It’s almost January. If you haven’t caught a cold by now, chances are that you probably will. Before I go any further, let me just go on the record: before I had children, I went 8 straight years without catching a cold. True story. Since children, especially school-aged children, there’s been lots of close encounters with the common cold.
With the colder temperatures starting to bear down on the northeastern United States, my body and immune system need a little boost. Thankfully, our loving earth provides. I think you’ll love this easy recipe for Elderberry & Rose Hip Healing Tea, too. It’s naturally sweet and aromatic.
Please consult with a physician if you are pregnant, nursing, or have a medical condition before using herbs of any kind. Below is a recipe for herbal tea and should not take the place of medicine as prescribed by a doctor.
Elderberry is one of those powerful little berries that can be found growing wild across much of the United States. However, unless you are well-versed in which types to forage (some are poisonous!), I suggest purchasing them from a reputable supplier. Make sure they are organic, culinary-grade. Check your local health food store, buy them online from a reputable company, or if you are like me and live near a herb farm, certainly go there.
However, on this wintry day, there are patches of snow and ice on the frozen ground at our local herb farm. The flowers of summer have been cut-back and covered. Still, the roosters crow, the sheep lazily graze and the farmer’s friendly dog is more than happy to greet us. There’s a sign directing us toward their little barn shop, or, as it is now temporarily known, The Christmas Shop.
On this particular morning, my children and I happen to be the only ones there, so the farmer’s wife offers to unlock the barn door for us. She switches on the lights as we walk in and turns on Christmas music that swells-up beautifully in the little barn shop. She sweeps the floor as we take our time selecting from an assortment of herbs, berries and spices. I mention that I am planning to make my favorite winter tea, and she is thoughtful to double-check that I have chosen organic, culinary-grade ingredients. All the while, my children stand beneath the ceiling of hanging dried flowers, with their necks straining upward and their eyes and mouths opened-wide in amazement.
If you don’t know a lot about elderberries, they pack a serious punch. They contain impressive amounts of vitamins A, B, and C, which helps to support our immune system and bio-flavonoids that destroy the ability for cold and flu viruses to infect our cells. You’ll often find elderberry in syrup form in many health food stores to help ease and prevent cold symptoms. Often though, these syrups are loaded with sugar. My winter tea recipe is sweetened only by the berries and spices themselves.
I upped the ante to super-duper level by adding rose hips. Rose hip is the ruby-red plump berry just below the rose petals on a rose bush, it’s basically the “hip” of the rose. Rose hip has a significant amount of vitamin C, in fact it has three times the amount of citrus fruit, and is therefore highly regarded for its medicinal use.
In many cultures throughout the centuries, rose hip was revered as holy and sacred. Here’s an interesting tidbit, during the Middle Ages, Catholics used them as prayer beads – hence the name, The Rosary. Careful though, don’t eat a whole berry! The red flesh is fine to nibble on, but the hairy seeds inside must be discarded as they can lead to severe itching. Luckily, we’re just making tea.
Last, but not least, I’ve added whole cloves. Just a few. While most spices are great sources of antioxidants, did you know cloves rank as the most abundant of them all? Well, now you know.
I like to drink this tea after a deep chill, to help regulate my body’s core temperature. With cold & flu season upon us, I’ll often have a cup in the evening, before bed, when the house is peaceful and quiet so I can savor the aroma and the sacredness of the ingredients.
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Ingredients
- 16 oz fresh cold water
- 2 tbsp dried organic elderberries
- 1 tbsp dried organic rose hips
- Pinch organic whole cloves
Instructions
- In a medium pot add the fresh water, elderberries, rosehips, and cloves. Cover and slowly bring the contents to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Strain into a cup, discard the solids. Sweeten with honey, if desired.
Notes
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