: And too, we have no idea what kind of tea it is. White willow bark can be steeped in hot water and it has certain pain-reducing properties (probably something Frodo wouldn't have minded). And white willows aren't tropical at all. We know there were willows nearby because of Old Man Willow. You can chew the stuff (yuck) and it will act like a light aspirin. Almost any kind of bark or herb can be steeped and made into tea, and some can be quite delightful. Thistles can be boiled into a tea or a soup and you can actually live off of them for a while. More likely, the tea was local.

: -RR

Does anybody know anything about the history of tea-drinking. Was herb tea commonly drunk before trade routes to the East were opened? I suppose it must have been, but have no evidence to support this. I don't remeber ever coming across any mediaevil tea-cups....

can anybody help.

But of course, even if such things didn't exist, that doesn't imply they shouldn't have done in Middle-earth