21 Feb 2019  |   03:39am IST

Herbal tea technique from the Himalayan tea girl

Arti Kanti from Dehradun, Uttarakhand, recently organised Herbal Tea Talk, an aromatic session that taught the participants the history of tea and the benefits of different herbs and spices in making of the tea. Café has the details

Nicole Remedios

There’s no healthier beverage than tea! With India blessed

with an abundance of tea and spice plantations, these condiments feature greatly in every average Indian household. Teaching the importance and innovation of tea and spices was Arti Kanti from Dehradun, Uttarakhand, who recently held a Herbal Tea Talk at Cuebebar smoke house in Assagao. Fruit teas and flower teas were the main attraction of the session. The blend of spices and herbs compliment tea and Arti Kanti showed her participants how.

According to the lessons, herbal teas can be made using fresh or dry herbs, spices, flowers, fruits and roots. There is a difference between herbal tea and herbal infusions. A blend of herbs along with tea leaves is known as herbal tea, while herbal Infusions are a pure mixture of herbs, spices, roots, flowers or dried fruits.

During the tea session, she demonstrated the making of different varieties of herbal teas using products that are easily available, like Detoxifying Tea made by infusing cumin, mint leaves, honey, lemon and cinnamon in hot water or Immunity Tea rich in vitamin A and C made by just adding fresh apples, cinnamon powder and honey in hot water. It is a great health booster and those looking out for weight loss options. Apart from that, herbal teas are anti oxidant, anti depressant, anti inflammatory, and detoxify the full body like stomach, arteries, lungs and kidneys.

Born and brought up in the mountains, Arti has been a tea Lover since childhood. Tea has been the most essential drink in her family. During the winters, her mother used to make cinnamon tea or ginger tea to keep them warm. During the time of partition, Arti’s ancestors came from Pakistan and settled in Kashmir. To keep warm, they started drinking Kashmiri Kahwa, which is a spice and dry fruit tea, a famous drink of Kashmir. “Till date, we drink it every night, especially during winters. So tea is not just a passion; it’s an emotion for me,” states Arti.

Lavender Tea is known to cure insomnia. After a lot of research, the Himalayan tea girl came across lavender. Lavender tea became the life elixir for Iinsomnia. All it takes is a cup of lavender tea every night for two months and you’re insomnia free! Of course, for some it may take longer than that but it all depends on the condition of the person.

Arti differentiates between a normal beverage and herbal tea where the latter ranks higher. “Herbal tea is absolutely safe and has great health benefits compared to other beverages. Any other tea, coffee or aerated drinks are high in caffeine whereas herbal teas are very low in caffeine and herbal infusions are absolutely caffeine free.” It also depends on how you make it and the consistency of it. In general, it is a fact that herbal teas are a healthy source of boosting immunity and curing different ailments naturally.