It has been a time filled with gratitude for many things. The wonderful people who surround me. The love of family. The ups and downs of life that help us to refocus and reprioritise. The gift of time that so many share with me. Birthdays. Chocolates. Thoughtfulness. Friends who call out of the blue. The wonderful teachers in my life, those who give their whole life to bring us into enlightenment. Courage. The ripening of understanding. The little struggles of life that stop us from being complacent. How excellent every single person is, if you just the time to love them, to love yourself, and love the two of you together.
Yesterday, the driver’s side rear view mirror on my car was sideswiped while I was parked on a busy road. The mirror is broken beyond repair, although the flexibility of the “arm” of the mirror seems Ok. I was a little irritated at first, and sighed at the process of getting it fixed at my repairer who is on the other side of town.
Then I realised how lucky I was. It could have happened while I was getting out of the car, or standing at the driver side door, getting my bag out. Had the other car been 15cm closer, my whole car would have been written off. Had I been in the car, maybe I would have suffered physical trauma and severe shock.
Today there is a lot of gratitude that the rear view mirror was broken. That the karma involved was mitigated in such a safe way. That there is only material damage and no one was hurt. For the extraordinarily kind lady who bought tape for me to tape up the remains of the mirror, allowing at least partial vision.
And then I had a cup of tea.
Some Spice or herbal “teas” and coffees to try.
A while ago I had a chat with an Indian friend about the word “tea”. In such a tea drinking nation, “tea” means a beverage made with leaves of the tea plant. Here there is a much looser interpretation, meaning any beverage made by infusing leaves, roots or stalks of any plant. Here are some teas that I have come across recently, using our looser definition of the word 
.
Dried Lime/lemon Tea
Take one or two dried limes or lemons, often found in Middle Eastern groceries, cut in half and remove the seeds. You can place them in a pan of water and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes. I like to use a thermal jug and let it seep for 15-20 mins. I add dried mandarin peel and some fennel seeds. You could add the tiniest bit of green or black tea and allow to infuse as well. Ginger would also be nice.
It is quite lemony. You might care to add honey.
[UPDATE] Today, reusing yesterday’s dried limes, I added some tiny pieces of Turkish Dried Apple for sweetness. Delish.
Green Tea with Cardamom
Add 3 or 4 cracked pods of green cardamom to your green tea infusion.
Pine Needle Tea
A tea from the Native Americans. Infuse some orange peel and pine needles. Add honey. I haven’t yet tried this tea, but it sounds amazing.
Panchphoran Coffee
Add some Panchaphoran spice mix as you brew your coffee. A tip given to me by an Indian grocer. If you are making your own panchaphoran you might like to go easy on the fenugreek (however it has such health benefits, leave it in if you can).
Enjoy!
Namaskaram.
The Teas and Drinks Series
- Albino (White) Teas
- Drinking herbs and juices
- Fresh Pink Strawberry Frappe
- Gin, Tonic and Chilli
- The Making of Herbal Teas
- The 4 C’s Golden Spiced Tea
- Panaka
- Travel Thursday #10: The Pursuit of Coffee in London
- Travel Thursday #11: The Best Coffee in the World. India.
- Yogi Tea
- Pitta Tea for Rainy Weather
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