Elven Beverages: Tea
Elves seem to eat less but drink more than other races, perhaps because they are children of Moon-Queen Luna, the lady of water. They make teas and infusions, warm and cold, which they drink throughout the day. These beverages often have medicinal purposes in addition to hydration.
In addition to leaves, they also infuse flowers and fruit for flavor but also their medicinal effects. Besides the common ones known to aid in digestion, congestion, or other simple ailments, the elves have special concoctions not commonly known to other people.
An elf with various ingredients for tea
Taluman Elf Teas & Infusions
The elves of Taluma have strong, ancient traditions with hot and cold teas and infusions. Some of their beverages from rare ingredients, plants native to Taluma, are powerful enough to be considered magical, akin to potions. Their favorite teas are made from flowers, and they prefer fresh over dried. In winter they grow some plants indoors including herbs to be able to use fresh one for steeping but will also air-dry them and make infusions during warm months which they keep in storage for winter, though after time the potency diminishes. To alleviate this, they will reduce the infusions to stronger concentrations. They also preserve flowers and herbs in honey which they can add to hot water.
In the Ebonwald forest, the Moonshadow elves harvest the berries of the black spruce on the night of the new moon. It is said that an infusion made with the berries will enhance or even grant dark vision, allowing elves to see in even magical darkness and non-elves to see 60’ in normal darkness. They are careful with the infusions though as the juice of new moon black spruce berries is poisonous at full strength, only diluted in water does it have the beneficial effect. If the juice is consumed straight up, it can cause blindness (make a CON save vs. DC 15 or be blinded for 1d4 hours) even to elves. This of course can be used against others - giving the unknowing pure black spruce juice to blind them.
