Rose Hip & Hybiscus Tea
About 18 years ago, my husband won a trip to a spa in Miami, Fla. It was great to be pampered and eat wonderful meals prepared by chefs trained in nutrition. We learned a lot from the nutritionist who consulted all the guests, she gave us wonderful tips about healthy eating and even about healthy desserts. One of these tips was the beverage we were served with our meals: Rose Hip and Hybiscus flower tea. She told us that this tea along with a healthy diet and exercise, can help lower high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. I don't know much about the properties attributed to this tea but I know it tastes great and we are still enjoying it to this day.
I buy Rose Hips and dried Hybiscus flowers in bulk at a store that sells organic products, I call it my "hippie store" and I also buy fruit and vegetables there. There are websites that will sell these items online, one such company is Mountainviewmarket.com, you will find organic products will cost a lot more but I get the regular ones and they have been fine.
HOW TO MAKE IT:
Tea is tea but I have found the right strength for us, we like our tea strong. Based on this, you can experiment and bring it to the level of strenght you like. I follow this process at bedtime so the tea steeps overnight and cools off.
I fill an 8 quart capacity pot with water, bring it to a low boil and turn it off. Add 1 1/4 cups of the dried hybiscus flowers and 1/3 cup of rose hips, remove from heat, it is up to you if you want to cover it or not. In the morning, I fill up 3 1/2 plastic bottles (use them a few times & then recycle) of Tree Top Apple Juice - 64 oz - using a funnel, a strainer (to catch flowers or pieces of rose hips - although they taste great, it's up to you) and a large measuring cup to scoop it out of the pot, this makes the job easier. Refrigerate, it will keep fresh. I make this 2 or 3 times a week. You can drink it hot or cold and sweetened to taste, we drink it iced and unsweetened,
I don't know if the tea actually does what it has been claimed to do but we feel great, we have cut back on soft drinks enormously because of the high fructose corn syrup vs. sugar. We love Coke and will have one about once a month but we worry about the contents of what we consume, so we do read labels and stay away from high fructose corn syrup which all soft drinks and a lot of foods now have. I know, I know, they say it is the same as sugar yet, they claim it extends the shelf life of foods/beverages. I NEVER knew sugar was a preservative so if it is the same thing, why does it have a number in labels. Sugar is sugar and "mascabado" sugar which is pure cane sugar I think is better for you because is natural. That does not mean you should stuff yourself full of it, one must be wise about what goes into one's body. The Pepsi Company says it is getting rid of HFCS and going back to sugar and I hope all companies follow suit.
REMEMBER, if you are taking medications, before you take any herbal supplements or teas, always check with your pharmacist and doctor to make sure it is safe for you.