Tea for life

Malaysia is a country rich with natural herbs and spices that we have used for generations to flavour our dishes and drank as tea which has been passed down with anecdotes with not much
documentation.  We also, until relatively recently, didn't do much research on it.  This has now become my hobby, documenting the "folklore" and meeting with Malay traditional herbalist, many of whom do not have PhDs, but have been practising what has been passed down to them.  I have also made myself a guinea pig to test out these recipes.  The beauty of it all is by using the right combinations, it serves as a preventive as well as a cure, of course often without the fast response of pharmaceutical drugs but it doesn't being with it the many negative side effects.  What I am placing in this blog is based on my experience along with the information that I have gathered from many sources and serves as information.  I am not a medical professional but merely someone who has a high interest in living holistic life with minimal pharmaceutical drugs.

To start with, I have a farm where I grow all the plants and trees that I use for my teas, my way of controlling the input and ensuring minimal contaminants.  Our farm practices natural farming, using organic and natural fertilisers and pesticides and no chemical fertilisers or pesticides.  To me, it doesn't make sense to add these poisons into something that I want to consume to promote and care my health.

The teas that I produce for my own consumption and for limited sales are:

1. My balancing tea - Misai Kucing and Kemangi mix.  This tea has natural properties as a blood cleansing tea as well as a blood-sugar regulator.  This is my go-to tea when I eat rich, high sugar or high carbohydrate foods such as cakes and durians. 
2. My preventive cancer tea - Durian Belanda and Serai mix. Based on research done by universities and health organisations, this two ingredients have the capability to neutralise cancer cells so I drink this tea couple of times a week for prevention and often in the evening as our body tends to do its "cleansing" and "rebuilding" at night.
3. My breathing easy tea - Ruku and Kemangi mix.  Ruku has properties that help the respiratory system and in combination with the Kemangi that has an overall cleansing effect, I drink this every so often, more often when we have the haze.
4. My cooling tea - Serai and Misai Kucing mix.  After a work out at the farm, I like to enjoy this tea to cleanse the acids produced from the workout and cooling my body.  I tend to drink this one cold, especially on hot days.

Whilst some of these teas can be produced from fresh ingredients, I opted to air-dry them to enable ease of storage and access as well as portability.  I can take them with me anywhere.  All these teas have a pleasant, non-bitter taste.  I drink them without any form of sweetener such as sugar or honey to eliminate the risk of the sweetener causing the teas to lose its homeopathic properties thus reducing the effectiveness of the tea.

These teas can be prepared in a few ways:

1. By placing them in a glass jar and placing them in direct sunlight for a few hours.
2. By placing them in a tea pot filled with just-boiled water and allowing them to seep for about 20 minutes
3. By bringing water to a boil in a pot and placing the tea and allowing it to simmer at low heat for five minutes.

By using method 3, you can also prepare a concentrate which can then be stored in the refrigerator.  When I want to drink it, I either add hot or cold water, depending if I want to have a hot or cold drink.

So, if you are considering drinking teas, try these combinations instead of regular tea and if you can get the additional benefits.  Happy trying :).