Stay healthy (and cozy) this fall with a cup of locally grown tea from Light of Day Organics Farm and Tea Shop in Traverse City.
Featured in the November 2020 issue of Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine. Subscribe.
There are few better times to snuggle up with a steamy cup of tea than when cooler temps descend on Northern Michigan.
As a registered nurse, Angela Macke, owner of Light of Day Organics Farm and Tea Shop in Traverse City, encourages tea drinking during the fall and winter months not just as a means to warm your spirit, but also as a way to help keep your mind and body healthy. Rooted in health and wellness, Angela doesn’t just mix her teas in-house—she actually grows her own organic tea plants in hoop houses on her Leelanau County farm, truly crafting her teas from the ground up.
Light of Day offers a wide array of teas and tisanes for patrons to choose from. Here are a few that are sure to help brighten your days during these chilly months.
Creamy Earl Grey
Both comforting and invigorating, this twist on a classic Earl Grey features black tea, bergamot essential oil, blue cornflowers, lavender, vanilla bean extract and calendula petals, the latter of which gives this tea its extra creamy mouthfeel. Like Light of Day’s other offerings, Angela’s Earl Grey is bursting with antioxidants and ingredients that have been known to help abate inflammation, digestive issues and infections.
Heartwarming Cinnamon
Naturally caffeine-free, tisanes aren’t teas in the traditional sense—rather than tea leaves, they contain herbs, spices, fruit, seeds and other botanicals that create unique nutritional and medicinal profiles. This warming blend features rooibos, apple, orange, clove, cardamom and cinnamon, of course. The flavor is everything we love about fall in a cup, but you’ll also benefit from a healthy dose of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants—a combination that can help with digestion, inflammation and fighting off bacterial and fungal infections.
Tip: For a truly warming beverage, Angela recommends mixing her Heartwarming Cinnamon tisane into a hot toddy. We suggest keeping it local and picking up your liquor of choice (think whiskey, bourbon or scotch) from Mammoth Distilling, Traverse City Whiskey Co. or Grand Traverse Distillery.
Ceremonial Matcha
Not only will the color remind you of the vibrant spring days to come—matcha is sure to boost your mood as it’s packed with antioxidants and plenty of nutrients (15 times more than regular green teas!). That’s because matcha tea leaves are ground into a fine powder that’s consumed in its entirety, versus sipping water steeped in leaves. This opaque, bright green tea can be served hot like a latte or cold—Angela loves it in a smoothie with coconut milk and pineapple juice. (Don’t forget to keep your matcha powder refrigerated.)
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Find this and more food and drink articles in the November 2020 issue of Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine; or subscribe and get Traverse delivered to your door each month.