Questions, Answers and More Tea!
This month,
here are some of the questions our readers asked...
Dear Witch Hazel, Can you recommend any herbal/natural recipes for dry, chapped lips? I find that Chapstick is too waxy and Blistex, although effective, burns when I put it on. Thank you, Xiola.
You can make your own lip balm fairly easily at home. I find this recipe to be quite effective. Mix equal parts of beeswax, sweet almond oil and cocoa butter in a small microwave safe dish. Place in the microwave on high for 30 second intervals until melted, stirring in between each time to help melt
the beeswax. Then simply pour into lip balm tubes or small pots and let harden overnight. You can adjust the amount of beeswax if you are not happy with this formula; you may wish to use a little bit less beeswax if you are using the lip balm pots. I sometimes substitute walnut oil for almond oil, it works just as well, and costs a bit less. All of the supplies that you need are available at Lavender Lane, if you can’t find them locally.
Dear Witch Hazel, I’ve read the article about using red raspberry leaves for cramps and was wondering if using black berries would have the same effect since they are more readily availible to me. Thank you for your time, Jay
Thank you for writing, Jay! Unfortunately, I haven’t heard anything about blackberries being used as a remedy for menstrual cramps, but I’m sure it couldn’t hurt to try them, since you have easy access to them. If they don’t help with the cramps, at the very least you will have enjoyed eating them! I actually do have several blackberry bushes in my yard, and no red raspberry plants, but I may try the blackberries out myself.
Try looking in the frozen fruit section of your grocery store for red raspberries which are far more affordable than fresh raspberries and they are available all year round. You can also look for red raspberry leaf tea in any herb shop or health food store. I have also seen the leaves in pill form as well.
I’d like to thank our fellow tea lover, who wrote:
May I tell you about a wonderful experience that I had? I went to Alice’s Tea Cup on the Upper West Side, 73rd Street and Amsterdam I believe. It was wonderful! The food was incredible – I had the ginger-currant scone, the cucumber-watercress sandwich and the smoked chicken sandwich and all were delicious.
The decor is all Alice in Wonderland, and there is a separate tea menu with tons of teas that you can also purchase for home enjoyment. I had the Lavender Earl Grey and liked it so much I brought some home! I really think you would enjoy this place. I’m a long time reader, and I truly enjoy Morbid Outlook as a chance to learn something different and fun each month.
Take care, Bethy
Thank you so much for passing that along! I will make a point of getting over there to try Alice’s Tea Cup! It sounds adorable!
If you are in Central New Jersey, you may wish to stop in at the Chari-Tea Room at 35 Alden Street in Cranford.
For just $12 per person you can enjoy a small pot of tea with the full tea spread of scones and cream, assorted tea sandwiches and a platter of mini desserts. The hours are limited, since the shop is run by volumteers, but they do have Saturday hours from September through May.
If you have a favorite recipe, questions, or comments, doesn’t hesitate to write to me. And please let us know about your favorite local tea shop, so that others in your area may also try them!
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