Homemade Relax Tea

Yesterday we posted ‘Love Jar’: a tutorial on how to embellish an empty honey jar to transform it into a wonderful Mother’s Day gift ~ a jar for her desk or craft corner. 

However, as it stood there in my kitchen yesterday, the (obvious?) thought came to me that, instead, it would be best filled with a relax tea mix. That’s what I would want to get in it if I were the receiving mom….

Sooo,… last night, together with my local herbalist, we ‘reverse-engineered’ the hard-to-find-here Yogi formula for its Bedtime herbal tea, to make my own concoction. For example, we’re leaving out the Valerian root, as that both tastes bad and is really strong and not something I want to (nor you should) use every night, if not needed. I’m expecting that Yogi Tea includes only tiny amounts of Valerian root anyway.

Of course, the Yogi Teafolks don’t tell you about the relative proportions of the various herbs, so we’re experimenting here.

Rose’s Relax Tea Recipe

• Fennel seed
• Chamomile flowers
• Peppermint
• Cardamom
• Lemon balm herb (Melissa)
• Lemon rind
• Lavender
• Sage
• Nutmeg

Get a generous scoop of all, except of the cardamom, nutmeg and sage as they are strong. Make 100 grams in total. Mix all the ingredients together and keep in a dark, dry place, such as your just-made Love Jar.

Tip: Write out the relative proportions of things you are including so that you can adjust your formulae over time to become perfect for you/mom.

Preparation

To brew tea, use one heaped teaspoon per two cups of tea. Steep covered for 15 minutes before drinking.

I will make a few of these to give away to local moms.

(photo credit ~ teapot and tea flask: Maggie Molloy)