Ikaria & Tea - how to make your own tea - part three

Ikaria and Tea - part three (see all here)

If you do want to be adventurous, I found two good articles on how to make your own tea:

http://www.farmersalmanac.com/recipes/a/make-your-own-tea

http://doit101.com/Foodrink/Teablends.html

Basically you crush a blend of herbs and tea leaves in a glass bowl, steep in hot water for about five minutes, then strain out to tea cups. Sweeten with honey. Honey is another important factor in the Ikarian tea because of the nutrients found in it.

The following diuretics can be incorporated into your tea or made into herbal teas:
  • Green tea leaf
  • Cranberry (but avoid juice cocktails because of the sugar)
  • Dandelion
  • Nettle
  • Fennel
  • Oat
  • Watercress
Again, I wouldn't try to drink exactly what it is the Icarians drink in their tea but find a healthy, natural way to emulate them. Local, fresh ingredients, containing natural diuretic properties is a way to mimic the magical tea intake of the Ikarians.

PS - One more thing:

If you'd rather just have "regular" tea (a healthy drink on its own), there are also foods you can eat that are natural diuretics:
  • Cucumber
  • Beets
  • Carrots
  • Cabbage
  • Brussels sprout (blech!)
  • Asparagus (which makes pee smell because it is such a strong diuretic)
  • Garlic
(See parts one and two or the whole series.)