Forage Tea Making

Tea has always been seen as a calming experience and the ritual of making and sitting down for a cup of tea is understood to be beneficial to our mental health. There is both reassurance to be found in the making process and warmth and comfort derived from the drinking.

Our small and wild tea session takes this experience one step further.   Before sitting down to enjoy the tea ritual the family will be invited to collect botanticals from nettles, dandelions to roots, leaves and herbs with which to make the tea.   You will be provided with a list of ingredients that may be collected with their known benefits to encourage education through play.  Families will create their own ‘family tea recipe’.

The smell and tastes of herbal teas can be an amazing psychological regulator.  Soothing smells can regulate someone who struggles to feel calm such as lavender, chamomile, peppermint.  We also find that as the children have helped with the collection of the ingredients and feel part of the ‘family’ they are more willing to taste the result of their work.

The ritual of the tea-making provides a structure to allow us to feel safe to share.  The seeping (brew time) extracts antioxidants, caffeine, flavors, and aromas from the tea. With hot water, it takes up to 5 minutes to brew a good cup giving the families time to be guided on how to drink a cup of tea mindfully.