Opera Tea

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Many of you have asked me for this recipe over the years, so I thought I'd go ahead and post it publicly.

For those of you who don't know about Opera Tea, it's my stand by, get-me-through-every-sickness beverage. It helps heal the chords and clear phlegm and was passed down to me from my voice teacher, and his before him. I've tried variations (and everyone has their own), but I simply haven't been able to improve upon it. Basically, it's the master cleanse, but hot. The difference is this: On the master cleanse, you drink this beverage and ONLY this beverage. I use it for a completely different purpose, which has nothing to do with cleansing. Drink this slowly throughout the day when your chords are tired, or you have any kind of post nasal drip, and it will get you through with flying colors. Unlike the master cleanse, the point is not to ingest it. The point is to coat your chords and throat with it. So sip slowly and continuously through the day.

Recipe:

To make the concentrate for this tea mix:

3 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

3 oz pure maple syrup

1/8th - 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, depending on your tolerance & taste

To make the tea:

Mix 1 part concentrate to 4 equal parts hot water. (i.e. 1/5th of your tea should consist of the concentrate. The rest is hot water.)

How it works:

The maple syrup has all sorts of nutrients and enzymes that other soothers (such as honey and sugar) don't. Think about where it comes from and how it's made. It doesn't have to be processed to get the final product, only reduced. So all that goodess is still in there. The lemon juice cuts through phlegm. (Other people love apple cider vinegar, which works just as well. I just hate the taste of it. And most things acidic will produce a similar result.) Finally the cayenne pepper rushes blood to your throat and chords helping to heal them more quickly.

Feel better!

With love,

Mindy & all her teachers.