While ninety percent of the people on earth need coffee in the morning to wake up, I start my day with herbal tea. I am like a hurricane once I get out of bed. I usually make a large mug of chamomile tea which I mix with a couple of lemon verbena leaves or rose petals because chamomile on its own is very boring.

Also, when a friend or neighbor comes over for tea, they know that it’s not going to be Earl Grey tea in porcelain cups. They know they are going to drink a huge cup of hot water with a forest of herbs submerged in it. I don’t do it for health reasons, although it’s healthy. I drink herbal tea because I don’t like the taste of water, and because this is the kind of tea I grew up drinking.

It’s easy to make your own infusions. You can use dried or fresh herbs, such as mint, lemon verbena, sage, lemongrass, lavender, chamomile or even oregano. Spices such as cinnamon, cardamom and anise, ginger, turmeric. You can add some nut milk and agave to sweeten it.

Drying herbs is easy and simple. Gather the herb into a bunch. Tie the stems with a rubber band until they are tightly secured. Tie a cooking string to the rubber band and hang it upside down on a wall or from the ceiling for a week (the drying time is different for each herb, also depending on the humidity level in the air). When the leaves are dried up, cut them with your hands (over a bowl) and store them in a container.