With the weather as hot as it is these days, tea might be the last thing on anyones mind. But you have to admit that a good hot brew can be quite relaxing.
Whether its worm bush, fever grass, zeb-a-pik, shining bush or caraille, bush tea (herbal tea) is a staple in Trinidad and Tobago. And while commercial tea bags come in a range of flavours and can be quite fancy, most Trinis know that a trek to the back yard full of mundane vines, bushes and various plants and trees can produce a variety of bush teas.
Earlier this week, the Express looked into the bush tea tradition and chatted with Aaron Celestine, popularly known as Uncle Clyde from Paramin. He has a massive social media following of fans who salivate over his home-style cooking through the Foodie Nation food blogs.
Celestine said he drinks bush tea morning, noon and night, and sometimes in between. He said he always recommends what he calls a bomb for visitors to his home.
People know where to come and get their bush. When tour guides come by, I would recommend a bomb for them, which is a mix of ginger, fever grass, bay leaf and worm grass. Me and my wife dont use tea bags in our house at all. Everything for me and my wife is bush tea. We dont use those brand-name teas. Day and night, that is what I drink right through, Celestine said.
He said using the bush with the root is always better than using the leaves alone. I also like the fever grass and ginger together. It is better to use the fever grass root; all you have to do is wash it properly and boil the leaf with the root.
Celestine said he has countless bushes around his home. Some people come by me for food, and some come for bush tea. I cooking from a young boy. From a young age, I drank bush tea, and I still do. Up until now, I never planted them; they just grew naturally because God is in control. Its kind of a blessing from God.
In the dry season, we dont have much of them, but in the rainy season, they start growing again. You cannot control thatthat is nature.
He said parents should be giving their children bush tea more often.
Some of these teas work to relax you. When you drink bush tea in the morning, you feel good the whole day. These days children drink a lot of juice, but parents need to train them from an early age to like bush tea instead of so much juice.
Celestine enjoys his brews without milk.
Just a pinch of sugar. That way is better for me, and if I am drinking fever grass, ginger and worm grass, then I dont put any sugar in it, he said.
Medicinal benefits
Valerie Innis, a self-proclaimed bush tea connoisseur, said a good brew of bush tea could be more than just soothing to the body; it has the potential to heal the body of any ailment, including non-communicable diseases.
I drink a hot cup of tea at least five times a day, Innis told the Express recently at the Santa Cruz Green Market. Innis, who was at the time purchasing a variety of bush, said she ensures she has enough herbs to brew her teas.
I cant do without bush tea. Growing up in Sangre Chiquito, I learned the importance of drinking a hot cup of bush tea. I used to have a lot of bush in my yard, but now that my sons are big men, theyve concreted everything, and now I have to either buy what I need or plant them in pots, Innis said.
She said, In our home, the bush was the remedy for everything. The popular ones growing up were the shining bush, vervine, soursop and fever grass.
For a long time, my parents didnt have much money to buy milk and fancy tea bags. So we would boil the water, put the bush in the water in an enamel cup to draw, and drink it with a little sugar or sometimes no sugar at all, Innis said.
Innis said the medicinal benefits of bush tea are far-reaching.
We are not utilising our natural remedies and resources at all, and this is why so many people, women especially, are suffering with all types of ailments and diseases. Many of these bushes that grow naturally in our yards are medicinal, and it always amazes me that they are taken for granted, and most times people will prefer to go to a supermarket and buy these superficial teas that do nothing for them, Innis said.
Though not medically proven, Innis believes shining bush can tackle urinary problems and inflammation, as well as severe period pain for women who get a lot of cramps. This is a bush you can find in any yard, but sadly, some people wont be able to identify it. The vine is also popular. This can be identified with a tiny purplish flower.
We dont have time for me to list all the benefits of drinking a cup of bush tea, and we dont have time to call out over 100 different kinds of bush that have a myriad of health benefits, but there is nothing better than hot bush tea, and these commercial teabags cant come close to the benefits you get from them, Innis said.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0