While ninety percent of the people on earth need coffee in the morning to wake up, I need herbal tea. Luckily, I am very energetic in the morning. The first thing I drink after I wake up is a glass of room-temperature water with freshly squeezed lemon juice. I make myself a cup of herbal tea after I finish my kundalini yoga practice. Usually it’s camomile tea that I mix with a couple of leaves of lemon verbena leaves or rose petals. Honestly, I find the taste of camomile very boring on it’s own. 

 

 

When I invite a friend or neighbor over for tea they know that they are not going to sip earl gray tea from delicates porcelain cups. Instead I serve them a big mag filled with a little forest of herbs submerged in boiling water.  

 

 

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

To dry herbs is simple too. Gather the herb into a bunch. Tie the stems with a rubber band  until they tightly secure. Tie a cooking string to the rubber band and hang it upside down on a wall or from the ceiling for a week (it’s different time 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.

You can find rose petals and rose buds in Mediterranean groceries stores or Amazon (Eilat Market in Los Angeles has a big selection of dried herbs.)