Drinking herbal teas is very much part of the Lebanese culinary mores and traditionally herbs were dried and kept in the pantry for such a purpose.
I found stacks and stacks of large bags filled with dried mint, sage, camomile, flower petals imported from Lebanon or Jordan or Syria, and sold at the Mid-Eastern store.
Sage, for instance, is native to the Mediterranean; it can be made into an infusion; it helps with gums and oral health and a host of other conditions.
To learn more about the benefits of sage, click here.
METHOD:
- Boil one liter (4 cups) of water. Place 20 g (3/4 of an ounce) sage leaves in a pot and pour the boiling water over them. Steep for a few minutes, strain and drink.
25 Comments
hey stopping by quickly to let you know I am trying your couscous salad with dates, oranges and chickpeas tonight..
sweetlife
I’m not a huge fan of sage when used in cooking, but I just love sage tea with a little honey. It’s good for many ailments, it particularly helps with abdominal pains.
first time seeing sage being used in tea.
Joumana, another parallel…sage tea! It is consumed in Greece and we call sage faskomilo. Personally, I like it in cooking more than as a tea. You?
Peter, I force myself to drink it, because it is bitter!
Anita: I should try it with honey, it probably would help!
I have the same post on sage tea a while back! =)
That’s because our sage plant seems to be the only thing thriving in the garden.
..you are so right, tea is not just a staple drink ,its an expression of love ,culture and class throughout the Sham/Levant,, although styles may vary from region to region but mint and sage are the herbs most beloved and anise,, most steep the sage or mint leaves along with high quality loose black tea..much better.. pour and add suger to taste..some boil the sugar with the water and then steep…sipping a cup makes you feel like your on the shores of the Mediterranean watching the sunset
Sage is used in tea in Turkey, too. Never in cooking. Our friends look at us strangely when we cook with it. It’s name in Turkish is Adaçayı (Island tea) so I guess they’re wondering why we’re cooking with tea!
I like to drink it as a tea with lemon when not feeling very well. It’s comforting.
Interesting Brew!!
This is new! Sounds really interesting.
Not sure the sage would be cup of tea
but interesting to learn about the benefits. Funny you post this the day my mulberry tea arrived which I ordered after your post about it.
Very interesting tea..
I love sage: fresh or dried, but I never made tea with it!! Thanks!
When my hubby and I were in Damascus with his family, his mom would make mieramieh every night after dinner, sort of like a digestive. I got so used to the flavor, I still make it, and I even add a little dried sage to black tea…love it!
Love your presentation too. Love the evil eye tea cup! I should try sage in my tea… Never had sage tea before… did not know the health benefits either. Thank you!
Sage is a great little herb, smells great and it’s purifying along with its sisters in the mint family. oil of sage is effective against salmonella. Deepak Chopra recommends it for excessive accumulation of toxic, morbid emotions. Tea is warm, soothing, and healthy, excellent for sore throats. Your guests will love watching the sage leaves dancing in the glass. Thank you Joumana, It’s quite different from ordinary.
Never had sage tea before….my mother-in-law gave me some dried sage and since then it just belongs to the pantry closet.
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
ANgie
Sylvia: You have no idea how much I appreciate your input, all the more so because you are a dietician and so generous with your professional knowledge on this blog. THANK YOU!!!!!
J’aurai au moins appris le nom de la sauge en arabe.
A bientôt.
Thank you Joumana for your generous remarks I am humbled. It is my pleasure to thank you for inspiring me with all your elegant recipes, you are appreciated beyond words.
My grandmother was a big fan of sage tea which we call faskomilo in Greek. She absolutely adored it and I always remember her returning from her trips to our island of Kalymnos with bags stuffed with the fragrant leaves tucked throughout her suitcases.
Curious. There’s tons of sage growing on my stoop. Your tea recipe calls for using dried leaves. Can fresh sage leaves be used to make tea?
Essential oil extracts of Sage have been recently discovered to have cognitive (including memory) enhancing properties. More studies for its utilization in Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative dementias are currently underway. Being in neurology, i was never a big fan of integrative medicine, until as a part of a departmental exercise i wrote a comprehensive book chapter on natural products in Alzheimer’s. Well all i can say now is that it s whole different world out there waiting to be explored……
Loved your blog and bookmarked it
I have a sage bush in my back garden I hardly use for my cooking. I want to make more use of the plant. And I was in search for more information about making sage tea when I was led to your lovely blog. Thank you for the posting. There’s a cup of sage tea now in front of me..
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[...] Here‘s some more info, also here and there’s a more traditional way of preperation here. After drinking, you can just throw the leaves and rinse the french press with water, no need to [...]