refreshing drink

So, went for my first cards party last night. Yes, first cards party. I didn't know how to play cards, but I learnt, I played, I conquered, and I lost. And I enjoyed. But that's not the point of this post. The idea is to talk about the morning after the party and my cup of tea. Having fallen out of the habit of late nights (unlike the old me, now I go to bed early and wake up at the crack of dawn, well almost, by 6), last evening took a toll on this morning. Iwoke up late, felt miserable, tired, ill, and irritable. So I tried what I had recently read - "have a cup of hot water with ginger and lemon, to help digestion and to perk up" - and it really did help.
I am a great believer of the benefits of hot water. It aids disgestion, it keeps you alert, it improves your metabollic rate, it keeps you hydrated, and also helps your body to detox. It is far far better than having numerous cups of coffee to stay awake. You stay awake and fresh. So to improvise the benefits of hot water i try to flavour it with different ingredients and that's how i started experimenting with fruit tea infusions. I have tried several store-bought infusions. The spicy orange variant from Typhoo is delicious. Inspired by these, i decided to skip the tea bags and experiment with some fresh brews at home, and am very impressed with the results. Here's the recipe that i have concocted:

Ingredients
1/2 an apple
1 stick of cinnamon
1 clove
1/2-inch slice of ginger
1/2 lemon/lime
1 teaspoon of Darjeeling tea leaves
1 mug water

Method
1) Peel and dice the apple.
2) Heat the water in a saucepan and add the apple slices, cinnamon, clove, and ginger to it and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
3) Strain the concoction, and add the tea leaves to it. Let it brew for about a minute or two. Strain it out and add a squeeze of the lemon juice.

Serves: 1 person

This refreshing drink is loaded with vitamin C, is a great anti-oxidant, and delicious.
You could try replacing the apple with any fruit of your choice. Try strawberries, orange, pineapple, peach, or cherries.

Find out what's your cup of tea.