Lemongrass and Pandan Tea

I'm not exactly sure how I came to know about Lemongrass and Pandan tea. I guess it was probably when I was browsing on YouTube early this month when I saw a tutorial on it made by someone from Thailand. The tea looked really tasty, I just had to give it a try. It's a very special drink it seems that can easily be found in most restaurants in Thailand. People even serve this drink in tropical beauty spas before and after treatment. It is well known for it's healing and therapeutic benefits. You can drink it hot or cold, but I prefer it served hot.

I've been browsing a lot before on YouTube for natural detox drink to try. And this is the first time I came across this recipe. I was very much into green smoothies and juices before but I had to stop doing that recently because it has become too expensive to do that on daily basis. Thinking of ways to save up money instead of spending these days because produce are getting more and more expensive to buy. The price of food are going up and it rarely goes down. So I guess planting my own herbs, vegetables and fruits are back in trend in our house. Well why not right? We have a big compound and it would be a waste not to plant more things we can consume. Yes, it does mean that I would need to spend more time in the garden to achieve all that but, I'm very selective of what to plant so that I won't have to spend too much time on it daily.

But of course, I'm not a great gardener....but I do try my best. My Mom is the expert. But she is in no condition to do a lot of gardening everyday now. She's not well enough to do it like she did before. So it's up to me now to plant what I want to eat. I prefer to plant trees that are easy to grow. 

Anyways, back to the Lemongrass and Pandan tea. How easy it is to grow Lemongrass and Pandan at home. Especially in Malaysia. Almost every home in Malaysia have these two plants in their garden. My Mom grows lots of them at home. So much so that she can actually sell them if she wanted to. Who knows maybe one day when things gets tough, it might be a good idea. LOL!! :D But for now, we just consume it for ourselves. 

To be honest, ever since I found out about this tea, I've been making it everyday. My Mom and I would drink it once a day after lunch because that's when we have our heaviest meal. It makes us feel so good after a heavy lunch. It helps relax the stomach and makes us feel so calm. The aroma  of the Lemongrass and Pandan is so wonderful. Smells so good and tastes so nice.

My Pandan leaves plant

My Lemongrass plant

It is not that difficult to prepare the tea. All there is to do is clean the lemongrass and pandan leaves. I usually use 4 stalks of lemongrass and about two pandan leaves. I would smash each stalk of lemongrass with a heavy pestle to bruise it so that it will release the aromatic oils from it. 

So after that, I would throw the pandan and lemongrass into a boiling water and let them boil for about 5 - 8 minutes. It's easy to know when it's done and ready pour into your cups or mugs, when the smell of the lemongrass and pandan leaves becomes so strong. It fills the air in your kitchen! It's so wonderful! And you could see that the pandan leaves starts to brown and you could see that the water has a tint of light green colour.

If you don't want to add any sugar to the lemongrass and pandan tea, that's perfectly fine......I usually would add some sweet lime or lemon to make it tastes good.  I've tried adding brown sugar before and it tastes SO GOOD!! Really really yummy! 

Honestly I can drink this tea everyday. Believe me, that's how great it tastes. Not to mention all the great benefits too. See the list below, to know a few of it's benefits:

• Good for digestion and stomach disorders.
• Full of antioxidants.
• Regulates blood pressure.
• Boosts metabolism and burns fat.
• Good for skin and hair.
• Heals cold and flu.
• Relieves menstrual pain.
• Lowers cholesterol.
• Detoxifies the body.
• Prevents cancer.
• Treats insomnia.
• Helps with respiratory disorders.
• Cures fever.
• Treats infections (works as antiseptic).
• Reduces aches.
• Tonic for the nervous system.
• Treats Type -2 diabetes.
• Prevents Rheumatism.
• Boosts immunity.
• Treats Edema (water retention).