{Homemade} Rosehip Blend Tea

The girls had a busy morning of fiddle lessons in town, but we all made it back just in time for our Tea at Two on Tuesdays.

Today, I made a blend of tea for our afternoon ritual. After saving all our orange peels all winter long {please be encouraged to do the same in your house! Orange peels are incredible and should be saved, not tossed!}, I was inspired to make a rosehip blend tea, incorporating the orange peels I had dried. {The orange peels were collected and dried in my warming drawer above my cookstove over a day or so. As they dried, I stored them in a mason jar in the pantry.}

Start with some crushed dried orange peels.

Orange peels are precious! Hidden in those bitter peels, you will find the following benefits: beta ceratone (Vitamin A), digestion aid, a treatment for insomnia, vitamin B, folic acid and is generally more healthy than the actual orange fruit. Why would we toss these peels? {They can also be using for cleaning, but that is another post.}

 Here is my little assistant, helping me mix up tea blend.

Next, I mixed in some rosehips and chamomile.
We talked about chamomile recently on the blog. You can read about it here.
Rosehips  contain iron, vitamins A, C, D, E  and supports healthy joints with its anti-inflammatory properties. It is know to be rich with vitamin C {50% more Vitamin C than an orange!}.  They have amounts of magnesium and potassium and are considered to have anti-aging properties as it heals your skin. It is used to help ease stress and anxiety.  They can be used in so many ways, but tea is a great option.

Next up was fresh pine needles.

I have been waiting for the first signs of new needles growing on our trees and today was the day!

The girls harvested some small tips of the new growth. These needles are a fantastic to add to your home medicinal chest! Very high in vitamins A and C {4-5 times more than a fresh orange}, pine needle tea is incredible for your health. It is used to prevent chronic illness and disease. It aids your skin, improves blood circulation, improves eyesight, and helps soothe sore throats.

I picked off the needles and added them to our tea mixture.

All that is left to do is shake up the jar and boil your water for your cuppa tea.

{Homemade Rosehips Blend Tea}

-equal parts of
Rosehips
Chamomile
Pine Needles
Orange Peels

Mix together and store in a mason jar. Enjoy!

I served it at our tea time and everyone loved it. Oh my, it was delicious…

Add a smidge of honey and it tastes even better (although, in my opinion, it is sweet enough without honey!)

Everyone enjoyed their homemade cup of tea – even my little helper.

P.S. Of course, Lazarus was present for the tea party, looking dashing in his cute outfit {thrift store find!}. He slept through it all but that is okay. I’m sure he will have enough tea parties in his lifetime …