Cooling Summer Tea

Contributor: Ashley Neese
Photographer: Ashley Neese

I am drinking homemade tea by the mason jar. Water is great of course, but in this heat it’s been key to have another beverage to help lower my body heat.

Summer is a time when our bodies tend to generate more heat. In dry, hot climates like where I live it’s easy to get over heated. This can create anxiety, headaches, stress, breakouts, insomnia – all of which I have been experiencing to some degree lately. In order to get a handle on these symptoms and adjust to the rising temperatures I’ve been using lots of herbs that have cooling properties. 

This tea is super easy to make and you can switch out the tea bags and herbs as you see fit. I like to use Gynostemma (a Chinese longevity herb) tea bags because it is a powerful antioxidant and is great for digestion and the liver. It also tastes amazing and is slightly cooling. Chamomile or hibiscus would also work really well.

As far as the fresh herbs go I use a lot of peppermint, lemon balm, and pineapple sage. I added a couple stems from my stevia plant and a handful of goji berries (another cooling, Chinese wonder food) to give it a touch of sweetness. If you don’t have fresh stevia use more gojis or just omit it all together. You really can’t go wrong here, experiment and have fun!

Here are a short list of cooling herbs to help get you started:

  • Alfalfa//Chamomile//Chickweed

  • Dandelion//Hibiscus flowers//Japanese Honeysuckle Flower

  • Lemon Balm//Lemongrass//Passion Flower

  • Peppermint//Pine needle tea//Plantain leaf

  • Spearmint//Sorrel//Vervain

 

COOLING SUMMER TEA

serves 12

 

Ingredients

  • 3 quarts water

  • 2-3 tea bags of choice, I used Gynostemma

  • 4-6 large handfuls of washed herbs (stems are ok), lemon balm, peppermint, pineapple sage

  • 2 stems of fresh stevia

  • 1 small handful goji berries

 

Method

  1. Bring a large pot with 3 quarts of water to a boil. Turn off heat. Add the tea bags, herbs, stevia, and goji berries. Let steep for an hour, covered.

  2. Drain and pour into glass jars. Let stand until they reach room temperature then place in the fridge. Will keep for a week in air tight glass jars.

  3. Add a splash of lemon or orange juice if desired before drinking. Serve cool.

recipeSaffron & SageSaffron & Sagesummer, tea, chamomile, dandelion, alfalfa, peppermint, hibiscus, lemon, healthy cooking, San Diego, wellnessComment