Bush Tea

greets

are you joking or serious? :S

Why would it be a joke? Here's a bit of info. You'll see people cutting & gathering plants from the side of the road & some are doing it for bush tea. Many believe it can heal various ailments.

http://www.bushtea.vi/

it looks like really long grass. i hear there is a male and female plant? correct me if im wrong. you take one or two leaves and fold them and boil them. drink it. it tastes a bit lemony and it is believed to help with colds and such. when i make this tea i use natural sugar and not the white sugar.

greets

was not being a smart one by asking if the poster was joking or not.

was trying to find out if he was a jokester or not before seriously posting.

there are what is called bush tea all over the island.

i believe speedy is referring to lemongrass from what it sounds like.

for a refreshing ital juice with lemongrass...(do this when you have a fresh pineapple that you have peeled.)

you cut it lengthwise several stalks of the grass all the way to the end

bring to boil in pot of water and then simmer.

add the peelings from the pineapple and any juice you have saved from it.

add some grated ginger...one knob (i like mine spicy so i use a bit more)

simmer for about 30 minutes.

add some brown sugar to taste

drink chilled.

a couple of the bush teas would be:

kholrabi...pick some along with some of the leaves...cut it up and stew it for a bit. strain it and add water to make a gallon. it is very very bitter but if you drink a half gallon over a couple days along with a fruit fast, it is the best cleaning out you will ever have. just make sure you do not have to go to work the next day after drinking.

lime leaves

mint leaves

soursop leaves

wild thyme

there are so many that they are hard to list.

i mix bush herbs and other herbs for teas and sell them...oils as well, for fragrance and for healing.

if anyone is interested in a remedy just post it and i will post the herbs you need to use.

guidance and blessings

Sis Irijah

Sis - hi & happy holidays! :@)
Soaps n Scents have dropped their asking price drastically - hurry with school, buy the shop & come on home & mix your scents & herbal healers & bush teas!!!
As for now, gonna try the pineapple one......blessings for the recipe

How do you ID the blades of the plant for Bush Tea?

greets

well actually lemongrass looks like a common weed.

you can tell the difference because is is usually taller and the leaves are stiff.

pull up a piece from the root and if there is a small oval like bulb on the end, break it and see if it smell like lemon.
if it does you have found some.

it looks so growing....

and looks like so when picked and leaves trimmed a bit....

in the recipe above for the ital juice i forgot to make mention that before you slice the lemongrass lengthwise, take a hammer or the flat part of a butcher knife and slam it to flatten it a bit and start to release the juices. sorry for the omission.

guidance
Sis Irijah

Just a small word of caution...if you are taking prescription meds it is a good idea to ask a pharmacist if there could be any "cross effects" (I know that's not the right phrase). I understand that St John's Wort is deadly with some heart meds.
I also reccomend a pharmacist because they don't usually have the animosity toward holistics that AMA doctors do.

Actually, it was a serious question. I'm new to STX and have never heard of it until moving here. I've asked a few people what exactly it is (i.e. what plant(s) are used) and haven't gotten anything more than a general answer of "oh, it's just a bunch of plants from the bush". So, I figured I'd ask here.

Anyway, I appreciate your informative replies. I had no idea there were so many varieties out there!

Mark: There is a book called "Traditional Medicinal Plants of St Croix, St Thomas and St John" by Toni Thomas= ISBN 0-9628909-6-0. It has drawings of various "bush" along with uses, etc. Lots and lots of "bush".

I also heard it's usually 3 or 5 leaves, never an even number. Supposedly Biblical based... any truth?

Some bakeries on St. Croix brew bush tea and it's great to stop in and try. Also, you can buy lemongrass tea in the teabag version ( I know, not as good as fresh, but a quick fix) in the grocery from a company called Caribbean Dreams.

This thread brings back memories, even though I know almost nothing about bush tea. My high school French teacher was from Haiti, and he used to make tea in class almost daily. I wasn't a huge fan of the taste (not really a tea person), but the smell was delicious!