The Green Hills of Earth

Chris and I wrote a song (the lyrics are derived from the book "The Green Hills of Earth")

Harvested Free-leaf Tea

I am now in Navarre and Christopher Matechik and John Syzdek are hanging out with me. We decided to make some tea tonight and Chris pulled out some fresh dry herbs he picked locally in Florida and also in Wyoming. These included Mint (Mentha species), Yarrow leaves (Achillea millefolium), and Elderflowers (Sambucus canadensis):

 

We also wanted something local (this plant sparked the whole tea interest), so we went out and picked the leaves of a Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria). Ilex vomitoria is the cousin of the common Holly you might see at christmas, Ilex opaca. Here are the leaves after I roasted (read: burnt) them in a pan on the stove top. For better results slow roast at about 400 degrees in an oven until browned to your liking. These are under roasted and Chris tells me that the caffeine will generally come out better at higher temperatures.

We added the Mint, Yarrow, and Yaupon Holly to the pot of pre-boiled water and let it sit for about a minute. At the end of the brew we added some elder flowers for a floral note. 

The tea had a really nice aroma and helped soothed Chris' sore throat. John described the tea's taste as being similar to the smell of walking through a greenhouse garden. Something about smells having tastes. We weren't sure what he was talking about either.

 

A nice spot of tea on a cold night in Northwest Florida.

Cheers!