My favorite herb/flower/weed, call it what you will. I adore dandelion root tea.
When I need a good cleanse or a bitter coffee-ish taste without the caffeine, I reach for roasted dandelion root tea.
Dandelion cleanses the liver and kidneys, flushing everything out. They're also called piss-a-beds for this reason. They're a diuretic (increases urine flow).
I always make sure I have some form of dandelion on hand (roasted, leaf or root, raw herb, or tea bags).
I highly suggest roasting the root yourself in your oven - your whole house will have a delightful chocolatey smell to it.
This plant has so many vitamins and health benefits to it. The fact that homeowners and gardeners rip this plant out is the biggest bit of proof that we are so disconnected from nature, it's insane.
I could go on all day about dandelions, but see for yourself. You can also eat the plants raw (every single bit is edible just obviously make sure it hasn't been sprayed with pesticides).
i can accept that teenaged zuko had defined abs only because you know that boy was not hydrating. fighting everything and everyone at all hours of the day and just absolutely did not drink enough water
I found this tea on Tiktok and couldn't believe the insane color - so I had to try it for myself. Luckily, it's readily and cheaply available on Amazon.
I'm going to make my own Tiktok of me making this tea and adding the lemon juice to change its color so just keep a lookout for my Tiktok link below.
The bag says to use 1-2 teaspoons of flowers, however, the flowers are so long and big that one flower is much bigger than the teaspoon.
So I just half-filled a herb strainer with the flowers. I didn't add anything else, and that was probably a mistake taste-wise. But I wanted to see its true color.
It truly does (quickly) give off a striking blue color with a violet tinge. It turns completely purple when lemon juice is added. But the taste by itself is nothing more than warm spinach water. Even the flowers smell like spinach.
I'll try these flowers again with other herbs soon but for now it's palatable. And plus, the tea has many health benefits such as cancer-fighting antioxidants and it promotes hair growth! Read about it here: Butterfly Pea Flower (Blue Tea): Benefits and Side Effects (healthline.com)
2-3 bags of your preferred tea (green tea pairs nicely)
2 cups cubed melon (cantaloupe or honeydew work well)
1 small cucumber, thinly sliced
Fresh mint leaves
Ice cubes
Honey or another sweetener to taste (optional)
Melon balls, cucumber slices, and mint sprigs for garnish
Instructions:
Boil the water in a large pot or kettle. Once boiling, remove it from the heat and add the tea bags. Let them steep for about 3-5 minutes, then remove the tea bags.
In the meantime, blend the melon cubes until smooth. Pass the puree through a fine mesh sieve to remove any solids, collecting the juice in a bowl.
Add the sweetener to the warm tea if desired, stirring until it dissolves.
Allow the tea to cool at room temperature, then refrigerate it until it's thoroughly chilled.
In a large pitcher, combine the chilled tea, melon juice, and cucumber slices. Add mint leaves to taste. Let it infuse for about 30 minutes in the fridge.
To serve, fill glasses with ice cubes. Pour the infused tea over the ice, making sure each glass gets some cucumber slices and mint leaves.
Garnish with a skewer of melon balls, a slice of cucumber, and a sprig of mint on the rim of each glass.
Enjoy immediately and savor this delightful Melon, Mint, and Cucumber Iced Tea on a warm day!