When I found myself drinking eight cups a day, sleeping only six hours a night and feeling perpetually agitated, I decided it was time to give up coffee.
And stop I did, cold turkey. The pounding headache – the one where the back of your eyeballs hurt – took two weeks to subside.
That was nearly ten years ago, and since that time, I’ve weaned myself off caffeine completely – last year I finally cut caffeinated tea and the occasional Diet Coke out of my diet.
I still enjoy a hot drink, and have discovered that there’s a whole world of fascinating herbal teas that I never knew existed. When I was a coffee and black tea drinker, the only herbal teas I’d ever heard of were peppermint and chamomile. But since discovering Turkish apple tea earlier this year, I’ve been on a quest to see what other varieties are available.
My current favourite is this magnificent pomegranate and strawberry fruit tea, which turns a deep red hue when brewed…
Sage tea is obviously very popular in Turkey, as during my last visit to the Turkish deli in Auburn, I found it in both bag and loose leaf form. It’s a lovely gentle drink, and I absolutely adore the paper tea bag covers. I can’t bring myself to throw any out, so there are boxes of them all over the house now…
This delicious tea was a gift from friends – the combination of organic fennel, chicory and cardamom is surprisingly soothing after a heavy meal…
I found blueberry tea during my last visit to Harkola…
…as well as this marsh mallow tea, which is supposedly good for sore throats (can’t say I love the flavour, though) …
Finally, I adore this gorgeous Turkish fruit tea, a blend of rosehip and hibiscus. It has a slightly tangy, slightly sweet flavour, and the prettiest packaging ever!
I’d love to know if there are any interesting herbal teas I should look out for – do you have any suggestions? Thanks…
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 