Absinthe Tea!
A while ago I was really excited to find that an ancestor of mine was the one who originally developed the recipe for Absinthe. I also learned that it was originally a tea or tincture. I make teas so I was interested to try to make this. I came up with a tea that I call “Mother Henriot’s Elixir” That was what Absinthe was originally called, but in French it was “Mere Henriod’s Elixir”, my maiden name is Henriot. I am trying to bring back the tea time ritual and this tea takes a little more prep time. I boil the seeds then pour that water into a filter with the herbs to steep. It tastes just like absinthe, minus the alcohol. I’m super excited about it and would love it if you would check out my link…
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/916031082/absinthe-tea-mother-henriots-elixir-by-terra-stell It’s been great for stomach and digestive issues, plus I like licorice so I love the taste. We’ve recently discovered these herbs are supposed to help with high blood sugar and as my husband is diabetic, we’ve been experimenting. So far, good results. (P.S. I am not a doctor and I’m not making medical claims..but we do find it interesting and hopeful)
Its kinda like a mixture of herbs The trinity that make up “green lady” includes: grand wormwood, green anise seeds , and fennel to go in to boil. Serve it up with some sugar and /or cream lay back on a comfy chair and enjoy!
Yes, very similar! I boil the anise and fennel then steep with the wormwood, hyssop and lemon balm.
That’s cool I saw an absinthe coffee when I was in world market last week that completely intrigued me.
You know that artemisia (Wormwood) can be pretty dangerous? It is natural yes and it has been used as flavouring but be careful with dosages and who you serve it to ( pregnant women for example). A few (or many) “natural” herbs which might be “good” for something can be pretty dangerous, depending on dosage and conditions. This is not to be too scary, just feeling obliged to mention that artemisia IS dangerous, be careful with dosages.
DJB, I saw some absinthe coffee liquor and absinthe chocolate just recently, I’d love to try them both!
cteresa, I agree many herbs can be dangerous. I think all to often people think that because something is natural it means it’s safe. Not true! However, Wormwood , although a great aromatic, is ridiculously bitter. The main reason why sugar is added to Absinthe, and I also do with this tea. The bitterness I think helps keep the amount of wormwood used to a minimum. It would be undrinkable otherwise. I use approximately 1/8 of a tsp to make 4-6 cups of tea.
I would love to develop an absinthe fountain, in reverse for this tea..Instead of it dripping ice water into a cup, it would drip hot water infused with the seeds into the cup that contains a “spoon” or filter for the leaves and sugar.
I am making “Tea Jewelry”, though. I’ve created a “hatpin” that serves as a holder for the filter in the cup (I use the mini minit filters) then the pin can be worn as a pendant. I have other ideas too…now to just be able to develop them! Argh!
Oh and Anthony, thanks ( : I figured it would either be Wormwood Queen or Absinthe Minded..lol.
Ok, just be careful – and always keep in mind that some people might be more sensitive to some chemicals due to preexisting conditions or medication. And you probably know this, but I got to mention it, be careful. Toxicity is not just a matter of an acute dose, toxic compounds can cause cumulative damage even at very low dosages, much below critical doses, if taken very frequently.
kinda like cloves but you got to consume a whole lot before you kick the bucket! Eugenol, the primary chemical in cloves and cinnamon is toxic at does in 5ml. But who would consume that much an amount not unless its all doused with eugenol. The same goes with wormwood as a publication for which I will quote:
Thirteen-week repeated dose toxicity study of wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) extract in rats.Muto T, Watanabe T, Okamura M, Moto M, Kashida Y, Mitsumori K.
Source
Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai-cho, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan.
Abstract
Wormwood, Artemisia absinthium, is a very bitter plant, and its extract has been used as food additives such as seasonings for food and drinks. A 13-week repeated dose toxicity study of wormwood extract was performed in both sexes of Wistar Hannover (GALAS) rats. Rats were divided into 4 groups consisting of 10 males and 10 females each, and were given water containing 0, 0.125, 0.5, or 2% wormwood extract. All rats had survived at the end of the study, and no changes indicating obvious toxicities that are attributable to the treatment of wormwood extract were observed in the body weights, hematological and serum biochemical examinations, organ weights, and histopathological examinations. Based on the results of the present study, the NOAEL (no-observed-adverse-effect-level) of wormwood extract of Wistar Hannover rats was estimated to be 2% (equivalent to 1.27 g/kg/day in males and 2.06 g/kg/day in females) or more."
A caution to be taken no doubt and to have as much moderation without over doing things, but have to admit it is tempting especially for chai I tend to go over powering with cloves or cinnamon. But don’t let this small problem stop you from enjoying alot of the world of spices which is quite medicinal and therapeutic. Everything at points are dangerous if taken at larges amounts , moderation applies and no a gallon of eugenol is overkill!(I keep telling that to myself but Chai has ultimately enthralled me! lol )
Cheers!
Eugenol is not the only chemical substance in artemisia, or even the most notorious. I was thinking mostly of thujone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thujone
(just the wikipedia, I know, I know, but it got links).
I’m afraid I have to ask—Does Absinthe Tea have an inebriating effect with the wormwood alone or does the alcohol need to be present?
The inebriating effect is supposedly from the alcohol. Artemisia oil ( from a short googling around) seems to be able to cause allucinations or seizures in very high doses – I think a tea will not have much of the oil anyway, I was just alerting to the dangers, just in case.
Absinthe has never been banned in my country, I think nobody actually likes it enough to drink it so they never bothered banning it I guess. Now most of the production is mostly sold to tourists or ocasionally people trying it. I have had it, and it´s not particularly inebriating, no more than any normal liqueur IMO. Just that particular taste, which is IMO an acquired taste (and not a taste I see much the point of acquiring!)
I’ve always been a fan of licorice, so I like the flavor. I like lots of strong flavors.
The tea is not inebriating. Any effects like that I think are due to the high alcohol content of absinthe, the liquor. In the past the less expensive absinthe was made with copper added to it for a cheap way to add the green color and it was often distilled in copper containers. There were issues with this, obviously, it poisoned the system and it caused a kind of madness. That contributed to the ban and the hallucinogenic hype. The main reason for the ban however was because the vineyards in France during that time suffered great loss due to a blight and the wine industry was already tanking. So they joined together with the abolitionists to demonize absinthe.The tea is quite different. The flavor is the same because I use the same basic herbs although nowadays everyone has their own recipe and some add quite a few different plants. It is also a golden color, not green. Some of the herbs brewed separately have a pretty yellow green color, but the anise and fennel give it a beautiful golden tone as I’ve stuck to the main historical herbs. I can only say that after drinking a couple of cups of this tea I have felt a weird kind of buzz. Not an alcohol buzz or a caffeine buzz, but a strange kind of clarity and alertness. A few others have mentioned this too. One person said he had strange or intense dreams after drinking it at night. But the effects are really not particularly great. I think it depends on a persons chemistry.
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