From my garden to my teapot

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I enjoy a good cup of tea, especially on rainy days. I also love local herbs and their medicinal properties, so the combination of local herbal tea makes me incredibly happy. Tea doesn't only have to be hot; iced tea is a cooling option for those of us living in the humid tropics.

There's something really nourishing about plucking herbs from my garden and then brewing them on my stove. Making my own tea keeps me connected to the story of my food.

Plus, using my own herbs is the best incentive to make my garden thrive, especially through non-chemical means such as compost.

Here are some recipe ideas for you to try:

Lemongrass tea

Lemongrass is wonderfully refreshing. It relieves sore stomachs, improves blood circulation, and is an all-rounder – anti-fungal, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-parasitic.

2 lemongrass stalks
Honey or raw (optional)

Simply add the lemongrass stalks to a cup of hot water and let it steep. If you prefer a sour tang to your tea, you can squeeze in some lime or lemon.

Iced Roselle Syrup tea

Roselle tea has amazing health benefits such as reducing high blood pressure, relieving coughs and colds and helping with weight loss.

First off, prepare the roselle syrup by harvesting some roselle flower casings – 5 to 6 flowers suffice. Boil these luscious red casings with about 2-3 cups of water, depending on how thick you'd like it to be. Boil it down with some rock sugar or dried winter melon strips. The liquid will thicken.

To make your tea, brew a pot of light tea and add your roselle syrup to taste. Have this on a hot day with some ice. You can add some mint leaves into your tea too for added freshness. Instead of drinking a cold soda, this is great healthy alternative with all-natural colouring and flavour

Ginger tea

Ginger tea is a delightfully warming drink, perfect for rainy days. It also helps to boost immunity, reduce nausea and respiratory issues, relieves menstrual cramps and increase blood circulation.

I like adding some raw milk to my ginger tea, just to give it more flavour.

A thumb's worth of ginger
3-5 cloves
3-5 cardamon pods
5 black pepper kernels

Pound it all together, brew it on low-medium heat, and add a tea-bag in if you wish.

Misai Kuching tea

Misai Kuching tea has an incredible amount of health benefits. It helps to stabilise blood sugar levels for those with diabetes, can be used to treat kidney stones, urinary tract infections, gout and has antifungal, antinflammatory and antibacterial properties.

Simply pluck a few leaves and allow it to steep in hot water. You can add brown sugar if you wish. It tastes delicious!

Mint tea

Mint tea is refreshing, relaxing, reduces nausea and soothes sore stomachs. It even boosts your immunity.

Pluck some mint leaves, brew it on your stove for a few minutes, then pour it straight into your mug.

Borage tea

Borage tea is an ancient remedy for coughs, colds and other respiratory ailments, including asthma.

I find it bitter without any sweetener, so I like adding honey to it. Simply pluck some leaves, brew it on your stove for a few minutes, then drink away.

References
15 Best Herbal Tea Remedies for Healing
Misai Kuching Herbal Tea
Benefits of Peppermint Tea
8 Health Benefits Of Ginger Tea
The Health Benefits of Roselle or Hibiscus

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