Herbal Tisanes
I finally got around to turning my store of miscellaneous dried herbs into teas this afternoon. They've been taking up space in my cupboard ever since last summer some of them, although they're all stored in airtight containers so I'm hoping the older ones should still be good.
I made:
A tisane for upset stomachs - peppermint, chamomile, and dried ginger pieces
For insomnia - lemon balm (sometimes called melissa), lavender flowers, and chamomile
For coughs, colds, flu, etc - white horehound (marrubium), marshmallow root, licorice root.
The natural foods store in my area only sells the licorice root in these large pieces, so I spent a good hour just breaking up the dried root with my hands and a mortar & pestle. When I was done I could taste licorice in the back of my throat for a long time afterwards no matter how much water I drank. Good thing the actual root isn't nearly so disgusting-tasting as black licorice candy - that stuff is vile!
X-posted to teafortwo