Let me introduce you to Annabelle from Oh Hey Magic.
Annabelle has been my absolute Insta girl crush for more than a year now. I found her account on a random search scroll when I came across one of her pictures of my hometown Salzburg, which resulted in an overflow of nostalgia and instant gulps of homesickness. I absolutely adore her for her beautifully vibrant writing style and luscious story telling and on top of that, her picturesque feed manages to transport my mind into a space of inspiration every single time.
But that wasn’t all. Annabelle has recently launched her own blog called Oh Hey Magic and to celebrate her launch, I thought I’d treat you guys to one of her magnificent posts on my blog. Anabelle, take it away!
Hello hello, dear “The Wasted Blog” readers! My name is Annabelle and I usually blog over at Oh Hey Magic. But today I’m so excited to share 4 different tea recipes with you over here.
When Florine asked me if I wanted to write a guest post for her blog she didn’t explicitly say it at first, but we both knew what it’d be about right away. Tea. What else? It’s a topic I’m really passionate about, and ever since I got a whole load of loose leaf teas for my birthday last winter my love for tea grows day by day. To blend it yourself, discover new flavour combinations, and adjust what you sip to perfectly fit your current mood or needs. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? And with the versatility that your next cup of tea can have in mind, I created 4 different tea blends to fit 4 different scenarios.
A Tea to Give You Energy
This one is perfect to sip on a sleepy morning or to beat an afternoon slump.
To make it:
1 part yerba mate
1 part lemon grass
½ part lemon balm
½ part linden
a few rose hips
Brew with boiling water and let steep for 7-10 minutes
Mate is our main source of energy here. It contains plenty of caffeine, tastes interestingly herby and grassy, and is the beverage of choice of many South Americans. Lemongrass and lemon balm add a bit of zing to the mix, along with their mood-boosting and calming properties (they not just calm the nerves, but also nervous stomachs). Linden and rosehips round this blend off. Linden is flowery, gentle and kind of sweet, and rose hips fruity. And while rose hips are basically full to the brim with vitamin C, linden is known to help with headaches (that might start creeping up on us come afternoon) and coughs. A little side note: linden tea has significant medicinal effects, and even side effects, but they don’t get relevant until you consume way larger quantities of it. So nothing to worry about here, but if that’s something you might want to know more about, I highly recommend you do dig deeper into the topic ?
A Tea to Calm You Down
You’re done for the day and want to relax with a book in one, and a cup of tea in the other hand? Then this one’s for you.
To make it:
1 part lemon balm
a few lavender buds (more is less when it comes to lavender)
a few inches of grapefruit zest
variation: orange zest works wonderfully in this blend too
Brew with boiling water and let steep for 5-7 minutes
So we already know that lemon balm is mood-boosting, calming, and even helping with digestion and an upset stomach. So this time, it’s the tea blend’s protagonist. Lavender, famous for its calming scent joins the fun and adds a flavour somewhat different from its scent. Lavender in tea is a lot more herby than you’d expect, but still sweet and flowery as well. Grapefruit zest brightens up this blend and makes it a really interesting one.
A Tea to Make You Feel Healthier Instantly
For when you feel a bit under the weather, like your immune system could use a little support, or you just want to be extra gentle to your body.
To make it:
½ tsp turmeric
1 inch of ginger, cut into small pieces
a few cloves
a pinch of pepper
Let water boil with ginger and cloves for 5 minutes, optionally sift, or let ginger and cloves in the tea to make it stronger, add turmeric and pepper, swirl with a spoon and enjoy!
By now we probably all heard of Golden Milk at some point, right? I’ll be honest with you, I don’t like the taste of turmeric, so to me, the idea of making drinking it such a treat is a bit bizarre. When I do want to consume turmeric I know I’m about to prepare a cup that’s good for me, and not necessarily one that I’ll enjoy an awful lot. And that’s perfectly okay. I know my body will thank me for it. So this tea is nothing fancy, but it does a wonderful job at warming you from the inside, soothing sore throats, fighting inflammation and helping with nausea. To me, that’s a win (even despite the taste of turmeric).
A Tea to Treat Yourself
This one is luxury in a cup. Enjoy it on slow Sunday afternoons, with chocolate cake, or whenever you feel like you deserve it. So, all the time? Yes!
To make it:
1 part Earl Grey
½ part rose
a pinch of vanilla (a little piece of a vanilla pod works too)
Brew with boiling water and let steep for 3-5 minutes.
Oh, what can I say about this blend? The fruity, elegant Earl Grey enters a liaison with the queens of flowers and spices, rose and vanilla. And the marriage of the three is meant to be. Be part of this royal love affair of flavours, enjoy a sip of Earl Grey vanilla rose tea.
A splash of oat milk is highly recommended.
Aaaand? Did I successfully sell it to you? ? Seriously, let this tea speak for itself.
I hope you enjoy these tea blends as much as I do, and definitely let us know when you make them.
If you liked to see (and read) more of me, learn a bit more about tea, my way to more natural self-care and living, and of course my tiny adventures across Europe, I’d happily welcome you over at Oh Hey Magic.