I feel like I’ve been chasing cold, spitty early Spring rain around the country these past few weeks. From New York to Boston to Chicago and Seattle it’s been one chilly and bone-damp adventure. I’m not complaining… but I will thoroughly enjoy and enthusiastically welcome the big bright sunny days that are surely in our future.
In the meantime, while Spring gathers its momentum and gets itself sorted… we still need the comforts of warm mugs and gentle tonics.
See: this simple tisane.
New to my vocabulary but somehow known to my cooking brain, a tisane is tea made with, not tea bags, but fresh herbs and spices- typically caffeine free.
This lemon and sage rendition is a morning tonic: bright and cleansing with lemon + comforting and earthly with sage.
Here’s to simplicity and comfort going into this fine weekend.
I hope you are cozy and well.
To start, put on a pot of water to boil. Simple enough.
Gather some fresh sage. Rub the leaves. They’re fuzzy. It’s comforting.
Peel the yellow peel from a lemon.
Spoon some honey.
Into a pot with fresh lemon juice.
Hot water. Let it sit and steep.
It’s not like you need me to tell you how to make tea, but maybe the pictures will zen you into making your own.
Bright and invigorating and comforting; perfect for days when warm Spring weather feels like it should be closer than it actually is. It’s coming… but in the meantime, this.
Photos with Jon Melendez.
Print
Simple Lemon and Sage Tisane
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 5
- Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
- one small handful fresh sage leaves
- one lemon
- 3 cups water, boiling
- 4 teaspoons raw honey, or to taste
Instructions
- Place sage leaves in a tea pot.
- Use a potato peeler to to peel the yellow peel from the lemon, trying to avoid the white pith. Place in the tea pot.
- Squeeze the juice from the lemon into the tea pot.
- Add boiled water, cover and let steep for 5 minutes.
- Divide between two tea cups and stir in as much honey as feels good to you.
- Enjoy warm!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2
16 Responses
Does it taste something like lemon tea?
Being from New England, this sounds amazing. Warm mugs are certainly comforting this time of year.
wow. “this is the most delicious thing i ever have had” said the 17 year old studying for hell of AP exams.
thanks for bringing this bright spot into our evening.
What lovely pictures!
This looks like the perfect pair to a rainy afternoon :-)
Lovely, soothing, relaxing. Sigh. Thank you, Joy
wow, this looks amazing. I’ll definitely try this recipe tomorrow x
Is it just me or does the last couple of posts not load?
I love the idea of there being a specific word to represent “teas” that don’t actually have tea leaves involved!
Also, I love the idea of this drink. It’s still chilly and not quite spring here in southeastern Michigan, so I may have to try this this weekend!
Come to Florida, it’s basically summer here now. We only get rain in July, and it never spits – it pours.
honey lemon tea is one of my go to comfort tisanes (though i had no idea it was a tisane until now!), and the addition of sage makes it sound that much more complex and cozy.
Love this, and love your comment that “It’s not like you need me to tell you how to make tea, but maybe the pictures will zen you into making your own.” Totally zened out over here.
What a lovely, simple idea! I can’t wait to try this.
Hope to see you in warm Austin in April. Margaritas then…
The French love their tisanes, especially before going to bed.
Thanks, Joy :)