Dr. Tea

For the first post of today, some completely unprofessional medical advice.

Dear Tea Spot,
What is the ultimate tea to drink when one has a severe head cold?
Signed,
Stuffed Up in Kentucky

Assuming that our dear reader is still ill, here is the solution (not the cure, but at least it will make you feel like you're in partial control of your immune system): black tea, brewed for at least three minutes, then flavored with a half a lemon (squeeze the juice into the tea, then just throw the whole piece in there) and 2-3 tablespoons of honey.

I make it in the biggest mug I have, so I can just hold it until my nose, breathe in the lemony steam, and pretend I'm a consumptive female protagonist in a Russian novel.

Actually, the honey-lemon formula was originally the suggestion of my childhood pediatrician, whom I saw until probably age 19, at which point I was too big for the exam table and no longer challenged by the completed word searches in the Highlights magazines in his waiting room.

Feel better, Stuffy.