EAT IN ASIA / Food destinations / Turkey - turkey food
Cure yourself with aromatic Turkish teas
Do you believe in a magical power of herbs and flowers? In their possibility of giving you extra strength, energy or tranquility? That they can help you loose weight or relax? If so, you probably have already tried multiple herbal teas and infusions. These compositions prepared in a specific way and drunken in an adequate amount can do miracles.
Doesn’t matter whether you drink these teas on a daily basis or only in some seasons, they can help you fight with your problems, worries and disfunctions. Refreshing summer herbal mixes or warming winter teas will either give you more energy in a hot day or fire your guts and keep you warm during snowy and rainy days. And that is known not only by Turks.
Asian countries like China or Japan have a long tea tradition too. Chinese and Japanese teas are highly appreciated and their healing power is known around the world. In consequence, tea prices may almost reach the sky and be incredibly high. The Japanese tea market has developed intensively and a huge bottled teas variety is sold in vending machines.
Coming back to Turkey, bazaars ans local shops, that are full of different teas and infusions. Perfect compositions of wonderful aromas, tastes and flavors will additionally give you a unique pleasure of drinking it. Especially, when you know and believe in their magical power. However, there are some disadvantages, that might be somehow problematic. One of them is that the fresher these teas and mixtures are, the better it is. So, buying tones of them at ones, might mean, that you will not be able to drink all of it before these teas lose their values and aromas. So, even though you are in the shop and feel that you could buy all of them at once, don’t do that. I know it is not easy, but just try.
Another thing is, that you have to store them properly. Avoid sun exposure, humidity and plastic bags. Herbs like being kept in natural containers like wooden or linen ones. Teas could be kept in cans, what would prevent them from losing aromas.
So, if you are a tea amateur, you will be in heaven if you go to Turkey. All bazaars, markets, stalls and local shop offer a plethora of different types and kinds of teas and herbal mixtures. Prepared from whole fruit flowers, petals, organic herbs, roots and seeds create a separate area in the seller’s shop.
Most of them is unsweetened, however some of them you can find with stevia or licorice that give that special sweet taste. The rest of them is deprived of sugar or any other sweetener, and the sweet taste comes directly from plants and herbs.
Apart from these natural infusions and teas, there is a lot of powdered mixes, that are extremely sweet. although the seller might try to convince you that it slightly sweet and there is not a lot of sugar in it, don’t believe in it. It is very sweet and packed with sugar. Actually, for me these mixes have nothing to do with either a tea or healing herbs. What is more, these teas have no or little nutritional values comparing with their natural equivalents.
So, do not spend too much time on choosing and tasting instant teas, just concentrate on these natural ones. On a regular, local bazaar you will mostly find only ingredients for teas and infusions. That means that you will have to prepare the desired composition on your own. What is good, you can buy every quantity of these herbal ingredients and mix it in a proportion you like. So, you can buy for example chamomile, lavender, beautiful rose, or hibiscus flowers. Apart from that, you will easily find herbs like salvia, thyme, or lemon balm. Other ingredients for tea and herbal mixes include for example turmeric, cinnamon and ginger. All these you will easily get on every bazaar.
But in some places, you can also find ready to drink tea and herbal mixes. Especially in touristic spots and cities like Istanbul. The capital is full of souvenir shops and those with Turkish delights, herbs and spices. Prices are corresponding to the location. Comparing them with those in any other city and place in Turkey, you might wonder whether the price is per kilo or 100 grams. Yes, that is true. Unfortunately, prices are per 100 grams. Almost the same price was per kilo in other cities, so either skip Istanbul's markets if you want to save money or try to bargain as much as you can. That is just to give a rough idea of how it looks like, but still, if you want to buy it and you feel it is worth for you, just do it.
Between all kind of teas like winter herbal tea, relax tea, cholesterol tea, energy tea, diabetic tea and so one you will also find those for losing weight, blood circulation improvement or against cold and fever. More interesting are these labeled as a Viagra Tea and a Love Tea. As more or less, we know what the expected result after might be drinking the Viagra Tea, we had no idea about how the Love Tea should work like. Should it be served to the person you would like to fell in love in you, or shall it be drunk by the one that feels that is not loving so much the other person – boyfriend, girlfriend, wife or husband, or maybe should it create a magical atmosphere the whole evening and night long. Finally, we got the confirmation. This Love Tea should guarantee you an unforgettable night. Whatever it means, that is the result you should expect.
Apart from the healing values of all these teas, they are beautiful. It is a feast for an eye. So colorful, smelling so nicely, so aromatic and so tasty when you brew them. Just wonderful.
If you do not want to buy a ready mixture, just ask the seller about all ingredients. Usually they should be able to give you a list of all herbs and flowers that create the mixture. It might happen, that the ingredients’ list will not be complete, but more or less, most of these that are the most important will be mentioned. Then, go to the local street market and find a seller that has herbs and spices. There you would probably find all you need to prepare the mixture. Not only the price would be lower, but also all ingredients would be probably more fresh and what is important – all proportions would be as you like it.
Here we gathered some examples of mixtures, that you could use for preparing healing and aphrodisiac teas. Use proportions according to your preferences.
Relax Tea
- peppermint
- lemon balm
- green tea leaves
- passionflower
- basil
- turmeric
- lavender
- chamomile
- rose
- ginseng
Cholesterol Tea
- pomegranate flower
- hibiscus
- chamomile
- olive leaves
- rosehip
Love Tea
- dried orange
- red rose bud
- lemon peel
- rosehip
- purple rose bud
- hibiscus
Energy Tea
- hibiscus
- rosehip
- Asian ginseng root
- turmeric root
- lemon peel
- chamomile
- pomegranate flower
- stevia leaves
All these listings are only examples to give you a rough overview of what can be used, so you do not have to stick to it, and you can experiment. However, please remember, that some herbs have a positive influence only if they are served and paired with others.
So, try to boost your immune system and energy by drinking herbal teas. Finally, if you cannot live without a solid cup of coffee, try a Traditional Turkish coffee.
Author: Beti – A passionate traveler and lover of Asian cuisine, especially Thai and Japanese dishes, Bernadeta brings her culinary and cultural experiences to life in her writing. Beyond her travels, she’s an avid technology enthusiast with a deep interest in data processing, merging her love for exploration with analytical insights.
Photographer: Adalbert – An aficionado of computers and photography, Adalbert captures the essence of diverse cuisines with a discerning eye. A connoisseur of rich flavors and particularly fond of meat-based dishes, he combines his technical skills with his passion for the culinary arts in every shot.
