Rose Hips Tea

,Easter is over! If you are anything like me I'm sure you ate your share of chocolate and other goodies too. I wanted to find a recipe that would comfort the overindulgent stomach and please the palate as well. Enter Rose Hips Tea.

So what are rose hips? Rose hips are the fruit of the rose plant. They are high in vitamin C, which is why we often find them in various dietary supplements. Another rose hip benefit is that they're also high in antioxidants.

So, how did I come about this rose hips tea?

Well, kind of by accident, really! A recent trip to my local organic market convinced me to give rose hips tea a try. You see I was looking for dried rose buds for some photography work. While I was picking out items, the sales girl told me I should try rose hips. "Why?" I asked. "Oh it makes great tea" she said with a smile. She pointed to the bin. The dried, dark, and wrinkly little buds looked kind of funny. She spotted my look of uncertainty right away. She proceeded to tell me all about the health benefits of rose hips. I decided to follow her advice. I brewed a cup at home. Yum! I had to make more. My husband loved it and so did my son. I returned to the store the following week to get more rose hips.

So what does rose hips tea taste like?

Well, the taste is slightly tart with floral undertones. It is not a citric tartness, more like a floral tartness if that makes any sense to you. To sweeten it you can use a little sugar or honey. Little sugar cubes work great, and they are sort of fancy too. The color is akin to that of caramel.

To steep my rose hips tea I use my small 16 oz. Mason jar with my handy dandy reCAP. It makes it easy to pour and the jar keeps the tea pretty hot.  I do advise you to cap your jar right away after you pour the boiling water before it gets too hot.  When you pour the steeped tea, hold it close to the top to avoid getting burned.  Warning: HOT TEA & JAR!

Here's a little rose history for you.

Roses have been around for a few millennia. Their first pictorial record is from frescoes found in the palace of Knossos (Crete) c. 1600 B.C. Roses feature prominently in antiquity. In Greek mythology, for example,  the rose is the symbol of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. It is said that she gave Eros (Aphrodite's son), the Greek god of love a rose as a gift.

Roses are also mentioned in Homer's epic poem The Iliad. The body of Hector, the mighty warrior, was anointed with rose oil (attar). Roses were grown during the Middle Ages in monasteries, mostly for medicinal purposes. There are also recipes from this period where rose hips are used to make a fruit preserve. of sorts. The process of making these preserves is similar to that of making any fruit preserve/jam today. I will definitely need to try this. By the way did you know that the rose is the national flower of the US?

Want to try more delicious drink recipes?

Turmeric Latte - Warming turmeric packs a punch with notes of cinnamon and creamy almond milk. 

Lavender Latte - Aromatic lavender perfectly compliments delicious almond milk in this special treat. 

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Rose Hips Tea

So what does rose hips tea taste like? Well, the taste is slightly tart with floral undertones. It is not a citric tartness, more like a floral tartness if that makes any sense to you. To sweeten it you can use a little sugar or honey. There are some health benefits as this is a natural source of vitamin C.  

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Beverage

Cuisine: American

Keyword: caffeine free, healthy tea, rose tea, vitamin c

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 2

Calories: 34kcal

Author: Analida Braeger

Ingredients

• 2 cups boiling water
• 2 Tbsp rose hips dried
• 1 tsp honey optional

Instructions

• Place a tea ball containing the dried rose hips into a 16 oz. Mason jar. Pour the boiling water over it. Quickly cap the jar and allow to steep for about 3-5 minutes.
• Pour into teacups.
• Sweeten with honey or sugar. I like to use 1 small cube of sugar or 1 tsp. of honey per cup of tea.

Nutrition

Calories: 34kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Sodium: 13mg | Potassium: 63mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 640IU | Vitamin C: 62.9mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 0.2mg