Grandma’s Winter Rose Tea

Grandma's Winter Rose Tea

Growing up as a child, my grandmother always tried to force us to drink fluids but we were just as stubborn as we could be. But my grandmother knew a thing or two about getting us to do things HER way! She always kept a large jar filled with miniature summer rosebuds in her kitchen. She had dried them in the hot summer Sun and kept them in her pantry. She would call my brother and I into the kitchen on many a cold winter afternoon and tell us about how the roses had grown in the summer and remained full of life in the dead cold of winter. The words she spoke brought thoughts of summer sun-filled days rushing back to us and made us miss the warmth of summer all the more which is just how my grandmother wanted us to feel! She then would coyly ask if we wanted something that would warm us to the core and bring summer back right that moment. Of course we said YES!

Photo. Anna Lise Art

My grandmother, then, proceeded to fill her teakettle with water and set it to boil. Once it boiled she let my brother and I drop in rosebud after rosebud into the raging water followed by a few other ingredients. The result was freshly made ‘Winter Rose Tea’ which was my grandmother’s secret recipe. She served the steaming liquid to us in her finest china teacups and made us feel like royalty as we sipped the sweet liquid.

In winter, common maladies include dry skin, chapped lips, dry coughs, the flu and headaches. For most of us there is a common source that we simply never consider-dehydration! When the body is dehydrated in the winter it starts slowing down and becoming less efficient. Humans don’t drink a lot of liquids in the winter because our activity levels are a lot less which is a stark contrast to the high-activity levels we engage in during the hot summer months, which causes us to crave liquids.

Increasing your daily intake of fluids whether you drink water, juice or tea* can save you loads of time and money which you otherwise would have wasted at the doctor’s office paying for meds you simply may not need. Take pro-active measures and increase your fluid intake each and every winter’s day. Although when coughs and colds persist you should definitely seek a doctor’s advice because there could be an underlying illness.

The tradition of making ‘Winter Rose Tea’ lasted throughout the years and I now make it for my children as I pass along the stories of the summer roses that my grandmother always told me!

Share the warmth of ‘Winter Rose Tea’ with your loved ones today!

Winter Rose Tea

To make 1 mug-

  • 1 cup water (240 ml.)
  • 1 regular tea bag (I use Lipton)
  • 1 Tbl. dried rosebuds
  • 1 whole clove
  • sugar (to taste)
  1. Bring water to a rolling boil in a teakettle. Remove from heat. Add the rosebuds, tea bag and clove. Cover and allow steeping for 2-3 minutes. Pour into your favorite mug and kick back while enjoying the sweetness of summer’s most fantastic creation….the rose!

The Author:

Sumayyah Meehan

Photo. Praisaeng, Anna Lise Art, Monfocus

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