A quiet Sunday hour with a book and tea
Make your own Sunday reading hour with a book, a comfortable seat and a drink you enjoy. This is a present-day suggestion, not a documented rule of Hildegard von Bingen.
Steps
Set aside reading time
Choose roughly an hour when you would like to read. Set up your seat and drink beforehand, allowing extra time for preparation. It need not be the same time every week.
Set out a book and light
Pick a book you rarely find time for. Use a reading lamp for light. Put your phone somewhere you will not keep checking it. Have a blanket nearby if you feel cold.
Choose your drink
Water is just as suitable as a tea you know and tolerate. If you choose herbal tea, use the amount and water volume on the packet.
Brew a fresh cup
Pour freshly boiling water over the tea. Infuse for at least five minutes, following any longer time on the packet. Remove the strainer or bag, then let the cup cool to a comfortable drinking temperature.
Read and finish in your own time
Read at your own pace. You do not need to finish a chapter or achieve a particular mood. End the hour when it suits you and put your cup and book away.
You do not need herbs for this reading hour. This tea break is intended for adults. Follow the packet cautions. Do not use tea containing an ingredient you are allergic to. Ask a pharmacist about the specific product for children, pregnancy or breastfeeding, medical conditions or questions about medicines. Making a weaker cup does not establish suitability. Do not choose chamomile tea with a known chamomile or daisy-family allergy.
Explore this ritual further
In the encyclopedia
Marjoram
Read about the plant, its uses and the cautions in the encyclopedia.
In the encyclopedia
German Chamomile
Read about the plant, its uses and the cautions in the encyclopedia.
Related recipe
Evening tea ritual
Another chamomile tea ritual, this time with a spoon of elderberry syrup.