I have been a tad under the weather of late so I haven’t been cooking much. I did however utilize my homemade elderberry tea to aid in my recovery. A few years ago for Christmas my sister sent me the cutest little purple tea pot, a bag of dried organic elderberries and a jug of Ceylon Cinnamon Sticks and a note to give Elderberry Tea a try if I got the flu or a cold. Not being a big tea drinker nor a user of homeopathic things except some essential oils I was a bit weary. I did some research and decided about a month or two later when I had either a nasty cold or the flu (sometimes it is hard to tell) to brew some up. Surprisingly I felt better within the day… not just a little better a lot better. Since then I brew it from time to time if I think I have even been exposed to the flu or cold and given my line of work this occurs more often then one would think. Eventually after repeated good experiences with Elderberry Tea I was so won over I researched and bought two elderberry shrubs last year (you need two species to pollinate best). This past summer I harvested my first batch of berries. However I still have plenty left from my sister’s gift (a pound of dried berries goes along way) which I keep in the freezer. The original recipe for tea I found just used the elderberries and cinnamon but I usually add fresh grated ginger root. Sometimes I add honey and lemon juice as well because all have homeopathic properties. But this time I just used ginger and cinnamon with the elderberry tea. One important thing I recently discovered is that if I made the tea in the teapot at night and leave it sitting until the next morning soaking in the berries and then drink it in this highly concentrated form, it basically induces sleep which of course with a cold or flu is quite beneficial too.
1/2 tsp dried whole Elderberries
1 Ceylon Cinnamon Stick broken into pieces
1-2 tsp grated or zested ginger root
honey to taste (optional)
Lemon juice to taste (optional)
Combine the berries, ginger and cinnamon stick with 12-16oz of boiling water in a tea pot or infuser then steep for 5-10 minutes.
More info on the benefits of Elderberries
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