Ingredients
Herbs, choose one or two
- 4 stalksfresh lemongrass, bruised and cut into lengths
- a handful of fresh mint
- a handful of lemon balm
- 2 stalksfever grass
Also
- 1 litrewater
- a strip of fresh ginger
- a piece of cinnamon bark
To serve
- honey or sugar
- lime
Directions
- Pick the herbs in the morning and rinse them well. Bush tea is made from whatever is growing in the yard, and the freshness of the leaf is most of the flavour.
- Bruise the lemongrass stalks by whacking them with the back of a knife, and tear the leafy herbs rather than chopping them. Both release oils that a clean cut leaves locked inside.
- Bring the litre of water to a rolling boil in a covered pot.
- Add the herbs and take the pot straight off the heat, then put the lid back on. Boiling the leaves drives off the volatile oils that are the entire reason for drinking it, so the water goes to them rather than the other way round.
- Steep for 10 minutes for mint and the leafy herbs, or 15 minutes for lemongrass, ginger and cinnamon bark, which are woodier and give up their flavour more slowly.
- Strain into cups, sweeten with honey and add a squeeze of lime.
- Drink it hot, morning and night. In Kittitian and Nevisian households this is the everyday tea rather than an occasional infusion, and the practice has both African and Kalinago roots.
Technique
- Lemongrass, known as fever grass throughout the islands, is the most common base by a wide margin and the best place to start.
- Soursop leaf is another common bush tea and is worth one caution: soursop contains annonacin, and epidemiological work in Guadeloupe has associated heavy habitual consumption with an atypical parkinsonism. Occasional cups are the traditional pattern rather than daily use in quantity.
- The line between bush tea and bush medicine is not a sharp one locally, but nothing here treats anything and it should not be relied on as though it did.
Substitutions
- Dried lemongrass at about a third of the fresh quantity, steeped for the full 15 minutes.
- Mint alone, which makes the simplest and most forgiving version.
Variations
- With evaporated or condensed milk, which is common at breakfast.
- Brewed strong, cooled and served over ice with lime.
- With a clove and a strip of orange peel added to the pot.
History
Kittitian and Nevisian households brew garden herbs as everyday tea and as bush medicine, a practice with African and Kalinago roots.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bush tea?
Bush tea is a drink from Saint Kitts and Nevis: hot infusion of lemongrass, soursop leaf or mint, drunk morning and night. Kittitian and Nevisian households brew garden herbs as everyday tea and as bush medicine, a practice with African and Kalinago roots.
How long does Bush tea take to make?
Bush tea takes 5 min of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 cups. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Bush tea?
Yes, within limits. Dried lemongrass at about a third of the fresh quantity, steeped for the full 15 minutes. Mint alone, which makes the simplest and most forgiving version.
What is the most important thing to get right in Bush tea?
Bruise the lemongrass stalks by whacking them with the back of a knife, and tear the leafy herbs rather than chopping them. Both release oils that a clean cut leaves locked inside.
