Fight the Cold with Homemade Herbal Tea

The snow is falling, the wind is blowing, and the temperature is dropping! It?s even snowing in Paris, which never happens! If you are having trouble staying warm and surviving this never ending flu season, homemade tea can be a comforting, natural way to reduce cold symptoms and to sooth that inner chill.

I put together a tea favorable to easing typical cold symptoms: Marshmallow root eases body aches and inflammation. Thyme, the ultimate cold-fighting herb, is known to reduce allergy symptoms, chest and nasal congestion, flu symptoms and even increases circulation which is essential to the healing process. Peppermint not only adds a sweet taste, it also eases breathing difficulties, nasal and chest congestion, coughs and headaches. Ginger adds a bit of spunk and also is capable of warming inner chills. Rosehips fight fatigue, rosemary pacifies headaches and lavender eases migraines, sore throats and vomiting. Lastly, for some good measure and personal preference, I added some lemon grass?because, I just like the taste!

Below I provide the recipe for this tea, however, feel free to alter the proportions according to your personal taste preferences. I also added a few drops of rose water and some lemon peel to add a bit of flavor. Feel free to play around with optional flavor ingredients such as orange peel, honey, stevia, cinnamon, vanilla etc?the possibilities are endless!

Fight the Cold Homemade Herbal Tea

1 tsp Marshmallow root
3 small branches of fresh Thyme
1 tsp dried peppermint
1inx1in pc of ginger (peeled)
3 large rosehips
3 small pcs or 1 tsp rosemary
½ tsp crushed lavender
1 ½ tsp lemon grass
Rosewater (optional)
Lemon peel (optional)
3 cups Water

Combine all ingredients in a pot and bring water to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook for 20min until about 1/3 of the liquid is reduced. According to your taste preference, you can reduce the cooking time for a weaker, less potent tea.

I also like to make an extremely potent tea and add a few drops of it to a water bottle creating ?herb water?, creating a sweeter, healthier water.