2 questions-Tea and raw sugar

[snowposy]

I know Alissa doesn't want us to drink coffee because of the caffine but would decaffinated tea be okay? How about green tea?
I saw that I can buy raw sugar, would that be acceptable? The sugar is not something that I would use often but if the need arose could I use it?
TIA
Keep smiling :D
Snowposy

[berrienoire]

You know...there are tons of ways to answer this, but here's my input... :) I won't tell you that you can't have or use anything. Everything you choose will depend upon where you are on your path.

Perhaps you can try using herbal teas, such as chamomile. There are lots of different herbal blends available, and many are flavorful enough that you may not need or want to add any additional sweetness to them. You can also try making "ginger tea" by using fresh ginger, sliced or grated.

Juliano also has a couple of "teas" in his book, if you are interested.

Here. I'll post them for you here:

Tea #1
4 cups of Rejuvelac or filtered water
1/2 cup diced apples
1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/2 cup unpeeled oranges, diced
1 tablespoon minced ginger

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher. Place in the hot sun for one hour or soak indoors for a maximum of three hours, then refrigerate.


Tea #2
4 cups of Rejuvelac or filtered water
1/2 cup apple, diced
1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/2 cup unpeeled orange, diced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1/2 cup mint or fresh cilantro
1/2 cup any other herbs (rosemary, fresh thyme, sage etc.)

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher. Place in hot sun for six hours or soak indoors for a maximum of 18 hours, then refrigerate.


When it comes to "raw" sugar, what brand are you talking about? I use honey mostly, but there are other options such as agave nectar or stevia.

[rawpriestess]

I know Alissa doesn't want us to drink coffee because of the caffine but would decaffinated tea be okay? How about green tea?
I saw that I can buy raw sugar, would that be acceptable? The sugar is not something that I would use often but if the need arose could I use it?
TIA
Keep smiling :D
Snowposy
Hi teas are not raw, and even green tea has caffeine.

I use fresh mint and camomile that I pick in the meadow and our gardens and add warm water, or drop them in a jar filled with water and place them in the sun, when I wish to drink them, I either warm them in the dehydrator, or on the stove to finger warm, or I add a dash of cayenne, which really makes them warm in my mouth.

Raw sugar, is not raw unfortunately, not our meaning of raw anyway.

what most people use is either raw honey, if they are beegan, or agave nectar, which is a cactus, or dates pitted, or stevia leaf or powder, or sometimes ripe bananas or other sweeteners.

As far as I know, pretty much any type of sugar is not raw.

hope this helps.

[Sharon in Colorado]

I use a (sundried) white tea and hot water. It probably is too hot and cooks the tea, but you can try it with cold water or make a sun tea out of it.

Then I use agave as a sweetener.

White tea is from the same plant as green and black tea. Black tea is fully fermented and green isn't, but I think the black is roasted while green is dried at a high heat.

[eachpeachpearplum]

I must admmit i am a tea drinker and I have always used just a pinch of sugar but I now use agave and am happy with that :p

[SamuelWilson]

On the subject of teas, I just gave them up. You can make your own teas using dried plants, flowers, etc..

If you absolutely must have tea, then white tea is as close to raw as teas get, but even then you trust the person you bought it from did not heat it beyond the critical temperature.

As far as agave is concerned, agave is not raw unless it specifically says so. Alissa sells raw agave on her site. Also, agave has a special ingredient added to make it more digestable and I do not know that special ingredient. The manufacturer told me that it was vegan and raw, but would not disclose the actual ingredient. I do believe it is safe though. There are not a lot of people making the raw agave, so I am under the impression that the manufacturer just doesn't want to disclose the ingredient to prevent the competition from copying the recipe.

[snowposy]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply to my thread about tea and raw sugar they were very informative and I appreciate all of the advice.
I intend to always use honey as a sweetener but I just thought that if the need for sugar ever came up I could use the raw sugar but with the advice that I've been given I will not use it for any reason. As far as tea goes I think I will try the Tea #1 recipe it sounds delicious.
Thanks again all
Snowposy :D

[Raw_Medic]

Snowposy,
I'm not sure what kind of flavor you're looking for from your tea, or if it's the hotness you're looking for...I spent a summer in the carribean some years ago and we use to do a lot of lime bud tea. Of course this was a bit more cooked, but you could do the same thing with warmed water, we would take the leaves of the plant and the little lime buds, zest the buds and throw in the zest and the zested bud into the water, it was awesome! We used sugar then (pre raw days), but now I would just use raw agave. It had this kinda tea flavor...plus the lime of course...it was wonderful.

I'm actually glad you reminded me of this...I may have to go buy me a lime tree to do exactly this.