It Was the Flu (I Think?) and Tea Helped Me

Hi everyone,

It finally got me.

I take a lot of supplements that (supposedly) help keep my immune system strong, and you already know that I drink a lot of tea. So I pride myself on rarely getting sick. But this time, I couldn’t outrun it.

After spending a few days in New York with my mom, I came back with a fever, phlegm-y cough, congestion, and all around fatigue. All my C*VID tests we negative and even though I did not test for the flu, my symptoms were nearly textbook-level accurate. And I’ve never had the flu! It was a good trip and we did a lot, but something about the two flights, the subway rides, the rainy Sunday, and the cold wind in New York city was too much for little ol’ me.

I took the week off from work just to rest and focus on recovering, but it was hard to unplug. I didn’t eat much, but I had countless Ricola lozenges and - of course - lots and lots of tea. My throat was in serious need of soothing, and the warmth of it all plus some local honey really helped me. Tea was great because it also gave me a nice little anchor to sit with and ease into sleep, and it helped me get in some much-needed nourishment when I didn’t feel like eating a whole meal. I’m clearly biased towards tea, but I really don’t think I would have bounced back as quickly as I did without it.

Here’s what I drank the most throughout the week -

Elderberry tea (Respect the Elders) - This is such a thick, nourishing tea. It really helped me to feel fuller when I couldn’t bring myself to eat. And of course I felt good knowing I was getting in some of that elderberry and echinacea goodness that I know is good for my immune system.

Spicy teas (Spicy Apple Splendor) - The ginger and cinnamon in this one was warming all the way down. It goes great with honey and the orange peel really comes through well. There’s vitamin C in that, right? Right. I would love to believe it helped me.

Mullein leaf tea (Mull It Over) - I had lots of phlegm in my chest over the week and even though coughing was annoying, I was happy to be bringing all of that up and out. I was conscious about getting in this particular tea because I know that’s mullein’s thing - upper respiratory health. I was missing a bit of the mint in this one, so I’ll probably be upping the spearmint levels in this tea in the next few rounds.

I won’t lie to y’all: these three teas were what I had laying around my kitchen. But the beautiful thing about tea is that there are always wellness benefits you can glean from them, no matter what you have going on.

Anyway, I am excited to get back out over the weekend for the Mid-City Maker’s Market and for the Local Pop-Up at Electric Depot. Check out the Events page for more info.

Stay safe and stay well, everyone. See you soon!

Until next time,

Rachel