You make an important point that I came here to make. DON'T BUY IT, simple. A lot of things people think are "necessary" really aren't at all. If someone likes tea, simply make your own the old fashioned way, brew it at home from tea bags. COSTCO still has bulk tea bags as I recall, and most stores have their own private label tea. You can even save on energy by not boiling the water but cold brew it or sun brew.... in a jar in direct sunlight.
I cold brew my own coffee and have done so for a few years now, and it's the best damned coffee there is....less acidic, strong, and brings out the natural sweetness of the coffee bean, AND the flavor.
Quality of store brands range from equivalent to name brands, down to a bit less-than name brands, but they are still edible and nutritious. Skip "organic" produce, to me the organic produce is always less robust and flavorful than the non-organic kind....and it's always more expensive.
Watch for bulk sales. I have outfitted a pretty good sized pantry with canned and dry food (rice, beans, pasta) over the years. Also, canned goods are really fine to eat long after the "BEST BY" dates. Just watch out for rusted, leaking, or swelling cans....the food inside has been compromised so toss them.
You all are creative and intelligent enough to think of other cost saving ideas.
You might want, but you don't NEED Arizona Tea. Now is the time to start living the frugal, basic life, we're going to need these traits in coming days.
Can't you sun-dry leaves? ... on a towel, after washing, and left in the sun to dry? I would think that sun-drying will leave more of the active ingredients intact in the leaves than a low heat setting in an oven.
Might be wrong about that, but I seem to recall that's how my grandmother (we lived in a very rural place back in the day) used to dry sliced apples and such.
You make an important point that I came here to make. DON'T BUY IT, simple. A lot of things people think are "necessary" really aren't at all. If someone likes tea, simply make your own the old fashioned way, brew it at home from tea bags. COSTCO still has bulk tea bags as I recall, and most stores have their own private label tea. You can even save on energy by not boiling the water but cold brew it or sun brew.... in a jar in direct sunlight.
I cold brew my own coffee and have done so for a few years now, and it's the best damned coffee there is....less acidic, strong, and brings out the natural sweetness of the coffee bean, AND the flavor.
Quality of store brands range from equivalent to name brands, down to a bit less-than name brands, but they are still edible and nutritious. Skip "organic" produce, to me the organic produce is always less robust and flavorful than the non-organic kind....and it's always more expensive.
Watch for bulk sales. I have outfitted a pretty good sized pantry with canned and dry food (rice, beans, pasta) over the years. Also, canned goods are really fine to eat long after the "BEST BY" dates. Just watch out for rusted, leaking, or swelling cans....the food inside has been compromised so toss them.
You all are creative and intelligent enough to think of other cost saving ideas.
You might want, but you don't NEED Arizona Tea. Now is the time to start living the frugal, basic life, we're going to need these traits in coming days.
Yaupon tea.
In Texas, Yaupon is native and grows like a weed.
It is smoother than the regular Camellia sinensis tea.
Yaupon has caffeine in it.
I just dry the leaves in the oven at low heat.
Can't you sun-dry leaves? ... on a towel, after washing, and left in the sun to dry? I would think that sun-drying will leave more of the active ingredients intact in the leaves than a low heat setting in an oven.
Might be wrong about that, but I seem to recall that's how my grandmother (we lived in a very rural place back in the day) used to dry sliced apples and such.
I wash them while still on the plant.