Ever since I started using a French Press, I have been drinking more herbal tea.  The French Press makes it easy to brew and pour.  Normally I would fill my unbleached tea bags with loose tea and then brew.

But you don’t always need special equipment, just a tea infuser or something to strain the tea will work fine.

Photo of fresh stevia plant from ECO library.

So far I have made the following blends:

Peppermint, Hibiscus, and Stevia:  This is one of my favorite blends, since the Stevia leaves add some sweetness to the tea.  Stevia leaf is great, it’s sweet but has zero calories.  American sugar substitutes are selling them as Truvia and other names.  A few years back, I was really intrigued by the sweet leaves.  I even bought a stevia plant so I could eat the fresh leaves.

Rooibus (red tea) and hibiscus flower:  Rooibus looks more like red pine needles.  This combination makes for a very tangy and red colored tea!  Loaded with vitamin C too.  Even people who don’t like tea think this is good tea.

Raspberry leaves and hibiscus:  Raspberry leaves by itself taste good, like light black tea.  With the addition of hibiscus it adds more Vitamin C and gives it color too. These dried flowers are made into tea that’s high in vitamin C. It’s the same dried hibiscus used in Celestial Seasoning teas to give it that deep red color.  And of course for it’s health benefits too. So I just love adding hibiscus flowers to all my teas!  It does make for a tasty and slightly tangy tea. It’s really easy to blend tea, just mix equal parts of one version with another.  Or according to your preference and taste. I like to use herbal teas that are cut and sift leaves. The possibilities of blending tea is endless. Other herbal teas include gotu kola, lemongrass, guava leaves and more. You can add rose hips, orange peel, cinnamon and licorice root as well.