Anyone Make Tea From Their Garden ?

[MatthewsHomestead]

That is Poor Joe. It has a taproot, makes a rounded, spread out growth. My sheep eagerly eat it.

https://garden.org/plants/view/81558/Poor-Joe-Diodia-teres/

I thought it was kinda cool looking. Never saw it until we had the goats and horse eating up stuff from around the house. Cool to know! Thank you Bay!

 

[MatthewsHomestead]

 

[MatthewsHomestead]

https://pin.it/b35hohaa4ktala
All about dandelion tea.... Couldn't screenshot

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I dig up small sassafras trees and make tea from the roots.

I'd be careful with that, a lot of scientists think safarole (what is in sassafras) is a carcinogen.

I used to grow some tulsi (holy basil) for tea, since I use so much of it. But I never got anywhere near the amount I needed to allow me to rely on it.

I'm currently drinking a lot of Greek Mountain Tea (Sideritis) so a part of me would like to grow that, but I don't think I can (all the species seem to be xeric so were just too wet)

 

[baymule]

I'd be careful with that, a lot of scientists think safarole (what is in sassafras) is a carcinogen.

I have heard that, but I don't drink enough of it to bother with it. I love the stuff, but it is a treat, not a daily drink. I like knowing (and using) what is out there in the woods, especially on our won place.

 

[Nyboy]

What tree is root beer made from ?

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Root beer used to be made from a mixture of Sassafras root and wintergreen leaf. However due to the potential carcinogen content of both of them, the USDA long ago banned their use, and root beers today use some other (usually artificial) flavoring mixture*
Sarsaparilla is in the same boat as sarsaparilla root is also suspect.

*I say "usually" because there are a lot of "organic" root beers on the market (like Virgil's) that say they use "no artificial flavors", so I have NO IDEA what they are using.

 

[jackb]

On occasion, we make olive leaf tea. It is quite good actually, and healthy.

https://www.therighttea.com/olive-leaf-tea.html

 

[Nyboy]

Interesting jack reduces levels of bad cholesterol

 

[digitS']

Flavor chemistry must be far more complex than I can imagine but there seem to be two large galaxies of flavor out there . One is citrus and the other licorice ...

Fortunately, there are lots of licorice-flavored plants.

Licorice root is a blood thinner, if my understanding is correct. Too much is a bad thing.

My paternal grandfather used both pipe tobacco and chewing tobacco. Both can be flavored with licorice. There was a family story about him once having a problem with bleeding and a wound that wouldn't heal. His Aunt Sis came to live with the family and treat him.

When I learned of the bad side of licorice, I wondered if he used too much tobacco at that time and set himself up for this problem. Anyway, everyone is long gone but the events led to me being able to hear stories about his Aunt Sis .

Steve