Morning Tea

While walking the dogs yesterday I came upon the bright green ends of a nearby spruce tree. Several years ago I had enjoyed a cup of Spruce-tip tea but had not even thought of it again until I ran upon these! I picked a good handful and have them steeping in my mug as I type.

The water turns a beautiful golden color, mixing with the tiny bit of maple syrup - very inviting. These spruce tips are packed with vitamin C and very safe. As always, start with only a little to be sure you have no allergic reaction in any way. It is funny, we eat processed foods with abandon, without caution of allergies, but when experiencing with wild foods we shy away. I have come to the conclusion that we should only try really new things a little at a time, just to be sure. Before posting this I did refresh my understanding of the spruce tip tea by going to several websites. All of them agree that there are huge benefits of Vitamin C and it is one of the simplest forms of tea out there. It is funny how much money we spend on some of the vitamin bottles we buy - all put through bleaching processes and who-knows-what!

...as you can see, I decided to run it through a coffee filter. Last time I tried it, I had several tiny needles that I had to strain through my lips! I guess you'd have to do that out in the wild, but since I'm in my livingroom, thought I'd avail myself of the luxury of straining.

I must say, this is as mild and tasty a cup of tea that I have ever had! No, there is no hint of that "christmas tree candle" taste. The mild spruce and maple flavor are truly delightful.
I posted a few quotes from one of the websites: medcookingalaska.blogspot.com  in Aunt Jan's wild corner. I plan on emailing her today to see if she's had her cup of Vitamin C this season.

It is raining on the hill today. Such a gentle rain. Take care and thanks for stopping by for tea.