Cloudberry tea

Description

Cloudberry tea

Cloudberries are found in northern countries, including Latvia. The way to this national treasure is not so simple, but the benefits are invaluable.

Preparation.
Put about 2 teaspoons of cloudberry calyxes in a cup, pour with boiling water and leave for about 3-5 minutes. You can add sugar or honey for better taste.
Ingredients: cloudberry calyxes.

Early, cool morning in the National Park of Gauja, when the sky begins to colour like the berries we are looking for. The first rays of the sun warm up your shoulders, and the first songs of birds accompany the berry pickers on their way to the swamp. Everyone already knows their best places and each summer after Midsummer celebration they go to check them. Very soon cloudberries must be ready. This is a short time – only about 2 weeks. In the beginning of July, the berries are usually ripe, but others right next to ready ones are just blooming. Every year, diligent berry pickers manage to find this special Latvian golden berry among mosses and llamas of the bog and deliver them to the hands of skilled craftsmen in order to make excellent products from cloudberries.

Līgatne winery makes also wine and liqueur from cloudberries. The calyxes are removed from each berry, and when dried in warm summer wind, we get a wonderful, aromatic tea.