Lavender, Ginger, & a little Chamomile

Last night, in an attempt to finish out my chamomile kick with a bang, I overdosed on the chamomile with the largest dose to date, 3 tablespoons, lots of ginger as I'm fighting some inflammation with my arthritis and ginger is a natural anti-inflammatory, and a few pinches of jasmine.  It tasted just as you might imagine...it was too much.  So tonight I've reeled it in and taken the pot in an entirely new direction.  Tonight, I made a lavender based tea, 2 tablespoons of lavender, 3 small slices of ginger and 1 teaspoon of chamomile.  I was actually afraid the lavender might be better as part of a blend and that it might not be flavorful enough to carry a full pot.  I was wrong, I LOVE the lavender tea.  I steeped it for about 5 minutes, squeezed a little lemon in the bottom of my mug and served it up.  To myself.  Anyway, the tea I made tonight is delicious, maybe my favorite cup since the first pot of chamomile.  It's light, floral, sweet, and a little citrus hint with the lemon.

Though the herb lavender is generally used for its purpose as a fragrance, I've heard from a few different sources lately that lavender is said to calm frazzled nerves, which is not why I made this pot, but is certainly something I will keep in mind for future use!  I have used lavender oil in the past in lieu of perfume and also to ease irritated skin.  I also read today that lavender can be steeped as if being used for tea and instead cooled and used as a daily rinse to relieve dandruff.  Interessante!