Arcane Inspired Herbal Shimmer Tea
Delicious and beautiful, this herbal variation on shimmer from Arcane: League of Legends is like magic in a cup. And unlike the shimmer in the show, the recipe here for Arcane herbal shimmer is meant to be nourishing not toxic. The herbs in the recipe here are used by herbalists to help support the immune system and provide nutrients like vitamin C and antioxidants along with warming spices that may help to boost circulation and digestion.
Make this tea and enjoy some shimmer that is actually good for you!
But first, a Story
Ironically, my daughter and husband made me watch this show and I thought it was going to be too emotionally and visually violent to enjoy. While we were watching an episode (Season 2, Episode 3, if you must know), I was getting sleepy as I do and my family kept bugging me about going to bed.
I was like, “No, no, no, I am awake, I’m paying attention.”
Apparently the part of the story we were on is complicated or something so my daughter was watching me to see if I was following.
Of course I was! I was the only one who knew the three goals Cait laid out at the beginning of the episode for goodness sake! And when I learned that Cait's mom is responsible for helping the people of the underworld breathe - I was so impressed and excited. Until then, I had no emotional connection to this woman. She was irritating, albeit dead.
Then the music started and my heart began to race.
Here’s the thing, the music from Arcane is so wicked and awesome, and as a child of Gen X, I can’t help but get into music with a bit of headbanging. So it’s no surprise that my daughter catches me doing just that with my eyes closed and the chair shaking and I am really only listening to the music (which as we know, is awesome).
And then the title sequence started to play, at which point I promptly fell asleep. I am totally a fan of the title sequence but it uses up a lot of energy to head bang in a comfy chair.
So anyway, I awoke to find my family giggling at me.
Guess I gotta watch that part again. Maybe a cup of herbal shimmer tea will help me stay awake because you can’t do too much head banging with a cup of tea in your hand.
Make Your Own Herbal Shimmer
Find instructions below for making your own Arcane herbal shimmer chock full of herbs.
Herbal Shimmer Tea
This recipe will make 1 big mug of beautiful and delicious tea! (12 ounces)
Ingredients
12 ounces water
6 to 10 dried butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) flowers
1 to 2 teaspoons lemon or orange juice
1 tablespoon elderberry syrup (recipe below or use any elderberry syrup you wish)
Optional: make your tea extra fancy & soothing by adding a teaspoon or two of any of the following herbs:
linden flower and bract (Tilia spp.), lemon balm leaf (Melissa officinalis), or tulsi leaf (Ocimum tenuiflorum)
Instructions
Boil the water
Place the butterfly pea flowers and any additional herbs you are using in a heat proof container (The more butterfly pea flowers you use, the darker blue the tea will become)
Cover the flowers and herbs with boiling hot water
Place a lid on the container.
Let steep for 5 to 15 minutes
Strain flowers and herbs out (Use a clear heat-proof container for full shimmer effect).
To enjoy, add the lemon or orange juice to the butterfly pea tea and watch the tea change from blue to shimmering purple.
Pour in the elderberry syrup (recipe below).
Stir and enjoy!
Elderberry Syrup Recipe
Follow the recipe below to make elderberry syrup to enjoy during the winter months, yields 48 ounces of syrup.
Ingredients
¼ cup dried elderberries (Sambucus nigra )
¼ cup dried rose hips (Rosa spp.)
¼ cup hawthorn berries (Crataegus spp.)
2 fresh ginger rhizome (Zingiber officinale), about 2 inches in length each and roughly chopped
1 fresh orange peel (Citrus spp.)
4 cinnamon sticks (Cinnamomum spp.)
5 whole cardamon pods (Elettaria cardamomum), crushed
8 cups water
2 cups honey
Instructions
The first step for making this syrup is to make a decoction which is a strong tea made from herbs that are hard in texture like berries and bark. To start your decoction:
Put the elderberries, rose hips, hawthorn berries, ginger rhizome, orange peel, cinnamon sticks, and cardamom pods in a pot and cover with the water.
Bring the mixture to a simmer but not a boil.
Simmer for 30 minutes until herbs soften up and extract their constituents into the water.
Then using a potato masher, carefully smash the herbs up while in the pot. This will expose more surface area for extraction.
Simmer for another 30 minutes until the liquid in the pot is reduced by about half so you have 4 cups of decoction left.
Then, strain the herbs out using a mesh strainer. I like to place the strainer over a bowl and pour the liquid through so it collects in the bowl. Press on the herbs in the strainer to get as much liquid out as possible.
Rinse out the pot and return the liquid to the pot.
Now you will turn the decoction into a syrup by adding honey. The honey will help to preserve the syrup and adds a yummy sweetness.
Start by measuring in 2 cups of honey (1 cup of honey for every 2 cups of decoction made). Very gently heat until the honey just melts into the decoction. Be careful not to boil this as the useful properties of the honey can be compromised by heat.
Bottle your syrup (I recommend labeling and dating your bottle).
Keep your syrup refrigerated and consume within 6 weeks.
Suggested use for the syrup is 1 tablespoon for adults once a day and 1 teaspoon for children 1 to 12 years of age once a day.
Increase to 3 to 4 times a day during illness.
Look Out For Yourself
I hope you enjoy this spin on a darker element from Arcane and that this recipe for Herbal Shimmer brings a little nerdy fun into your time watching the show. Or maybe it just makes for a lovely cup of tea to sip on a chilly day.
Until next time nerdy fairies!
Safety first!
The information contained in this post is not intended to substitute for medical care. Please do your own research and consult with a doctor as needed.
Butterfly pea flowers should not be consumed during pregnancy as they may cause uterine contractions. Elderberries can be irritating to some people when taken internally. Do not give honey or products containing honey to children under one year of age.
Warning for my cozy friends Arcane: League of Legends offers a wild ride and amazing story BUT it is not cozy fiction. Yet it is so, so good if you are up for an intense ride that explores depth of emotion, character development, and complexities of humanity with some fantastic animation and excellent music.
References
Arcane: League of Legends. Created by Christian Linke and Alex Yee, Riot Games Inc. and Fortiche Productions, 2021-2024, Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/title/81435684.
Mars, Brigitte, Elder, Keats Publishing, 1997
McIntyre, Anne, Flower Power, Henry Holt & Company, Inc., 1996
Oguis G.K., Gilding E.K., Jackson M. A., Craik D. J. (2019). Butterfly Pea (Clitoria ternatea), a Cyclotide-Bearing Plant With Applications in Agriculture and Medicine. Front Plant Sci. 10:645. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00645. PMCID: PMC6546959 PMID: 31191573
Tilgner, Sharol, N.D., Herbal Medicine from the Heart of the Earth, Wise Acres Press, Inc., 2009