Antigua and Barbuda

Now that we have some tropical weather, we head to more tropical countries. Antigua and Barbuda are an independent state in the Lesser Antilles island chain in the eastern Caribbean. Their coastlines are fringed with reefs and shoals. There are several inlets, and a deep water harbor that allow for shipping access. Antigua is rather low with an absence of mountains and forests. There are no rivers and few springs, so drought is common in spite of the rainfall. Barbuda is a coral island that is also rather flat, but has woods. Like Antigua, there are no streams, and the only settlement on the island is by a lagoon.

The islands were visited by Christopher Columbus, and colonized by the English to grow tobacco, then later sugar. The islands gained their independence on November 1, 1981. In my research on tea, I found that they liked cocoa tea. They also served up lemongrass tea, also known as fever grass tea as it is often given when people are sick.

Given the state of the world right now, there may be many people wanting tea for their fever. My notes say that it is served cold in the summer, and that it is served hot to people who are sick. Thankfully, I was justified in sticking my tea in the fridge.

Okay, so I put the thermometer in the picture because I was playing off the fever aspect of the tea. You have to appreciate that I basically leave the house for work, and that's it. I make the occasional trip to the grocery store, but I'm finding that I manage to buy way more than I actually eat in a week, so the trips don't have to be that frequent. I guess I didn't take a picture of the tea in the cup after it chilled. It is the standard lemongrass tea that we have tried before. Certainly refreshing on a hot day.