Copied from my post on my friend’s site HERE
Book Description
Join Becca Steven in her recent release THE WAY OF TEA AND JUSTICE as she recounts the victories and unexpected challenges of building a café that employs women recovering from prostitution and addiction. Becca also sweeps the reader into the world of tea, where timeless rituals transport to an era of beauty and the challenging truths about tea’s darker, more violent history. In this journey of triumph for impoverished tea laborers, hope for café workers, and insight into the history of tea, Becca sets out to defy the odds and prove that love is the most powerful force for transformation on earth.
My Review
Admittedly, I have overbooked myself with obligations, and thus had a hard time getting ‘into’ this book. No fault of the author mind you. Becca weaves a beautiful picture in her recount of putting together a cafe that helps tea laborers as she poetically pulls you into the world of tea. Who knew there was so much to learn about tea, its history and customs! I enjoyed reading the overcoming stories of the workers as they recounted their way to freedom. I’d recommend this book if you are interested tea, of course, and if you’re interested in reading about people being set free.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange of an honest review.
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Milk Thistle Recipe (excerpt from the book)
Milk Thistle Recipe
Milk thistle, a plant belonging to the same family as dai- sies, is native to the Mediterranean regions and grows in Europe, North America, South America, and Australia. Milk thistle has been used for thousands of years in Europe to restore and detoxify the liver. After trauma, it settles the body to a needed balance. The seeds contain the anti- oxidant silymarin, which has health benefits. Thistle tea improves digestion and strengthens the immune system. The thistles are a symbol of hope for us at Thistle Farms and keep us on solid ground, ground that once felt cracked and parched. All parts of the milk thistle plant have been eaten as food, and its seeds have been used for a drink similar to coffee.
Milk thistle tea blends are available at gourmet and specialty stores, but a less expensive, healthier, and tastier option is to create your own. Combine 2 tablespoons milk thistle seeds with 2 tablespoons cardamom pod seeds and 2 tablespoons dandelion root. (All ingredients can be purchased online.) Smash this mixture with a back of a spoon or pestle. Avoid grinding it into dust. Add this blend to 3 tablespoons of your favorite basic loose-leaf China green tea. Steep 1 tablespoon per cup for 5 minutes. Enjoy.
Herbal teas are not teas in the strictest sense of the word but simply tisanes. They are hot beverages made from herbs, leaves, and roots of plants, but they do not contain the actual tea plant. They can have wonderful tea qualities to them—of offering a rich, hot flavor—and your senses react to herbal tinctures much the same as to tea. There are chamomile, thistle, lavender, and countless other herbal teas to choose from. They are organic and reek of the earth. They steep in humility like all wild medicines and are good for our minds, bodies, and souls. Growing and serving herbal teas are essential to what the café stands for. They offer healing from the earth and make us aware of how the way we eat helps us move toward wholeness.
Bragging on the Lord 