The Herball's Guide to Botanical Drinks: Using the alchemy of plants to create potions to cleanse, restore, relax and revive

The only book you will ever need on botanical drinks! All beautifully presented and prepared with obvious love and care for the heroes of the book, the plants. Much more than a recipe book, this guide gives you rich info about the plants, different ways to process them and the history / purpose of the formulations presented. It's a powerhouse and testament to Michael's deep knowledge in the field. Can't fault it!!

Interesting recipes

This is the most beautiful book! The stunning cover would be enough to tempt me to buy it. The layout of every page is also superb with stunning photographs. I did, however, find that the pages with the textured background were not easy to read – though fortunately those pages were in the minority.This is clearly a book for a committed modern alchemist. The range of drinks, the description of their uses, and detailed instructions for making them, is excellent. Be warned though that this is not a book for the backyard gardener or local forager; ingredients such as polished obsidian, propolis powder, silver coil – to name but a few- pepper these recipes. I found very few that I could make from my own garden and fields, and in this respect the book was a disappointment. For the enthusiast who wants to try these recipes however, there is an excellent list of suppliers (all around the world) at the end of the book.

Contrary to decades ago when anyone carrying the title of a herbalist is viewed as a charlatan or a third-worlder, a large part of the western world has woken up to the realities of the magical power of plants around them.The Herball's Guide to Restorative Tonics, Delicious De-Stressors and Sleep Inducers shows an array of herbs and the kind of power they wield when combined well.WHO WOULD ENJOY IT?Anyone with an interest in natural medicine.IS IT WORTH READING?It depends on the reader. The book itself is full of recipes, plant attributes and other information about the right brewing processes needed to make an effective drink. Most importantly, the book cautions against picking plants based on assumptions or any other part of a plant other than the one specified. In short, this is not a book for amateurs.---------The Herball's Guide to Restorative Tonics, Delicious De-Stressors and Sleep Inducers - A Compendium of Plant-based Drinks to Make at Home by Michael Isted is available to buy on all major online bookstores. Many thanks to Quarto Publishing Group for review copy.

I’m forced to start by using the expression “like dying and going to heaven” because opening this book and seeing what’s available in nature to help me enhance my health was very, very exciting! Being given all this information on what to look for while out walking (beautifully illustrated descriptions of the flowers and wild herbs), makes me want to put on my walking boots and hit the woods and meadows that surround the area where I live.The book is beautiful to look at and had me hooked from page 1. Having a resident “butterfly inside me” meant that I did open the book at page 1, only to then skip backwards and forwards looking at all the delicious drinks and then I’d go back to the plant's section. This meant that as I was flipping through I’d get excited to see a drink’s recipe using turmeric and ginger or cinnamon and honey, only to find that the next thing I’d be reading about would be fermentation!Michael Isted has created a “bible” to use with plants that grow wild and recipes to create elixirs. This is a book that should never be far from sight. It’s important to study the plant section so that no mistakes can be made while out looking for them in meadows or woods. Alternatively, of course, lots of the herbs and flowers mentioned, can be grown in your own garden.The drink section covers everything from cleansing, restorative, energizing, boosters, aperitifs and digestives to love elixirs and sleep potions.This is a book that I would encourage anyone to buy who, like me, has an auto-immune deficiency, or any other health problem which can benefit from a healthy diet. I have found over the years that, by becoming more involved with my dietary needs, it helps keep my fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue under control which means I’m able to lead a reasonably normal life. I know that by adding some of the drinks that I’ve discovered in this book, things can only get better.TreebeardBreakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

I am reviewing this book for Michael Isted, Quarto Publishing Group, and NetGalley who gave me a copy of their book for an honest review.An excellent resource for enabling people to use herbs at home in a variety of ways. It begins by describing all the herbs and plants one by one and then highlights what they can be used for. Then there are a number of recipes which sound delicious and I plan on trying very soon.

Michael's book is an inspiring ode to the world of plants. It honours ancient traditions and gives birth to modern ideas of how to use herbs in our everyday lives. The recipes range from easy to complex. The drinks I was lucky enough to enjoy so far are pleasing to the eye and a celebration for the taste buds.Go get it!!!