herbally!  You don’t need to add any lemon. The combinations are endless considering I carry over 50 flavors of tea!

The cost to brew up a nice pitcher full is just over a dollar…very inexpensive and so worth it. The best part is you can control everything you are consuming.  Herbal, green, black, white, regular or decaf and in any flavor combination. I think this is a great way to keep the kids and us grownups quenched with a healthier alternative.   With the dog days of summer approaching and you are, like me, giving up diet drinks or sugary drinks, keep in mind that tea is not just for the heart of winter!

P.S.

I’m not that messed up.