One of the easiest ways to make a difference in your carbon and energy footprint is to avoid buying products that have been transported long distances to get to you.

Specialty teas are a good place to start.

I'm not suggesting you do without. Heaven forbid! There is truly something to be said about a sensuous cup of an exotic and fragrant tea. Both soothing and invigorating, tea time is a well deserved break in an otherwise frantic day, the chance to regroup before moving on –definitely something we would all do well to enjoy more often, not less.

But why buy those pricy little tins shipped from India, China, and South America, when you can make your own blends at home?

Many ingredients grow right in your own yard or the park down the road. Others can be cultivated with very little effort and serve to beautify more than your cup as they grow. With a little experimenting, you'll not only learn to make a wonderful pot of tea that's all your own, but you'll be able to come up with signature blends for gifts and special occasions.

You, a family member or neighbor probably already have enough of these beauties growing to get you started. Why not take a walk and see what you can find? Nothing beats local!

Among those growing wild are:

• Rose - petals hips and leaves
• Clover - white red and purple
• Sassafras - root and bark
• Dandelion - petals and roots
• Camellia - petals and leaves
• Sumac - seed clusters
• Blackberry - berries and leaves
• Wild cherry - berries and leaves
• Mints - leaves and stems
• Oxalis (wood sorrel) - flowers, leaves, stems and tubers

Always be sure of the identity of any plant before consuming any part of it and be sure it has not been sprayed with poisons. Never pick plants from the side of heavily traveled roads as auto exhaust contains high levels of heavy metals.

Some plants are so easy to grow and offer so many wonderful uses, that you may choose to plant them in a “tea garden.” These plants will grow in a garden bed, in pots on a deck or even in a bright window sill.

• Ginger - from catalog or store bought roots
• Mints - from seed or clippings Rose - I buy marked down mini roses for a dollar a pop. There are always several in a pot and they bloom full sized when transplanted to a better environment.
• Oxalis (wood sorrel) - transplant from yard
• Lemon balm - from seed or garden center
• Lemon grass - from seed or garden center
• Fennel - from seed

Some ingredients are impossible for most people to grow at home. Who can grow a cinnamon tree, right? Others are more convenient to just buy at the store. Of course, if you have the room, climate and desire, there's no reason you can't grow your own.

EXAMPLES:

• Cinnamon - sticks or powder
• Ginger - root
• Fennel - seed
• Lemon - fruit, juice and zest
• Orange - fruit, juice and zest
• Lime - fruit, juice and zest
• Grapefruit - fruit, juice and zest
• Apple - fruit and juice

Your blends can be as simplistic or as complicated as you choose. Rose petals make a beautifully delicate tea all alone and an infusion of lemon balm is delicious, with or without honey. However, you can mix and match and come up with teas full of robust flavor and depth. A mixture of orange zest, cinnamon, camellia leaves, fennel seed, and sassafras will blow your mind.

Fair warning. Once you start mixing your own tea blends, you'll never stop. It's addictive.