I have no idea how I initially got interested in herb tea.It may have been an exceptional box of commercial herbal tea or perhaps a particularly successful experiment with with wild edibles. However it happened, there has rarely been a time in my life when I wasn’t drinking tea of some sort.
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There are purists who will frown and insist that brews made from herbs are not tea at all, that they should be called tisanes or infusions (if steeped) or decoctions (if simmered.) The name tea, they say, should be reserved for the assortment of delicious hot or cold drinks made from Camellia sinensis, the official tea. This is, strictly speaking, quite true.
For our purposes today, however, I’ll define tea as a pleasant drink made from plant parts and water. The plant parts can include leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, bark or roots. The water, of course, should be wet and may be boiled, simmered, lukewarm or cold, depending on your need. Some folks choose to use distilled or bottled water for their tea to avoid the chemicals and impurities of tap water. I am blessed with a good municipal water system and tasty water straight from the faucet, but, unfortunately, not everyone can say that. Use what works best for you.
There are so many different plants that make a good tea, even some that would surprise most people (thyme and rosemary tea is delicious!) When I started gardening in pots this year, I focused my herb growing on ones that would be good to cook with and just picked up a few for making tea. Next year, I’ll reverse that.
The mints are by far my favorites.
I don’t seem to have any good pictures of it but apple mint, Mentha suaveolens, is the other mint I grew this year. Of the three, this one resents being in a pot the most. It sulks. I believe this one could probably be let loose in the garden without instantly conquering the neighboring boroughs but I’m taking no chances. Bad enough it kept sending out feelers to colonize the neighboring pots!
I have not had the pleasure of making tea out of this one but I did make syrup for my Mom. She loves spearmint syrup and apple mint is closely related. To me, it smells and tastes about the same. To make syrup, you need one cup of water, one cup of sugar and one cup of roughly chopped mint. Heat the water and sugar until the sugar is totally dissolved and take it off the heat as soon as it starts to boils. Add the mint and allow to steep for twenty minutes, covered. Strain out the mint and allow to cool completely. Mom mixes it with brandy for a cocktail but it’s also good over vanilla ice cream.
Another excellent herb to use fresh for tea is lemon verbena, Aloysia citrodora. While you can dry this herb for winter use, the flavor and aroma are both significantly diminished, in my opinion. Fresh lemon verbena is a treat. It smells like the lemon fruit without the sourness. Rub the leaves with your fingers and the scent will stay on them for a long time. I’m told that this will also repel mosquitos, though I haven’t tried using it that way. If you want to try it, make a strong tea of the leaves and put it in a spray bottle to spritz yourself with. Let us know how it works!
All four of these herbs have made their way into my teacup. My way of making tea from fresh herbs is to pick what I think I will need — aim for about three teaspoons of the herbs, but there’s no need to be fussy about it. Chop it all up (the finer you chop it, the more flavor will be released), then dump it in a cup of freshly boiled water. I usually just put a measuring cup of water in the microwave — the pouring spout keeps it from dumping water everywhere when you strain it. Put a saucer on top of the cup to keep the essential oils in and let it steep for about ten minutes. Pour it through a strainer into your drinking cup. If you’ve really chopped the herbs up fine, you may want to put a coffee filter in the strainer to catch the littlest bits.
This method, called an infusion by those purists, works great for most leafy and flowery teas, whether you are working with fresh or dried herbs. When you want to brew harder material — seeds, barks, roots — you may want to boil them a bit to get all the good stuff out of them. That’s called a decoction.
One of my favorite decoctions is fresh ginger root. Heat a cup or two of water to boiling in a pot on the stove then lower the heat to a simmer and add a handful of fresh ginger slices. Let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes then strain. A spoonful or three of honey and a squirt of lemon juice and you have ambrosia. My hubby finds this brew a bit strong and it will sting the back of your throat, but I rather like it. Throw in some other spices and experiment with their flavors — anise seed, allspice berries, cloves, cardamom, be creative!
Ginger tea is very warming in the winter but you can make it in the summer and chill it for a nice punch. It’s also a wonderful remedy for nausea from many causes — motion sickness, stomach bug, even morning sickness for pregnant ladies, but check with your doctor before trying it. Candied ginger works for nausea, too.
Tea could be made from any of the other herbs I grew this year. Rosemary, scented geraniums, bay, sage, even the basil I am currently drowning in. And there are so many others available. Hibiscus, rose hips, chamomile, lavender, thyme, catnip, lemon balm (really, any lemon herb is worth making tea out of), bee balm, oregano — I could go on for two more pages! My favorite place to get herb plants is Richters Herbs in Ontario. Great prices, phenomenal selection, nice staff. Check them out next spring.
So what about you guys? Does anyone else use fresh herbs for tea? Which ones? Any favorites blends?
I didn’t talk about dried herbs this time because that topic could take up a dozen Buckets and we’d still have things to say! Please feel free to share your experiments with dried herbs and the different varieties of “real” tea in the comments.
Next time, I’ll be switching gears a little and talking about wildcrafting and drying your harvest.
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