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Article: Make tea from a bog, instead of a bag! (Labrador tea plant)
- Article from:
- Countryside & Small Stock Journal
- Article date:
- July 1, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Countryside Publications Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Like my ancestors who pioneered in this part of the country, I guzzle tea through the rain soaked winter. Yet I spend less money on tea than most tea drinkers spend in a single month. Why? Because I drink what my forefathers drank.
In times past, every Puget Sound kitchen had its "mix," a homemade herbal tea based on the leaves of the Labrador tea plant (Ledum ssp). The addition of other flavors, both foraged and store-bought, imparted a delightfully complex character to each distinctive blend. A simmering kettle of "Lab tea" symbolized well-being and independence to those hardy survivors.
"I laughed at the Depression!" insist old-timers. "Lived like a king ...