The perfect cleansing herbal tea for the start of the Spring season

There is no better way to make the most of the early Spring season than by collecting new Nettle Leaf tips for making fresh herbal tea. Fresh Nettles contain powerful nutrients that help to cleanse the blood and inner organs. It's a great way to start the day.

Foraging for Nettles is fun. Its makes for a perfect excuse to go out for a walk and look for the freshly growing tips that grow in hedgerows, around the edges of fields and so many other places.

Remember to take a thin pair of gloves or something to protect your hands from the stings which are positioned on the edges of the leaves. You will need to wash them thoroughly in clean water if you pick them near the roadside or in urban areas.

A handful of Nettle Leaf Tips makes a perfect brew and by adding chopped ginger, fresh lemon juice, raw honey and Propolis Tincture* which is excellent for clearing hayfever, you will turn it into a powerful cleansing herbal tea. (*Not an affiliate link).

The nutrients are extracted by steeping the Nettle Tips and Ginger in near-boiling filtered water then adding the lemon juice, a spoonful of raw honey and the Propolis before drinking to add some natural sweetness.

I enjoy taking the time to learn about natural ingredients and herbs for my own good health but always do your own research if you have any questions to make sure the ingredients are suitable for you.

 
Ingredients for a single cup

1 x cupful fresh and clean Nettle Leaf Tips

1 x juice of half-whole Lemon

1 x thumb-length fresh Ginger (peeled and sliced)

1 x cup of filtered water

1 x tsp or tbsp of Raw Honey (to taste)

11 x drops Propolis Tincture (great for reducing Hayfever when taken regularly)

Making your tea

1) Add cleaned Nettle Leaf Tips and fresh Ginger slices to a large mug.

2) Bring a kettle of filtered water almost to the boil before pouring into your mug.

3) Leave to steep for 5-10 minutes.

4) Strain with a tea strainer (optional) into another mug before adding the freshly squeezed Lemon juice.

5) Add a spoonful of Raw Honey to taste before drinking.

 

Cleansing and Healing Benefits

All the ingredients of this wonderful Herbal Tea have healthly nutritional benefits as outlined below.

Fresh Nettle Leaf Tips

Nettles are an effective anti-flammatory herb that revive the organs with healing phytochemicals and alkaloids. Nettles are rich in bone-building and bone-protecting compounds such as silica and contain around 40 trace minerals that act as powerful cleansing agents known to relieve infections, skin conditions and hormone imbalances.

Over a period of weeks, Nettle Tea can help to cleanse the kidneys, reduce inflammation and alleviate skin conditions. It also provides a rich source of iron as the Vitamin C content helps the body to absorb the iron. Nettles are also rich in chlorophyl which helps to convert sunlight into energy making it ideal for building up the blood.

Fresh Lemon Juice

Fresh Lemon Juice is wonderful for hydrating, purifying and revitalising your body in the morning before eating. It helps to cleanse a sluggish fatty liver, the kidneys, spleen, thyroid and gallbladder. It also helps to clean the lymphatic system.

Fresh Lemon Juice wakes up your tissues and cells in the morning so that they can carry nutrients and compounds to where they are most needed more efficiently during the day. Lemon juice is a fantastic source of absorbable vitamin C, it is highly mineralised and loaded with calcium so it's good for your teeth and kills bacteria that causes tooth decay.

Fresh Ginger

Ginger contains a bioactive called Gingerol which is a natural component of the Ginger Root. This supports gastrointestinal motility which is the rate at which food exits the stomach and continues along the digestive system.

Ginger is known to soothe an upset stomach and speed up digestion preventing food lingering too long in the gut. Gingerol contains antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties which boost immunity with antimicrobial and antifungal properties.

Ginger is known to exert a variety of powerful therapeutic and preventive effects. It has been used for thousands of years for the treatment of hundreds of ailments especially colds and flu. A few slices in your first herbal tea of the day is highly beneficial. 

Raw Honey

Raw Honey is naturally collected honey that hasn't been pasteurised (heated to high temperature), processed or micro-filtered (filtered under high pressure through a micro-filter to remove small particles like pollen). I buy my Raw Honey and Propolis Tincture from Raw Artisan Honey (no affiliation) because it tastes so delicious and is produced by independent beekeepers who filter their honey only with a coarse filter to remove large particles like beeswax.

Raw honey provides a minute amount of protein with trace elements of sodium and potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, copper,zinc iron, manganese, chromium, B vitamins and vitamin C and

I hope you enjoy going out to collect your Nettles and make this refreshing herbal tea as a natural morning cleanser through the early Spring season.

Sue Cartwright

Spiral Leaf