FREE: Avocado leaves to make your own tea!

Who likes iced team in the summer?! Raise your sweaty hand.

[Read the whole blog for a special offer at the end!]

If you are from the south, you like "sweet tea" (note: not "sweetened" tea - as I have been so kindly told by a friend from the south. Bless her heart.)

So here's a super interesting twist on ice tea for this summer - you can make it from avocado leaves! Yup! The Diva brewed up this pitcher for a pool party this past weekend. You need to use leaves from the Mexican variety (Persea drymifolia) NOT the cultivars from a Guatamalan type (Persea Americana). The easiest way is to get them from the Avocado Diva (here).

Anyway - you boil up a handful of leaves in a pot (5-7 minutes) - let it cool. Strain it out - and pour over ice. If you want to - you can add avocado honey (order here). The Diva likes to do this when the tea is hot - so it will dissolve well and mix in. Then serve with a wedge of orange. The flavor of orange mingles great with the avocado leaf taste, which is reminiscent of anise.

I made two pitchers of iced tea for the party - one with traditional black leaf tea bags and one with the avocado leaves. By the end of the party - all the avocado tea was gone! The other pitcher -- it was still full.

So here's a special offer for YOU -- order anything from the Diva in July and she will ship you FREE dried avocado leaves with your order. Try out a delicious ice tea for FREE!

Cooking with Avocado Leaves

Did you know you can cook with the LEAVES of certain avocado trees? Not all of them -- but a certain species or two. Chef's use the leaves to wrap meats such as pork or beef and steam cook them or put them on the BBQ for a moist, tender meat, infused with the slightly-spicy flavor of anise.

You can also use the dried leaves as a spice, much like a bay leaf (avocado trees are related to bay laurel trees). Add them to beans as they cook for a very unique, authentic Mexican flavor. (We have the recipe on our site). Consider adding them to your next stew or crock pot meal for an unique flavor that will have your family and friends asking for the recipe!

Another way to use dried avocado leaves is as a tea or infusion. The leaves have been used since ancient times to help with tummy troubles and other intestinal issues (cleansing the liver or kidneys).

Now don't think you can just go out and grab those leaves off your ground and start grinding them up. The specific kind of leaf is harvested from the native Mexican avocado "Peresea drymifolia". The leaves are used both fresh as well as dried and impart a beautiful color to boiling water. Boil water and put the leaves in (a small handful) and let steep for 5-7 minutes. Strain and drink. I like to add a nice teaspoon of avocado blossom honey as well!

People from islands (like Hawaii and the Philippines) drink the tea to help with UTIs - and comment that it brings a nice, calming effect.

So the next time you are wondering what ELSE the avocado offers -- think about not only the fruit, but it's leaves as well!