Homegrown Herbal Tea

[Alasgun]

What ailments does that plant heal?

An Herbalist's Guide to Using Self Heal

Self heal is a beautiful herb that grows well in many locations. Read this guide to using self heal and learn more about how it can benefit home herbalists!

blog.indieherbalist.com

 

[Phaedra]

I have Rose (flower petal), Chamomile, mixed Mints, Sage, Tea MUMs, Raspberry (leaves), Elderberry (flowers), and Melissa for 2023's collection. I store them in glass jars and make the tea with single or multiple ingredients. I enjoy herbal tea but take it mainly as a refreshing and relaxing drink.

Last year, I had rose, chamomile, mints, and sage. Sage has a more dominant tone, so usually, I added just a bit. These four are easy to grow and taste pleasant for me.

I also grew catnip this year, but majorly to make our cats happy. They got very tender leaves in their meals, and I will make them small pillows with dried catnips in autumn.

 

[Phaedra]

Homegrown mixed mints Now is about half of the jar.
For rose petals, I already have one full jar.

It's also my first year growing stevia. Their growth is a bit slow in my garden, but eventually, they become nice and healthy plants. I pinched them to encourage the sideshoots and tried to root the pinched stems. Both worked. The mother plants become bushier and healthier, and the stems are rooted nicely, too.

And, their leaves are really sweet - when you add too many, it's simply too sweet. How amazing!

 

[Phaedra]

After the mints dried, I usually put the stems aside. However, I 'cold brew' the stems and some dehydrated apple slices.

They sat in the fridge for about 24 hours, and the color looked alluring.

It tasted good, and I didn't expect the natural sweetness from the apple to be that obvious.

 

[baymule]

It looks refreshing!

 

[Dahlia]

I have Rose (flower petal), Chamomile, mixed Mints, Sage, Tea MUMs, Raspberry (leaves), Elderberry (flowers), and Melissa for 2023's collection. I store them in glass jars and make the tea with single or multiple ingredients. I enjoy herbal tea but take it mainly as a refreshing and relaxing drink.
View attachment 59167

Last year, I had rose, chamomile, mints, and sage. Sage has a more dominant tone, so usually, I added just a bit. These four are easy to grow and taste pleasant for me.

I also grew catnip this year, but majorly to make our cats happy. They got very tender leaves in their meals, and I will make them small pillows with dried catnips in autumn.

View attachment 59168

I am going to make a new tea that I've never tried before. It's madrona leaf tea with honey! I'll take pics and let y'all know how it turns out. I just got back from picking the leaves this afternoon. We shall see how it is ..

 

[Phaedra]

The first batch of Lemon Balm/Melissa, smells so great!

 

[Dahlia]

The first batch of Lemon Balm/Melissa, smells so great!
View attachment 59260

Last night I made some madrona tea with honey. It was very tangy and lemony and I wouldn't recommend it by itself. However, in a wassail at Christmas time it might be fun to throw in a couple madrona leaves!

 

[canesisters]

I'm instantly obsessed with this ...

I have lemon balm ALLLL OVER THE FARM... It got loose and is now something that I have to mow in the chicken coop because it gets waist tall and they won't touch it - but mowing the yard smells Amazing! I cut several bunches of long stems and hung them up in the barn. We had weeks of 80*+ to 100* days and they took FOREVER to 'dry' but mostly just molded.
Is a dehydrator required?? Or did I just somehow do it wrong?
I've also got several other herbs that I mostly grow because I like how they smell in the garden... while I'm drinking my store-bought teas...

.. yeah.. I can be a little slow sometimes..
I love the idea of making tea from my gardens

 

[Phaedra]

Is a dehydrator required?? Or did I just somehow do it wrong?

I usually rinsed them a bit and removed the stems (much more difficult to dry). Leaves would stay on several bamboo sieves on a shelve. According to my experience, it won't dry so quickly if you just hang them up because the airflow inside might be pretty constrained. However, if the moisture level is very low, it might still work out.

If you have a lot to dry once, a dehydrator might be a better idea. I usually pick a certain amount that I can just leave them on the sieves, and it works out well.