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The beauty of herbal teas
There is a herbal drink to suit almost every mood, emotion and physical need for all times of the day: taking forty winks, enjoying a good sleep, calming, refreshing, invigorating and stimulating. All these attributes of herbal teas are well known by most other European countries, where the drinking of herbal teas in some families is part of an old tradition. For instance, in Austria (where, incidentally, the coffee house is supreme), children tend to be brought up on herb teas, not being given tea or coffee until they become young adults. The same could be said of Belgium, France and Switzerland. In general, the drinking of herbal teas is popular while herbalist shops survive and some knowledge of herbs is kept alive in some families. My own part Belgian mother-in-law knew the benefits of chamomile long before I did. |
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| Another great advantage of herbal teas is that they can be drunk singly or blended carefully with six or ten ingredients to produce the required effect. Just as many different types of tea-leaf go to make one brand label, so many varieties of chamomile and its essential oil can make a very special chamomile tea. In addition, instead of leaving the mixing and blending to established firms and factories to make the flavour choices for our tea and coffee, herb teas can be mixed and blended at home to suit one’s own purposes. Certainly this is what early man did, although early man had many more instincts intact and a natural knowledge of the flora around him because he was continually in close harmony with himself and his surroundings, as his ancestors had been. So nowadays much more caution and learning application must be applied. In the past, at least one member of the family was familiar with the uses of herbs and this would be an ideal situation to resurrect.
The American influence
Most of the revival of interest in health, herbal teas and all things natural came from America and this is partly because it never really died from when the Chinese and Europeans started their transplant to the New World. |
Their immediate need for self-sufficiency in all matters pushed them to sample the rich and new flora, which surrounded them. Also, settlers included men and women who had been born during the reign of Elizabeth I and their knowledge of herbs with foods and beverages was keenly used. Added to all this was the vast storehouse of infinite knowledge that the American Indians had accumulated, whose information today still makes up possibly half of European herbal medicine.
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