It’s Okay to Drink Tea When You’re Raw

When I started on this journey, like so many others, I worried about what I would have to give up. Some things I was more willing to chuck out of my diet than others. I really don’t miss a lot of things as I explore new ways to literally have my cake and eat it too. But I worried about my crazy and expensive tea habit.

Every single person in our pod are heavy tea drinkers. We drink it iced in the summer, hot in winter and make special toddies when we aren’t feeling well. So the thought of not being able to have my tea was depressing. Luckily for us it’s allowed, and to be fair, you can just steep it for a really long time without heating and remain strict to a raw diet.

Herbal and Fruit Teas

Herbal tea, especially from herbs and fruit that you grow and dehydrate yourself, is always best. You can control the conditions it was cultivated and dried, and best of all, you can make all kinds of mad scientist type concoctions. Herbal tea in general doesn’t contain any actual tea leaves. For the purpose of these recipes, most don’t contain tea leaves, however, they are simple to add if you’re looking for that caffeine kick.

Tea Leaves

High end loose leaf teas can be ridiculously expensive. It’s hard to complain, as a lot goes into the growing, processing and packaging. But the good news is you can get all the components for pennies at any grocer, online, or you can grow it all yourself. Sprouts actually has a great selection of bulk items in the aisle where they keep their seasonings. Try to stick to the organic items if you can.

Infusing

Once you’ve thrown together your favorite combinations you can either buy tea bags or reusable tea infusers. When I make pure fruit teas, I don’t bother with either. I just throw it all in the cup and eat the fruit when I’m done. Just remember not to choke on anything, it kind of spoils the experience.

Playing Mad Scientist

If you can eat the fruit together, you can throw it together to make yourself a delicious tea. I’m really partial to rose combinations and will often dehydrate strawberries to throw in. When I’m in the mood for a more dessert like experience, I’ll put in a little raw cacao and some almond milk. I also like to make homemade golden milk. A super simple concoction that is pretty pricey if you’re buying it ready made. If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, don’t stress, we got you! We will be doing a separate post come the summer and maybe even a toddy one for all that ails you.

Notes

All recipes below are for one serving. You can make two cups of tea, the second will just be a bit weaker. I personally am adamant about using filtered water only, but that’s just me. As with all tea, heat the water to just before boiling and don’t steep too long or it tends to be bitter.

We grew our own peppermint and chocolate mint varieties. They dehydrated well in both Marie’s professional dehydrator and my smaller home dehydrator. When able, we prefer to grow our own ingredients, but as I mentioned above, you can get just about everything in your local supermarket.

We don’t generally use sweetener. I find the fruit gives everything the sweetness it needs, but we did throw a little date syrup in the lime tea, because…lime.

RAW VEGAN RECIPE: Making Tea

Blood Orange-Chocolate Mint Tea

1 tblsp dried mint (Peppermint or Chocolate Mint)

1 slice dried blood orange (any orange will do)

Hibiscus -Cranberry-Rosehip Tea

1/4 tsp dried cranberries

1/4 tsp rosehips

1/2 tsp dried hibiscus flowers

1/4 tsp dried pineapple

1/8 tsp dried orange zest

Sweet Lime Tea

2 slices dehydrayed lime, chopped

11/2 teaspoons dried, chopped mango

1 teaspoon dried, chopped apple

1 teaspoon coconut flakes

Mango Coco Chai

1 1/2 Tablespoons dried mango, chopped

1 teaspoon dried pineapple, chopped

11/2 teaspoons dried coconut, shredded or chopped

1 teaspoon dried apple, chopped

1/8 Tablespoon dried turmeric, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon peppercorns

2 cardamom pods, lightly crushed