Medicinal Tea From Hollywood Farm

Time to make another batch of my famous Sundowners Blend Tea

Thank you to The Good Earth in Broad Ripple Indiana http://www.good-earth.com/   who offered to carry 2 pounds of my homemade tea that I call, Sundowners Blend. I've been brewing this tea for myself for years. Not being one for taking pharmaceutical medication to calm my nerves, (even though my nerves need to be constantly calmed).  The tea kettle  is always warming within arms reach with my Lemon Balm Tea, helping me to stay calm while cooped up with the children in the farmhouse for months during the long winter season.  My tea has recently received positive attention by those who've also benefited from it's calming effects. 

I read somewhere that drinking a cup of Lemon Balm tea a day will ensure for a long and healthy life. In the 1900 century Lemon Balm was used as a mild form of Valium. It has many medicinal other purposes. One can rub the leaves on the skin to repel insects. It will also help reduce a high fever. It has helped me battle some high fevers on the LIttles in the past. It has a lemon scent, yet does not taste like lemon at all. Sadly if you have thyroid condition or are not sure if your thyroid levels are in sync, or on any kind of medication to treat a thyroid condition: 

DO NOT USE LEMON BALM

 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO COMBINE WITH LEMON BALM!

I chose the name 'Sundowners Blend' because it is a term used to describe the time of day when it is more agitating for those who suffer from dementia. The tea has helped my father in law who suffers from Alzheimer's during this particular time.  It has also helped my aunt who occasionally has sleepless nights. Also my uncle who is a professional musician and tours often drinks it after a performance. He says it helps him sleep on the bus. 

Our Cascade Hops were in full bloom this summer. 

Sadly we were not home so this years harvest wasn't as abundant as last years shown above.

We planted the hop vines several years before they started to bloom. Last season we returned to the farm in time to harvest the hops before they dried out. We made a batch of beer that was absolutely amazing. This year the vine grew extensively along the fence and was probably gorgeous while it was in full bloom. Yet upon our return from our vacationing in Venice Beach, they were all dried out.  I saved as much as I could and ground them up and added them to Lemon Balm. 


Next Ingredient I combine the hops is Lavender. This is the one ingredient I've yet to grow on the farm.  Lavender thrives in the neighborhood we live in now! I may try to  get a few plants started here in pots.   

Littles famous past time.
Harvesting Hops last summer for dough!

During the Civil War,  hops were used as a sedative and were stuffed inside the  pillows  of  wounded soldiers to help keep them calmed by the aroma. Brewed in hot water, or even chewed alone, the leaves have an awful bitter taste. Blended with the right aromatic herbs camouflages the bitterness. I add to the tea blend a large amount of chamomile and I found adding a vanilla based cream used to flavor  my tea, softens the blow of the bitter hop. But the sedative effect will help you sleep like a baby! I add a tremendous amount of lavender so that the lavender aroma is stronger than the bitterness of the Hop. The lavender also provides a calming effect unlike no other herb. 

I harvested the lemon balm in October upon my returned 

 to film R6 at Roctober. http://shleegyrocks.blogspot.com/

The Lemon Balm was sufficiently dried when 

we came home for the Holiday

Chamomile is also an ingredient that is included in the Sundowners Blend. We grow chamomile on the farm, but not by choice. It grows wild all through out the property and probably has been doing so for centuries. It must be harvested while the flowers are in bloom. This is how the aroma of the chamomile flower is captured. This year I had to order my chamomile for the Sunny Valley Country Store in Liberty Kentucky.http://www.yelp.com/biz/sunny-valley-country-store-liberty It is also where I bought the Damiana.

I bought this Damiana as a replacement to the lemon balm. A friend very close to me has a thyroid condition and I was determined to make some tea that they could RELAX and enjoy. Damiana is a medicinal herb used for depression and anxiety. It has also been know to be an aphrodisiac.


As with all medicinal herbs please advise your Dr. before combing with any medications.