Par-Salian's Tea | dlsaga.com

Join me as I make Par-Salian’s Tea from Heroes’ Feast: The Official D&D Cookbook for the first time! Heroes’ Feast: The Official D&D Cookbook by Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, and Michael Witwer and published by Ten Speed Press on October 27, 2020. You can buy a copy here: https://amzn.to/3GMAlXF

Par-Salian’s Tea

Whether you’re a warrior doffing your plate mail after an arduous adventure or a wizard relaxing after a studious session in the stacks, each day demands time for repose. From an obscure oolong to a common chamomile, teas are imbued with incredible calming and restorative effects for the body and soul. The powerful white-robed Highmage Par-Salian was renowned for his arcane prowess, but those close to him warmly recounted his potential tea leaf homebrew as well. A single saucer full of this extraordinary blend, which was known to include a fresh ginger infusion with honey, chamomile, dried lemon, orange peel, and a dash of slippery elm bark (granting it a smooth, oily aftertaste) among its components, was said to soothe even the most dogged cold-an effect that ensured the survival of one of Par-Salian’s most famous students, Raistlin Majere.

Numerous interpretations of Par-Salian’s legendary tea remain popular throughout Krynn, with some iterations steeped with rare and psychedelic bekial seeds from the thorn bushes of Estwilde, though it is said that none, save for his most trusted students, could successfully replicate his herbal amalgam.

Serves 4

1 lemon
2 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled if desired
5 cups boiling water
Honey as needed
4 sprigs fresh mint

Using a vegetable peeler and working vertically, remove the zest from the lemon in wide strips (it should produce eight strips). Slice the ginger into four pieces, each about ½ inch thick, and working with one slice at a time, use the bottom of a sturdy mug or the flat side of a Chef’s knife to smash them. Place two lemon zest strips and one piece of smashed ginger in each of four mugs. Add about 1 ¼ cups boiling water to each mug and steep until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add honey to taste to each mug and stir to combine. Holding the mint sprigs by their stems, slap them against the back of your hand or forearm (to help release their fragrance). Add one april to each mug and serve.

Cook’s Note

Peeling the ginger isn’t strictly necessary.

The Ginger and lemon zest will continue to infuse the liquid as you drink. For the strongest flavor, leave them in the mug until you finish; remove them at any point when you find the flavor sufficiently potent.

“Par-Salian opened his mouth to speak, then realized Highmage Astathan was studying him very intently. He closed his mouth again. The tea lingered with a slightly oily aftertaste on his tongue, and Par-Salian finally recognized it. It was bekial seed from the thorn bushes of Estwilde; it acted to open one’s consciousness without the deleterious effects of most other opiates. A little was enough to put its user in a trance. Too much was toxic. And the fine line between the two was only drawn by master herbalists.”

-Lucien Soulban, Renegade Wizards

Transcript

Cold Open

Though not as complex as the Raistlin’s Tea recipe, it tastes infinitely better!

Intro

Today I am making Par-Salian’s Tea from Heroes’ Feast: The Official D&D Cookbook. If you have made this recipe, share your thoughts in the comments below!

Discussion

As with every recipe, we need to start by collecting our ingredients. One lemon, Two and one-half inch pieces of fresh ginger, five cups boiling water, honey as needed and four sprigs of fresh mint. Seeing as it was only my wife and I who wanted to try this, I paired down the recipe even more. I began by pouring water into our tea kettle to boil. Then I used a vegetable peeler and vertically peeled the zest off of the lemon in as long of strips as I could manage. I only needed four decent strips. Next, I peeled the ginger, knowing I would only need about an inch. Once peeled, I cut it in half, and smashed each half-inch ish piece. Then I grabbed my two mugs, and placed the lemon zest peels, smashed ginger and mint into them. With the mint sprigs, I smacked them against my hand to help release their fragrance. Once the water was finished boiling, I poured it into the mugs, and added honey to taste. I added a bit more than I normally would to counter any potential bitterness from the ginger and lemon.

I allowed the tea to steep for four full minutes, and tasted it. It was pretty good, though mild on my palette. I removed the ingredients before finishing the video, but immediately afterward, I added them back in. I finished the cup with the ingredients in for a bit of a fuller bodied taste. While this was a delicious and simple cup of tea, I don’t see it helping Raistlin out at all, though I enjoyed it.