One of my most favorite things to do, is tea blending.
i love pulling out all my herbs and experimenting with new combinations to make some beautiful medicinal and pleasure teas.
it's easy and fun, and if you like herbal tea then you MUST try making your own blends.
go to your local herbal dispensary(if you don't have one you'll have to order online :P), and pick out some herbs that apeal to you... maybe ones you've tried in teas before. if you like you can start simple; peppermint, chamomile... sometimes even the most simple teas taste better when we've made them our selves, instead of purchasing pre-sealed bagged teas.
i recommend getting a group of friends together for a tea blending party. Everyone who comes can be responsible for bringing two herbs.
the best way to start, as i said before, is to start 'simple'. (susan weed calls the use of only a single herb a 'simple'.) get everyone who comes to the party to bring a tea pot or two. place a different herb in each tea pot with boiling water. let everyone sample a bit of each tea. you'll often find that herbs taste different from how they smell. not everyone will like the same herbs. Next, based on the tastes of the herbs you found appealing, take a small bowl and combine a few herbs (sometimes it's best to only start 3herbs). let everyone make their own blends, then try eachothers out. modify the tea blends as you like, and let everyone leave the party with lots of different combinations to share with their family!
a few blends that i like:
an after dinner tea: peppermint, ginger, fennel, anise
steamy bedroom blend: damiana, rose, ginger, rose hips, hibiscus
vivid dreams: mugwort, damiana, chamomile, lavender
berries: hibiscus, rose hips, raspberry leaves, blackberry leaves, blueberry leaves *you could add dried berries to this blend
golden flowers: chamomile, calendula, chrysanthemum, peppermint.
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