111 Moods of Herbal Tea — Day 49, Blood Orange

Photo Credits to Artem Podrez

Dear Gentle Reader,

The Sagra dell’arancia rossa will welcome us with bright colors on every side of the village of Palagonia, in Palermo, Sicily. The Sagra, or village food festival, takes place every year in February. That is where we will find our “red gold” tea.

On each side of the streets, the villagers will set all kinds of foods made with the highly-valued blood oranges. Some stalls offer juices, salads, chocolates, dried fruits — anything you can imagine besides loose leaves and rinds.

As if they wanted us to stay here forever, the villagers also play folk music, perform live shows, and pressure you to indulge your palate with their marvelous recipes.

You can count almost as many health benefits of blood orange tea as you can count the stalls within 100 feet of you. Some of the health properties are:

• Boost stamina levels
• Reduce the appearance of varicose veins
• Support heart health
• Keep the skin young
• Lower bad cholesterol
• Boost the immune system
• Regulate blood sugar levels
• Reduce inflammation
• Helps prevent birth defects
• Supports the female body during pregnancy
• Lower blood pressure
• Prevent kidney stones
• Reduce nausea
• Support bone health (1)

I wrote you a blood orange tea recipe to cherish. It makes for a unique cup of bliss after a long wait, as blood oranges only develop during cold weather at night.

1 teaspoon of fresh blood orange rind

1 teaspoon of dried blood orange leaves

2 fresh Thai basil leaves

2 tablespoons of fresh blood orange juice

1 teaspoon of honey

1/4 cup of water

1 cup of sparkling water

1. Pour boiling water over the blood orange rind, blood orange leaves, and basil leaves
2. Steep for 7 minutes
3. Strain and stir in honey
4. Let cool for 15 minutes
5. Mix the tea with the sparkling water and blood orange juice
6. Serve chilled

To blissful waiting,

Valeria Paz

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Sources:

1. Licciardello F, Arena E, Rizzo V, Fallico B. Contribution of Blood Orange-Based Beverages to Bioactive Compounds Intake. Front Chem. 2018;6:374. Published 2018 Aug 29. doi:10.3389/fchem.2018.00374