December 22, 2017 1 Comment
*Photo Credit: Nathan Anderson
Here is a collection of cozy teas that you can enjoy with your family and friends on Christmas Eve.
In Ireland, tea is the most important beverage in every household. Although black tea with milk and sugar might not sound so special, the ritual of preparing a “proper cup” in Ireland is special indeed.
Enjoy your perfectly brewed Irish cup of tea! For a uniquely Gaelic mood, check out this Scottish Christmas ballad.
There’s nothing more cozy than a cup of warm chamomile tea. I used to make this sweet and creamy version for my kids when they were little.
Brew 2 heaping teaspoons of chamomile in 16 ounces hot water for 5 minutes. Strain, and stir in 1 to 3 spoonfuls of raw honey, until honey is dissolved. Fill your favorite mugs with 1/4 cup milk (dairy or non-dairy) and fill the rest of the mug with honey-sweetened chamomile tea. Curl up under a cozy blanket and enjoy!
The tradition of wassailing is an old ritual from Great Britain. Villagers would gather together in the apple orchard on the twelfth night of Christmas, and sing songs as a way of ensuring the health of the apple trees for the coming year. The singing was believed to appease the tree spirits and scare away evil that would cause blight and illness and interfere with future harvests. They would offer cups of mulled cider, or pieces of bread soaked in cider to the oldest of the apple trees.
Wassail was originally made of mead, and later, spiced cider, and people would drink the wassail from a large communal bowl.
Today the wassail can be served in a punch bowl, and enjoyed at holiday gatherings with friends and family.
Below is a tasty modern recipe that uses Chai rather than individual spices for a modern twist. Cranberries are a New World addition, and the pineapple juice is a tropical ingredient that wouldn’t have been included in the Old English wassail bowl. This recipe is loaded with vitamin C, and spices that warm you up from the inside out.
Put all of the ingredients together in a large stainless steel pot with a lid and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
Serve hot in mugs with fresh orange slices as a garnish.
Check out this traditional English wassailing song:
Wishing you and yours a cozy Christmas Eve!
Comments will be approved before showing up.
July 05, 2022
June 19, 2022
June 13, 2022
We all feel stressed sometimes. Luckily, there's an easy fix for it. The ingredients in this Lavender-Chamomile-Coconut Latte will help you relax your mind, fight stress and anxiety, and let you rest peacefully. I've combined two of nature's most relaxing ingredients to create a beautiful caffeine-free tea latte recipe that will delight your taste buds while also bringing stress levels down.
Gail
December 23, 2018
Love the tea time — ballad too sad. Felt discordant to me.