The Herb Tea Book: Blending, Brewing, and Savoring Teas for Every Mood and Occasion

I enjoyed browsing through these recipes as much as I enjoy a good cup of tea. Make one of these recipes and sit down and r-e-l-a-x.

The title is Herb Tea Book, but author Susan Clotfelter includes green tea and black tea as well, so there is more than just peppermint and chamomile here. There is a lot of information about tea properties. What I like are the Chai recipes (sweetened, spiced Indian style milk tea.) Chai is popular, and a great beverage for cold weather, although Indians drink it to cool off in summer as well. (They put plenty of pepper and ginger in it to encourage perspiration, plus the caffeine and sugar are stimulating if you're tired by the heat.)The book also has welcome information about using licorice and stevia to sweeten teas without sugar. The Herb Tea Book is very cute and would make a great gift along with a batch of home-made tea blend in a decorative cellophane bag or attractive tin. Hang the recipe on a tag and you have a very inexpensive but classy gift that would work for many occasions.