Herbal teas

[pogi]

11 hours ago, JAHS said:

Any beverage that contains ingredients harmful to the body should be avoided." (Letter from D. O. McKay, H. B. Brown, N. E. Tanner, The First Presidency, 1968)

I agree.

[Bernard Gui]

22 minutes ago, ksfisher said:

I'm thinking my attitude would improve if I was told that the alternative was drinking sagebrush tea.

Oh yeah.

[Gray]

13 hours ago, Avatar4321 said:

Ever since I was a boy I was told that herbal teas were not included in the teas proscribed by the word of wisdom.

do we have any specific instructions on whether that’s accurate or what qualifies as herbal?

Nope, there has been no official clarification. Lots of people think there has been because everyone says herbal tea is okay.

[Gray]

10 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

I don't like floral flavours (including that abomination, Turkish 'delight'!). When I lived in Indonesia, one of my favourites was Jahi Wangi (literally 'fragrant ginger'). It's sweet and spicy and contains just three ingredients: sugar, ginger and sea salt.

Note that the Indonesian word for tea, teh, occurs nowhere on the packaging because the product is not made from tea. I've occasionally seen this sold in export shops as 'ginger tea'. English is so confusing!

That sounds amazing!

[JAHS]

23 minutes ago, pogi said:

I agree.

These are bad too. People are drinking to many energy drinks. There have been hundreds of deaths linked to them, some of whom have been children.

[The Nehor]

12 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

You're drinking the wrong kind ...

One of my office mates recently introduced me to Korean 'honey and citron tea'. (It's imported, so that's actually what it says on the label.) It's basically a citron marmalade that one dissolves in water. So good!

People are always telling me that and giving me some but it still takes like water with grass boiled in it.

I prefer my diabetes shakes I make out of whole milk, cocoa powder, ice cream, and caramel sauce.

[mnn727]

14 hours ago, strappinglad said:

Quick poll: which of us pronounce the "H" in the word ' herbal ' or ' herbs ' ?

Not I

[mnn727]

I  have see herbal teas in the cafeteria of Temples

[The Nehor]

3 hours ago, pogi said:

I agree.

You can have my sugar when you pry it from my weak feeble hands.

[ksfisher]

2 hours ago, Gray said:

Nope, there has been no official clarification. Lots of people think there has been because everyone says herbal tea is okay.

Herbal teas are not really tea.  From Wikipedia:

"Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub (bush) native to East Asia."

"The term herbal tea refers to drinks not made from Camellia sinensis: infusions of fruit, leaves, or other parts of the plant, such as steeps of rosehip, chamomile, or rooibos. These are sometimes[8] called tisanes or herbal infusions to prevent confusion with tea made from the tea plant."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea

I don't think clarification is really needed.

Edited January 22, 2019 by ksfisher

[Gray]

6 minutes ago, ksfisher said:

Herbal teas are not really tea.  From Wikipedia:

"Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub (bush) native to East Asia."

"The term herbal tea refers to drinks not made from Camellia sinensis: infusions of fruit, leaves, or other parts of the plant, such as steeps of rosehip, chamomile, or rooibos. These are sometimes[8] called tisanes or herbal infusions to prevent confusion with tea made from the tea plant."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea

I don't think clarification is really needed.

I agree that's a reasonable interpretation. But in terms of "official" doctrine that's a folk interpretation. Herbal tea is also tea according to definition 3a. Then again, so are bikkies.

 

tea

\ ˈtē

Definition of tea

1a : a widely cultivated shrub (Camellia sinensis of the family Theaceae, the tea family) native to China, northern India, and southeastern Asia and having glossy green leaves and fragrant white flowers

b : the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the tea plant prepared for use in beverages usually by immediate curing by heat or by such curing following a period of fermentation

2 : an aromatic beverage prepared from tea leaves by soaking them in boiling water

3a : any of various plants used like tea also : a drink prepared by soaking their parts (such as leaves or roots) and used medicinally or as a beverage mint tea an herbal tea

b : tea rose

4a : refreshments usually including tea with sandwiches, crackers, or cookies served in late afternoon

b : a reception, snack, or meal at which tea is served

[ksfisher]

3 minutes ago, Gray said:

I agree that's a reasonable interpretation. But in terms of "official" doctrine that's a folk interpretation. Herbal tea is also tea according to definition 3a. Then again, so are bikkies.

 

tea

\ ˈtē

Definition of tea

1a : a widely cultivated shrub (Camellia sinensis of the family Theaceae, the tea family) native to China, northern India, and southeastern Asia and having glossy green leaves and fragrant white flowers

b : the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the tea plant prepared for use in beverages usually by immediate curing by heat or by such curing following a period of fermentation

2 : an aromatic beverage prepared from tea leaves by soaking them in boiling water

3a : any of various plants used like tea also : a drink prepared by soaking their parts (such as leaves or roots) and used medicinally or as a beverage mint tea an herbal tea

b : tea rose

4a : refreshments usually including tea with sandwiches, crackers, or cookies served in late afternoon

b : a reception, snack, or meal at which tea is served

So if we're just sticking to the dictionary then definition 4a applies as well.  Sandwiches, crackers or cookies served in the late afternoon, if tea is also being served, as also considered tea.

Definition 1 is what is meant in the Word of Wisdom.  And, as has been mentioned earlier, other languages use different words for what English calls an herbal tea.

[Gray]

5 minutes ago, ksfisher said:

So if we're just sticking to the dictionary then definition 4a applies as well.  Sandwiches, crackers or cookies served in the late afternoon, if tea is also being served, as also considered tea.

Yes, that's what I was saying.

 

5 minutes ago, ksfisher said:

Definition 1 is what is meant in the Word of Wisdom.  And, as has been mentioned earlier, other languages use different words for what English calls an herbal tea.

Actually, most likely the intention behind the WOW had something to do with the temperature of the drink. But again, there is no current official guidance.

[Hamba Tuhan]

4 hours ago, Gray said:

That sounds amazing!

It really is. I have no idea where in the world you live, but I remember seeing it in at least one Southeast Asian grocery in America. 

[Hamba Tuhan]

Duplicate.

Edited January 22, 2019 by Hamba Tuhan

[let’s roll]

13 hours ago, Bernard Gui said:

I like Brigham tea. http://www.herballegacy.com/Brigham_Tea.html  

My mother always had a nice cold pitcher of sagebrush tea in the fridge. It was a pioneer remedy made by boiling sagebrush leaves and stems that cured just about everything from acne to a bad attitude. I had to drink a glassful every day. No cream or sugar. http://www.angelfire.com/art/nativeherb/sagebrush.html

 

And all this time I thought your laudable temperament had a spiritual underpinning...now I know it’s just sagebrush tea. 😀☕️

[pogi]

1 hour ago, The Nehor said:

You can have my sugar when you pry it from my weak feeble hands.

With the price of insulin surging to unaffordable limits, that may not be long... Just sayin'

[Kenngo1969]

17 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

... Where I live, any steeped beverage that does not contain the tea plant is, by law, labelled an 'infusion'. One of my favourite infusions is made from orange peel and cinnamon. ...

That sounds delicious.  

[Kenngo1969]

3 hours ago, mnn727 said:

I  have see herbal teas in the cafeteria of Temples

That might be a good clue!  

[Hamba Tuhan]

5 hours ago, The Nehor said:

People are always telling me that and giving me some but it still takes like water with grass boiled in it.

That's exactly how tea tastes. You've reminded me of what herbal infusions (teas) tended to be like in America. I think they're overwhelmingly designed for people who want to be drinking tea but aren't for some reason (maybe trying to steer clear of caffeine?). I don't know if you can get infusions from other countries where you live. Do you have Twinings, by any chance? This is my current favourite of theirs:

It has four ingredients: rooibos, cinnamon, orange essence and orange peel. None of which tastes like twigs or weeds.

Quote

I prefer my diabetes shakes I make out of whole milk, cocoa powder, ice cream, and caramel sauce.

I'm guessing then you wouldn't like the hot chocolate I'm drinking right now: fat-free milk powder and cocoa dissolved in boiling water ...

Edited January 22, 2019 by Hamba Tuhan

[Hamba Tuhan]

6 hours ago, Gray said:

Nope, there has been no official clarification. Lots of people think there has been because everyone says herbal tea is okay.

As I intimated above, this is primarily a linguistic problem that exists in English. In other languages, where herbal teas are not called 'tea', Saints don't even have these discussions. For example, the 'ginger tea' that I mentioned above is marketed in the Anglosphere as 'instant ginger tea':

But the language on the packet in Indonesian reads, 'minuman serbuk jahe', literally, 'drink powder ginger'. The word teh ('tea') appears nowhere on the packaging, and no one in Indonesia would refer to the resulting beverage as 'tea'. We shouldn't need 'official clarification' to tell us that beverages not made from tea and not called tea in most of the world's languages are not tea. Just as we should not need a policy to tell us that root beer isn't beer.

[Calm]

41 minutes ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

think they're overwhelmingly designed for people who want to be drinking tea 

Half of them on the shelves seem for flavor so they are heavy on mint or fruit flavoring (which is more like juice that tea probably) or more recently vanilla and other unusual for tea flavour (caramel for example).  The other half is medicinal such as for sore throats and coughs or digestion, but are too weak if you follow directions from what I have read.  I always use two bags or three ifor a cough, etc.  You (speaking generically to people who like to use herbal tea for medical reasons, but who don't treat it like medicine) need to be careful though and always read ingredients with the mixes as some can affect you in negative ways.  Licorice is often added to throats aids while it can lead to too high blood pressure and too low potassium.  White willow bark is where they got aspirin from.  Also if you are prone to allergies to plants, be careful.  I have to avoid goldenseal.

Edited January 23, 2019 by Calm

[Calm]

51 minutes ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

That's exactly how tea tastes. You've reminded me of what herbal infusions (teas) tended to be like in America. I think they're overwhelmingly designed for people who want to be drinking tea but aren't for some reason (maybe trying to steer clear of caffeine?). I don't know if you can get infusions from other countries where you live. Do you have Twinings, by any chance? This is my current favourite of theirs:

It has four ingredients: rooibos, cinnamon, orange essence and orange peel. None of which tastes like twigs or weeds.

I'm guessing then you wouldn't like the hot chocolate I'm drinking right now: fat-free milk powder and cocoa dissolved in boiling water ...

I have seen Twinings in several stores...unless I am flashing back to Canada, but I could swear it was at Walmart when I was checking teas for a tea party with my granddaughters.

I have gone off cinnamon lately, sad to say.  Still love nutmeg, add fresh ground to milk with a touch of vanilla for a midnight snack.  Warm it up if I want it really relaxing.  Touch of agave if I got the cravings.

Well worth it, people, to get a nutmeg grinder if you like nutmeg just for the smell.  Custard with fresh ground nutmeg is the easiest cooked dessert in the world practically (just make sure to set the dish in a pan of water) if your oven isn't prone to inconsistent heating (even tasty if curdled).  And high in protein and you can lower the sugar if concerned about calories.  You just have to be patient while it cooks.

Must be dinner time.

Edited January 23, 2019 by Calm

[Gray]

32 minutes ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

As I intimated above, this is primarily a linguistic problem that exists in English. In other languages, where herbal teas are not called 'tea', Saints don't even have these discussions. For example, the 'ginger tea' that I mentioned above is marketed in the Anglosphere as 'instant ginger tea':

But the language on the packet in Indonesian reads, 'minuman serbuk jahe', literally, 'drink powder ginger'. The word teh ('tea') appears nowhere on the packaging, and no one in Indonesia would refer to the resulting beverage as 'tea'. We shouldn't need 'official clarification' to tell us that beverages not made from tea and not called tea in most of the world's languages are not tea. Just as we should not need a policy to tell us that root beer isn't beer.

If I can find some company to relabel some Earl Grey tea as "English Comfort Beverage" will that make it kosher?

[Hamba Tuhan]

44 minutes ago, Gray said:

If I can find some company to relabel some Earl Grey tea as "English Comfort Beverage" will that make it kosher?

What will the ingredients list read?

I don't know why you're so invested in confusing this point. If there's tea in your 'tea', then it's tea.

I have a vague memory of a product in America that looks like chewing tobacco and even comes in tins like chewing tobacco, but it's really finely shredded dried meat. If there's tobacco in your chew, then it's tobacco. If there's no tobacco in your chew, then it's not.

ETA: Found it!

Edited January 23, 2019 by Hamba Tuhan