Honey citrus mint tea: the warm cup for the day you feel under the weather

There are days inside this protocol when you feel outright unwell, not just restricted, and on those days the last thing you have energy for is another decision about what is safe to eat. This tea asks nothing of you. Warm water, juice you already have, tea bags you steep and lift back out. 10 minutes, and something tended lands in your hands.

Warm lemon and orange give the cup its brightness, and both are a source of vitamin C, which is involved in immune function and in collagen formation, quiet support on a day your body is already working hard. Mint keeps it clean, a peach tea rounds it into something that tastes a little indulgent, and a spoon of honey, added to taste, ties the whole cup together without turning it sweet.

Wrap both hands around the mug before you drink it. This is not a meal to build a plate for or arrange with care, it is simpler than that: a few quiet minutes of being looked after, by yourself, on a day that asked you to look after yourself anyway.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups filtered water
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 bags caffeine-free mint herbal tea
• 2 bags caffeine-free peach herbal tea
• Honey, to taste

Method

Bring the water and the lemon and orange juice to a gentle simmer in a small pot.

Take it off the heat and add the mint and peach tea bags. Cover the pot and let everything steep for at least five minutes, longer if you want it stronger.

Lift out the tea bags. Pour into mugs and stir in honey to taste.

A note on the iced version

For a cold version, skip the stove entirely. Steep one mint bag and one peach bag in 1 1/2 cups of lemonade overnight in the fridge, then sweeten with honey in the glass. It makes a bright, gentle iced tea for warm days.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*