Home > An Ojibwa Native Artist > A Nice Cup of Tea
Native Artist - Nokomis
A Nice Cup of Tea
It wasn't just the British who enjoyed a nice cup of tea. Even in the bush tea accompanied meals or was the excuse to have a rest or a visit with friends.
Earl Grey and Orange Pekoe were available at the store, but we were more likely to make our own. Favourites were mint, kinnickinick and oswego teas, but blueberries and cranberries were dried and used for teas or in baking - the same way you use raisins.
The old couple in this picture have decided to have a nice cup of spruce tea before trudging the rest of the way home on this cold winter night. It would have been the same spruce tea that was given to Champlain and his men to rescue them from the thralls of scurvy.
If you want to try it, simply pull off a hand full of spruce needles and let them steep in a pot of boiling water...but be forewarned that it's an acquired taste (like olives).
Back to the Nokomis page.
