DIY Tea Blending

- DIY Gift Idea -   After sipping the Muddy Waters tea The Withered Herb was kind enough to send from Verdant Apothecary, it turned some cogs. This tea was so earthy, unique and deep... just smelling it, this must be how Washington states forest smells and feels! What if each one of us (or home) had our own personal tea blend? This seemed to be venturing into lovely gift territory. Really it's nothing new. Many had personal perfume, their tobacco custom blended, tea and so on that would be given to guests a few hundred years ago. The best part about today is there are so many choices from all over the world to pick from. The Muddy Water tea is such an exotic example, with smoky chocolate nibs and coconut alongside lavender, dandelion leaves and, as per the ingredients label, a little magic.

Going to an apothecary for a custom blend by a specialist is a true experience but going DIY is also totally doable. Poking around the kitchen, flavoring ideas included pretty easily accessible things such as toasted Japanese rice and almonds, dried lemon &/or orange peel, mint leaves, vanilla, and dried mango. Dried lavender, hibiscus flowers, bee balm, rose buds and mulberries are insanely aromatic and tasty too although a little harder to find. The result was an orange tea blend (see recipe here).


Pouring them into tins (or making tea bags) is deceptively rewarding and a Cheshire cat sort of grin always emerges if someone asks, What am I drinking, where can I get this!?

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Things to blend:

 Nightcap (Zzzz)

Soothing chamomile and lavender

Fruity

Dried mango, passion fruit, mulberries, cherries, raspberry, cranberries, wolf berries, elderberry

 Bright and sunny

Dried lemon and orange peel, bee balm (begamot) honeysuckle and peach blossoms

Smoky and deep

Toasted rice and coconut, almonds, chicory root, vanilla bean, rooibos (♥) sage

Floral

Rose buds and hips, hibiscus flowers, lotus flowers

Black and Green Teas

For more on this see my past post on Matcha and Asian tea ceremonies here

Image: mam for Gave That