Grow Your Own Magazine

I'd like to try growing herbs for making teas. Commercial mint tea is made with peppermint, so i would guess that is better than the other types. I heard mint can be disappointing when dried to make tea, can it be used fresh? Do camomile flowers have to be dried & or chopped for tea use?

As far as I'm concerned all best used fresh, and that goes for nettles and lemon balm.

__________________
it's written in the wind that we're two, carved out in the sand that we're real,
it's lit up in the stars that we're true, we're destined in the sky to be glad
Paul Weller
http://johntygreentoes.blogspot.com/

Hello mushroom...and welcome to the Vine!!
We are very interested in what you have to say about herbal teas....I think both fresh and dried are both good from my experiences, although there are a few grapes who know more about this subject than I do!!
We are very interested to here your ideas/experiences!!

Hello Mushroom and welcome.

I grew peppermint last year and froze some sprigs which have made very good herb tea with a fresh taste The inly thing is that it takes up a lot of room in the freezer so I am going to have to think of a different way of freezing it next time.

I suppose you could try growing a bit in a pot for the winter.

__________________
Gardening requires a lot of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. Lou Erickson, critic and poet

If you like a drop of Earl Grey, grow Bergamot!! Its a wonderful herb with beautiful flowers.

All I did last year was put a few leaves in with a tea bag in a mug, add boiling water and Wallah! Instant refreshing Earl Grey!

It's the first herb I'm going to stick in my herb wheel at the allotment! My only worry is that I will finish up like Nic, supping tea all day and get nowt done!

__________________
My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

My OH recommends growing 'Black peppermint' for drinking - very nice.

__________________
Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

Hi mushroom and welcome to the vine (or madhouse). They can be used both fresh and dried. I would stick to fresh with anything hardy e.g. sage, thyme, rosemary and explore the options with the tender stuff. As suggested you could freeze, dry or pot up for overwintering indoors. You could also try fennel which is usually made from the dried seeds. One plant should provide most of your needs.

When things are available fresh best to use them that way and capture the best the plant can provide.

__________________
Bright Blessings
Earthbabe
If at first you don't succeed, open a bottle of wine.

Water mint makes a fantastic tea and field mint is also worth a try.

Just how do you make a herb tea? Fresh leaves - left whole or chopped? Hot water or warm water? How long do you infuse it for? Do you mash them to get all the flavour out? Add honey? I haven't got a clue!!!

__________________
[

I tend to leave the leaves (ha!ha!) whole, pour on boiling water and leave to steep for at least 5 mins, although it is often more like 10. I never mash them. You can honey if you want depending on taste.

In other words I make a herb tea as I would leaf tea.

How does that sound LJ, I find it best to keep these things simple.

__________________
Bright Blessings
Earthbabe
If at first you don't succeed, open a bottle of wine.

Hi,
i have been preparing herbal infusions for many years now, mainly for medicinal purposes but also for tasty teas. Many, many lovely herbs grow naturally in abundence all over the country and this is one of my main passions.
I mainly pick the herbs in the spring and summer and tend to use the active ingredient (leaves, flowers, roots etc) fresh in the summer. I dry a good half of what i have picked using the heat of the sun and by covering them with dry newspaper, i store them in jars for the winter months, alternatively tinctures can easily be made and stored in bottles for several months.

I make the infusions by pouring on hot (but not boiling water) and leaving to infuse for a few minutes then strain and sweeten to taste.

That's smashing Earthbabe. Thanks!

__________________
[

wow for the replies folks.

Freezing is a great idea for winter instead of drying!

I like the idea of mints, lemon balm and nettle leaves and camomile flowers- i think sage, rosemary & thyme may be an aquired taste though but an interesting thought!

Anyone heard of or tried any other types of leaves or flowers that are brewable that don't taste too way out? for instance I've seen blackberry leaves in tea ingredients lists.

raspberry leaves are good too, but need mixing eith somthing else to add flavor, try raspberry leaves and peppermint.

__________________
Yo an' Bob
Walk lightly on the earth
take only what you need
give all you can
and your produce will be bountifull

Hi Mushroom and welcome too. I can't add much to the other grapes'comments, except to suggest that you don't chop the chamomile flowers or you can get horrible 'bits' between your teeth!

__________________
Regards, Jane
What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy? The creative adult is the child who has survived.
Ursula LeGuin
http://www.etribes.com/madderbat

rosehips? lavender flowers

__________________
Bright Blessings
Earthbabe
If at first you don't succeed, open a bottle of wine.

Hi All

Did anyone hear the piece about nettle on radio 2 yesterday? Chris Evans drank nettle tea and said it had a 'loopy juice effect'. Now, I don't want to get myself a reputation but anyone know about the benefits of nettle tea and whether it does have a 'happy' effect?

Ta
x
Emma

Hi Emma,
I've never known it to have a 'happy effect' but it is great for removing toxins from the body, blood purifier, diuretic and some believe it is a good tonic for bringing out the natural colour of hair! It also contains vitamin c, protein and dietry fibre.

However there is another natural weed that is great for 'happy effect'

Bilberry/blaeberry leaves make a good tea, if you're lucky enough to have nay growing wild around you. Cultivated blueberry would probably be similar. And what about heather flowers?

__________________

Dwell simply ~ love richly

Hi Wendy

Happy effect - the mother-in-law visits a lot, maybe I should stick to the nettles.

Yeah you could be right there Emma!

one of my fav herb teas is lemon balm and chamomile - refreshing yet very relaxing yummy!

I love herb/fruit/flower teas but I can't stand lemon balm - it tastes like soap! I grew some in our old garden but the smell did me 'ed in as the kids used to say, so I grubbed it all up.

__________________
It takes more oil than vinegar to make a good salad dressing.

vegheaven.blogspot.com Updated Aug 29th 2008

Lemon verbena, a small tender shrub, makes a lovely refreshing tea. In our area (North Yorkshire), lemon verbena is not hardy, so I keep it in the unheated greenhouse and wrap it in bubble plastic when it gets very cold, so far without problems. Sage tea is slightly bitter but good for sore throats. You can buy a proper herb tea (or tisane) cup which has a china "filter" with lid into which you put your whole or crumpled leaves, cover with boiling water and then remove the filter and leaves after about 5 minutes. It works best if you first warm the cup and "filter" with boiling water, too, like you would a teapot.

We drink thyme tea for sore throats and infections. Works wonder and the flavour is pleasant enough.

Oh, and don't forget teas made from the dried zest of citrus fruits, and the dried skins of apples, peaches, etc....they are actyually quite yummy and can be added to herb teas, or just used alone.
Sometimes I add fennel seed to my teas just to take them up a knotch.