ginger, grapefruit, & peppermint tea: last week of winter
/i took these photos last sunday when it poured rain allllllllll day long and it was extra dark grey outside. it was a delightful final weekend of winter and a perfect opportunity to cozy up with some homemade tea one last time before spring busted through in full force. it has actually seemed very springy for the last couple of months in seattle, but the real first week of spring has been magnificent. when you step outside, the air constantly has a dreamy warmth to it and smells like tulips and lilacs and a hamburger sizzling on a bbq somewhere. iloveit.
here's *some* of our pendleton loot cozying up the winter scene :)
you can't tell, but just imagine buckets of rain coming down out there.
i thought this tea was a perf winter-melts-to-spring transition tea. some fresh grapefruit juice, freshly chopped ginger, and peppermint leaves from my herb planter.
i generally only drink hot tea in the dead of winter when it is cold as shit outside and my bones have been frozen for months. lots of chai tea around christmas time.
, pete and i visited the magical
vashon island coffee roasterie
and smelled all their different teas for a very long time. they have so many cool flavors of loose leaf tea and their space is so cozy and oozes a strong neighborhood & community feel. we still have a little bit of the loose leaf we bought there. i was stoked when i first made plain peppermint tea with the herbs from my planter, though. so simple, fresh, easy, and durn near free!
my aunt got me this cute little loose leaf tea kettle from japan. or maybe in san francisco. either way, they went to japan a couple times in the last several years, so i like to think that's where she got it. i rarely used it until recent years when i figured out actual uses for it. i didn't really like tea at all until college. i steered clear of it my whole life. total weirdo.
you could easily make this in one of those infusers or those little steel ball shaped infusers that you dunk directly in your mug. it's just fresh peppermint leaves, chopped ginger, and a hearty squeeze of fresh grapefruit juice in the bottom of your mug.
it is refreshing, light, and zingy! and tastes like sunnier times ahead.
add the ginger and peppermint to the infuser. pour boiling water into your kettle until you can see it rise to the top. cover with the lid and steep for about five minutes.
squeeze the amount of fresh grapefruit juice that you'd like in your mug. pour your steeped tea into the mug. add a fresh, thin slice of grapefruit on top, and cozy up!
happy sunday.
