A Wonderful Tea: Orange Peel Tea

A cup of orange peel tea in the morning is like beginning a wonderful day laid back by the beach. The water gently rolls back and forth on the shore. You feel the warmth and blessing of the sun upon your skin. In the distance, you can see a lonely fisherman casting his net. The sky is a beautiful blue and you can hear the sea birds sing a song about how beautiful the day is. While the breeze blow all around you, it is almost time to start praising the the lord.

OK! That was just a little musing...

It's time to restart the Trini recipe machine once again (time to dust out the cobwebs... oil the gears...add some fuel lol!!) and start to pump out some delicious Trini creations that I have grown up on. Speaking about growing up...This simple recipe I'm about to show you was a favourite of ours when you got fed up of 'Normal tea" or when you had gas pain. But, that was not all. My mother used candied orange peel in her black cakes as well. She used to cut up the peel into small pieces and boil it in sugar to add to her fruits that was soaking in a jar of Sherry brandy whole year. But that will have to be another post. If I forget just remind me, OK?

Anyhow, back to Orange peel tea...The peel has, for want of a better word, a very fragrant, citrusy aroma when boiled that I find refreshing. So how do you dry the orange peel? Well, that's simple: after you peel the orange just hang the orange peel in a cool dry place or if you can't wait just put it out in the sun which by the way we have lots these days here in Trinidad. What I did was to store it in an air tight bottle to keep it fresh.

Benefits of Orange Peel Tea

It seems that We Trinis are not the only ones who know about the benefits of orange peel tea. The chinese have been using it for ages as well for the cold and to aid digestion. Based on this I can see why it has been so effective for gas pain. You can read more about it here.

Other than its medicinal use a little further research online has yielded some other fantastic uses for orange peel. Some of them are totally new to me so I myself would be heading over here to take a read. So while I'm reading about the benefits of orange peel and its many uses, why don't you try a nice relaxing cup of orange peel tea. Enjoy!

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How to Make Orange Peel Tea

Orange Peel Tea

Ingredients:

2 -3 pieces of orange peel *
1 ½ cups water
sugar to taste
milk to taste

*You can add more if you want it stronger, but be careful: too much will make it bitter.

Direction:

Place the pieces of orange peel in a small pot of water. Bring to a boil.

Pour in a teacup. Notice the yellow tinge. Sweeten to taste. Add milk if desired.

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Orange Peel Tea Tips:

• If you live in a cold place, drying orange peel might be difficult. You can dry the orange peel in a preheated oven for a few minutes until it is hard and curl slightly. Leave the oven door ajar. Remove and place in an air tight container.

• You can substitute the sugar with one of the following sweeteners: raw honey, whole leaf stevia, or erythritol (which ever is readily available in your area).

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See how simple it is. Of course, you could experiment by adding some grated ginger, or a cinnamon stick, or a bay leaf, or even a lime bud to your orange peel tea - the world of opportunity awaits.

By the way, The Simply Trini Cooking Cookbook is now available at Amazon in Kindle and soft cover book. The cookbook contains over 600 recipes. Order your copy today!