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Honey – a sweet summer tea companion
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Honey makes a great tea companion because of its rich, sweet taste as well as its health benefits. With the start of summer, flowers are in bloom, bees are a buzz and seasonal allergies are running rampant. Luckily, bees mean more honey, and we need it. Local honey can help control seasonal allergies. Tom Ogren in Local honey and allergies, Revisited, 2009, reports that this may be the case because local bees collect pollen from local allergens (grasses, tress, flowers, etc.) which are then transmitted to their honey. Therefore, consuming local honey regularly helps “the body to build up resistance to the allergens.” However, he warns that people should be careful and start with small doses if they have a severe allergy* because they could have an allergic reaction.
Of course, I recommend drinking your honey with tea. Tea is also believed to be good for allergies, especially and not surprisingly green tea. Some think this is related to its antioxidant effects, which help boost the immune system. In the least, hot tea will have similar soothing effects for allergy sufferers as it does for cold sufferers.
If you are not having an allergy flare-up, iced tea is best on hot days. Honey seekers and those who want to bolster their allergy protection should try my fruity iced tea recipe that is easy to make with ingredients found in most grocery stores.
Brewed green tea (6 cups water with 6 green tea bags or 6 tsp. loose leaf)
or Snapple’s all natural green tea (3 – 17.5 oz. bottles)
1/4 can of frozen Dole concentrate (Orange Peach Mango)
Local honey 2 fl. oz. (4 Tbs.) or to taste
Ice cubes
Orange slices (optional)
Directions: Brew leaves or tea bags in boiling water 3 to 5 minutes. Remove bags or strain leaves. (Skip first two steps if using Snapple). Add honey and stir well (If using Snapple, reduce honey to 1 oz. / 2 Tbs.). Add frozen Dole and stir well until melted. Chill and serve over ice cubes. Add orange slices to glasses for good presentation.
For those living in the Tacoma area, try purchasing raw honey at the downtown Farmer’s Market on Thursdays, 9 am - 2 pm. Terry’s Berries farm store in Puyallup also sells local honey, so pick it up with your weekly farm share.
* If this is the case, please see the above link to his article for more information on dosing.
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