Retreat Tea
At every retreat center I’ve ever been to, there’s always a big urn of boiling water and a big selection of teas to choose from — black, green, white, herbal, flavored, etc. At Dharmagiri, they also kept hunks of fresh ginger and whole lemons on a little cutting board by the urn, so you could always make a cup of fresh non-tea tea as well.
In honor of which, I offer this recipe from Retreat: The Joy of Conscious Eating (the cookbook I saw in the Dharmagiri kitchen and ordered as soon as I got home). It’s a medicinal tea for winter ills, featuring ginger and cayenne to improve circulation, garlic and lemon to boost the immune system, and thyme to protect and soothe the respiratory system. Or you could skip the garlic and the cayenne, and just enjoy it for the taste!
Winter Mu-Tea
750 ml water
1/2 cup ginger, washed and sliced
4-5 sprigs thyme
2 garlic cloves, whole
fresh lemons
honey
cayenne pepper
Place ginger, thyme, garlic and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Strain. Add lemon and honey to taste, plus a pinch of cayenne pepper. Drink hot!