What do you make tea from in the winter?
Wandering through nature will not discourage you even from below freezing, and if that is the case, then these five ingredients that nature itself offers you will come in handy and you will definitely come across them even in winter, from which you can make great tea to warm your body and kick. organism. What is more than using the gifts of nature and warming yourself over a cup of hot tea. Let’s take a look at these ingredients together.
Tea from the needles of a tree
This type of tea, which is most often used spruce needles, is probably the best known and most used raw material from which you can prepare tea in nature. So if you opt for tea from spruce needles, you will definitely not go crazy, because spruce needles are rich in vitamin C and it is especially suitable in winter. It is good for respiratory diseases, because terpene, which also contains needle substances, among other things, dissolves mucus well. In any case, do not overdo it with the consumption of spruce tea, because terpene is not exactly the right nut for your kidneys, but it will not harm it in a reasonable way. The best way to make tea is to boil water (if you don’t have water, you can also use snow), whether you have a fire or you have a stove with you. Bring the water to a boil, but the twigs collected, just a few, put in after the water stops brewing, because if you make tea this way, there is the best chance that you will not destroy the vitamin C contained by boiling. Twigs, if you have the opportunity, can best collect from fallen branches or felled trees. You don’t have to pluck live trees because of that. Of course, if there is no avoidance and you do not meet a fallen branch all the time, which I doubt, then the three torn branches will not hurt in any way. Always tear the tips of the branches, these are the youngest parts, which are most rich in vitamins and minerals. Needle tea can also be prepared from pine, which is also considered a very rich source of vitamins and minerals and will kick your immunity. But it’s not just needles from which you can make real forest tea. Let’s take a look at other forest raw materials that you can use.
Oak bark
You’ve probably heard of oak bark. It is also known in the form of ointments, which have excellent healing and regenerating properties. But few people know that you can make tea from oak horses. If you imagine just cutting a piece of a horse out of an oak, then it’s not that simple. Always use bark from young branches for tea, so don’t look for tall oaks, but then just cut the bark from young trees and their twigs, which will serve us well for brewing a great warm drink to warm up. It is worth mentioning that tea is a great helper in food poisoning and diarrheal diseases, and helps to digest better. If you prepare a stronger decoction from oak horse, it will help you with frostbite, burns and healing ran. Prepare the tea by slicing the oak bark and boiling it with cold water for 10 minutes. Then the tea is ready to eat. Oak bark is rich in tannins, which has a positive effect on the immune system and has antioxidant effects.
Mushroom tea
You may be struck by the fact that I mention mushroom tea when it comes to winter nature walks. But that doesn’t matter at all, because there are certain types of edible mushrooms that grow even in winter. One of them is the so-called Judas ear, which you will surely know well, like a black slimy mushroom, often used in Chinese dishes. Earlier, it was also called elderberry, mainly because its shape resembles an ear fungus. This may be your first hallmark. You can look for it mainly on elderberry branches, but you can also try any deciduous trees. She likes a humid environment, so you can meet her even in winter time. Judas‘ ear is jelly-like to the touch and reddish-brown to brown in color. There are always several fruiting bodies growing on the branches. In nature you can find either fresh or dry fruiting bodies. Don’t be put off by the dry ones, because you can use them as well as the fresh ones. This fungus has proven antioxidant effects. It cleanses blood vessels, reduces blood clotting, so it prevents heart attacks and promotes intestinal peristalsis. Prepare the tea by boiling a handful of mushrooms for 15-20 minutes. You can use mushrooms that are already cooked in a meal at the same time, you don’t have to throw them away.
Pine cones tree
We will return to our beneficial conifers. Actually, prepare tea only from needles, but you can also make a very healthy drink from the following cones, which is guaranteed to warm you on your travels and give your body energy. Pine cones are an ideal natural raw material for this purpose, which can be used for broth. Again, they contain substances, tannins and other healthy substances that increase immunity and are an excellent alternative to drugs for respiratory diseases. Decoction of pine cones is also good for urinary tract infections and inflammation of the kidneys. You can also make pine cone tea during winter nature walks, because they are back to it all year round. Making tea is easy again. Two pine cones, preferably beaten, pour in about 3 dcl of boiling water and let it infuse for 15 minutes. If you want, it is better to rule out salting, because drinking pieces of cones is not exactly tasty. You have a drink ready, now all you have to do is drink by the blazing fire and enjoy the magic of winter nature.
Nettle tea
Wondering why I mention nettle? When you need to look for ingredients in winter nature? It may seem that once the snow cover falls, the nettles disappear. But this is not entirely true. The nettle grows throughout the year, so not only during the growing season. But you will have to look better. Collecting nettles in the winter will not be as easy as collecting needles. In winter, nettle only leaves the leaves at the roots, which will be more difficult to collect, and even more so if you have to really look for nature that will have snow cover. Nettle prevents water retention in the human body, which means that you will go to the toilet more often after drinking, so be careful not to overdo it with drinking nettle tea. Who among us wants to go to the bathroom often in freezing weather, right? The brewing of nettle tea is again the same as with the previous ingredients. All you have to do is clean the plants of any soil and insects, even if some of the protein is also not harmful, and then just pour hot water over it and let it infuse for 15 minutes.
Summary
So to sum it up. To prepare forest tea, you only need a fire, which you can either make. The water that is best transferred in a flask, or you can use snow instead of water, if you do not have water available or you have nowhere to draw it. Then you will need one of the ingredients from which you extract tea, and finally a container in which you make tea. Select the container so that it can be used on a direct fire, so an example, for example, will be suitable. If you want to keep the drink warm and do not want to drink it immediately, I also recommend a thermo mug that will keep your tea warm for a long time.
Such a cup of hot tea in winter frosty weather will definitely make your stay in nature more pleasant. And most importantly, it warms the frozen body! It’s great that we can draw from so many forest resources even in winter. Mother Nature will simply never leave us in the lurch if we know how to do it!