Essiac is a herbal tea first found by Indians. They used it for different purposes like rejuvenation and stress reduction. This tea was however popularized by a Canadian nurse Rene Caisse and she named it after herself. Itâs just a reversal of her name, Caisse ( Essiac). It is very useful for curing cancer as it contains herbs like sheep sorrel, rhubarb root, slippery elm bark and burdock root. It is best bought in the liquid (concentrated) form to ensure highest potency usage or you can buy it in herbal form also and brew it at home. Essiac tea is good for detoxification and to strengthen the immune system. If you’ve bought Essiac tea in herbal form, here’s the process of how to prepare it. Read on.
Complexity Level: Moderate
Time Required: 5 to 10 minutes
Resources Required:
1. Stainless steel pot along with its lid
2. Canning jars
3. Lids and rings
4. Funnel or a measuring cup
Instructions:
1. Boiling the water
Firstly, boil the water (approximately about 4 liters or one gallon). You should boil the water for about 15 minutes if itâs chlorinated water else if it’s un-chlorinated water, you just need to let it on heat till it starts boiling . You can add extra water also (2-3 cups) as the herbs can utilize that water for absorption.
2. Putting Essiac tea herbs into the boiling water
In boiling water, add 2 ounces of Essiac tea herbs. Cover it with a lid and let it get boiled for about ten minutes. Make sure you donât overdo the boiling as that would bring bitterness in the taste.
3. Letting the tea rest for 12 hours and Re-heating
Once 10-minutes boiling is over, you can simply remove the outer layer of tea from the sides of pan and let the tea stay covered. Now, you should leave it stay covered at a warm place, most probably at room temperature for about 12 hours. Now, after 12 hours, you need to re-heat the tea so that you can see it steaming. Remember, you should not boil the tea twice.
4. Leaving the tea undisturbed and placing the funnel
The tea should be left undisturbed for about 10-15 minutes thereby letting the herbs settle down at the bottom of heating pan. And then, you should place the funnels and strainers over the top of jars which would be used to store the tea.
5. Pouring the tea and refrigerating
You can pour the tea down the funnel so that the liquid part can fall into the jars and let the jars rest till the time they cool off. Thereafter, you can refrigerate them.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. How long does Essiac tea last?
If you havenât sterilized the tea while preparing it, then the tea will last maximum for about two weeks as it gets spoiled when kept in the refrigerator for a period longer than two weeks.
2. How can Essiac tea be sterilized?
Essiac tea can be made to last longer by sterilizing the jars, lids or air tight containers by dipping them in boiling water for about 15-20 minutes. Storing the tea in sterilized jars helps in increasing its self life.
Quick Tips:
1. Avoid heating the tea on microwave as it is heat sensitive.
2. While making tea for yourself, you can simply add 1 or 2 ounces of tea in the cup and add hot water to it.
3. The essiac tea is most beneficial when taken in an empty stomach.
4. You should drink lots of water along with the intake of Essiac tea as it’s detoxifying in nature.
Things To Watch Out For:
1. Over-boiling of the tea can spoil its essence.
2. Sterilization is a simple process which must be used to increase the life of tea.
3. The amount of daily consumption of essiac tea should be around ¼ of a cup.
