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The Hollyberry Lady 01-23-2011 12:36 AM
Making Tea From Plants ???
 
I have always loved to grow lemon balm and make delicious tea from the dried leaves. I'm still drinking some from the leaves I dried in summer.


I want to make tea soon from the Wintergreen leaves of my (Gaultheria Procumbens) "Hillberry", "Winterberry", or "Teaberry" dwarf evergreen shrublet...








When the leaves are dried they have a strong scent and flavor of wintergreen, and the berries do too. I might try it. Here's how...


Quote:
Wintergreen was once famous as a native tea hence the regional name Teaberry, but it has fallen out of use because people have forgotten how to prepare it. The leaves can be harvested at any time of year, but have to be fermented if they are to have any taste beyond just a pleasant odor. To prepare the leaves, pack a jar with them, fill with sterile water, & set the sealed jar in a warm spot for several days, until the water becomes bubbly with fermentation...

The first soaking of water makes a strong tea when heated & diluted to taste; or the flavored water can be used in cooking or to add a distinctive flavor to lemonaid or pecoe tea. The fermented leaves themselves are strained & placed in a dehydrator or permited to dry out naturally if it is a low-humidity season. The dried leaves can later be prepared in boiling water like any other tea, making a milder brew than the water from the original fermenting.

Looking forward...


: )

CookieCows 01-23-2011 12:54 AM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
Oh yum I love this thread! Something I'm very interested in learning about! I've never advanced very far in this area. I used to pick and dry, wild chamomile way back when and mint of course but that's it.

The Hollyberry Lady 01-23-2011 09:21 AM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
I'm glad you like the thread, Deb! ;)


Making tea from plant leaves is easy. Here's how I make Lemon Balm tea:


First you start by growing a healthy plant...





When you've got enough to harvest, take a third of the growth and tie the bundles, hanging them to dry...





When lemon balm is dried properly, it should take on a purple-ish hue to the undersides of the leaves...





When the drying process is complete, you crumble some of the leaves into a tea ball...





Then close it up...





and let it steep...





Enjoy!!!



: )

john_ny 01-23-2011 04:40 PM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
I've always wanted to grow a regular tea plant, a type of camelia.

The Hollyberry Lady 01-23-2011 04:57 PM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
Yes and I've always wanted to grow green tea so I can make it myself. I can only imagine how delicious it would be. :)


I've grown and made my own chamomile and mint tea also.


Wonder what other plants can be turned into tea and if anyone else does this too, or is interested ???


I'll let you guys know how the "Hillberry" plant tastes when I make some tea from the leaves...unless I chicken out. The oil apparently can be toxic but tea made from the leaves is supposed to be ok. :eek:


If you suddenly don't hear back from me, you'll know why! :ha:


: )

Jananas Bananas 01-23-2011 05:19 PM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
I have made fresh dandelion tea. Super easy, just pull up a dandelion and rinse off, pick about three or four leaves place in your cup and pour boiling water over it. The tea color is very light and the flavor is light. I remove the leaves sweeten with honey and enjoy. You can sip it hot or cold.

Great new thread Sherry!

Here's a little herbal tidbit about dandelion:

Some herbs like dandelion enhance the livers ability to break down waste products and toxins. It also aids the kidneys to filter blood of these waste products and toxins. Dandelion leaves can be added to salads or cooked like spinach. A cup of dandelion tea each day containing 50 Gms of fresh dandelion leaves to half a liter of water.

~JaNan

nullzero 01-23-2011 06:18 PM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
I love making my own teas. Chamomile in my garden is doing well it has reseeded from last year. Here is some other great herbs to grow for tea; lemon verbena, ginger, citrus (use the flowers and rind for teas), roses (hips and petals), Raspberry (leaves), Stevia, Anise Hyssop, Pineapple Sage, Georgia basil (Calamintha georgiana), Bergamot/Oswego Tea (Monarda didyma), Moujean Tea (Nashia inaguensis), and hibiscus.

The Hollyberry Lady 01-23-2011 06:36 PM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
Yeah I love chamomile tea!


Is "Stevia" the herb that's used as a sugar replacement? If so, I have seeds for it. I bet that would produce one sweet tea! :eek:


Thanks for the list. ;)


JaNan that sounds totally cool and I might try it sometime. I know people that collect dandelion greens for salads and swear they're delicious so I'm not surprised about the tea. Thanks for telling us about it. Glad you like the thread as well.

Wow, there's a lot of plants you can make tea from. :)


: )

Richard 01-23-2011 07:59 PM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
Tea plants (Camellia sinensis) grow easily and beautifully anywhere you can grow rhododendrons. From this plant you can make black, white, and green teas.

For herbal teas, my favorite is Balm of Gilead (Cedronella canariensis).

The Hollyberry Lady 01-23-2011 08:06 PM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
I think you once told me I should grow that, Richard. Very interesting.


: )

Richard 01-23-2011 08:48 PM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Hollyberry Lady (Post 153098)
Is "Stevia" the herb that's used as a sugar replacement? If so, I have seeds for it. I bet that would produce one sweet tea! :eek:
There are many great uses for the sweet herb Stevia. If you have chronic medical issues, consult your doctor or rheumatologist before working with the raw plant.

sunfish 01-23-2011 09:27 PM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
My favorite

The Hollyberry Lady 01-23-2011 09:42 PM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
I'll tell you this...the seeds take a long time to sprout! :ha: For Stevia, that is.

It's quite a wonderful herb though, and that's why I ordered the seeds awhile back. I didn't know people made tea from it. Wouldn't it be phenominally sweet though? :eek:

I also like Chai, Orange Pekoe, Peppermint, & Earl Grey tea as well as many other kinds too. I would like to grow more tea bearing plants. My lemon balm tea is so delicious you wouldn't believe.

What do you think about making tea from Galutheria Procumbens leaves, Richard? Bob's got me worried I'll be poisoned! :ha:


: )

Richard 01-23-2011 11:04 PM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Hollyberry Lady (Post 153130)
What do you think about making tea from Galutheria Procumbens leaves, Richard? Bob's got me worried I'll be poisoned! :ha:
5 times per year from the leaves is probably a safe dose. I can't find any information on the density of essential oils in the leaves. This article is gives a good account of both the ying and yang: Wintergreen, Herb Monograph - Flora Health Herb Encyclopedia

The Hollyberry Lady 01-24-2011 01:22 AM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
Good link Richard. :)

Well then damn it...I'm going to make some tea and give it a try! Like I said previously, if you don't hear from me, you'll know why...


: )

The Hollyberry Lady 01-24-2011 02:49 PM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
On 2nd thought, I'm thinking of waiting to make the tea from my "Teaberry" plant until next Fall, when the plant has had a chance to grow all season. ;)

It's slow growing and it wouldn't be a good idea to steal too many of the leaves just yet when it's still young. Plus I plan on sharing the plant with a couple people in the Spring so I'll have to divide it then. It's actually many plants in one pot.

Maybe I'll think of an herb in the meantime that I could grow to make some tea from...

What about Echinacea...isn't that good for colds and their symptoms? I'd love to make fresh tea from my perennial Echinacea plants. :D

: )

CookieCows 01-24-2011 03:14 PM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Hollyberry Lady (Post 153187)
On 2nd thought, I'm thinking of
Maybe I'll think of an herb in the meantime that I could grow to make some tea from...

What about Echinacea...isn't that good for colds and their symptoms? I'd love to make fresh tea from my perennial Echinacea plants. :D

: )
I'm getting so inspired. I especially love wild edibles and medicinals. I looked up Echinacea. Had no clue what it was and Black Eyed Susan came up in the list which I believe grows wild around our place. I'll have hubby, Ric ask the old timers at the country store where he has breakfast if it is and if the wild type would have the same properties as the Echinacea you'd use for tea. I have so much info to copy down from this thread! Love it!

Richard 01-24-2011 05:38 PM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
Just stay away from Comfry.

The Hollyberry Lady 01-24-2011 08:30 PM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
Why is that, Richard?


Deb, I'm so glad you are inspired by this thread! :D Here's a link about making tea from Echinacea...


Echinacea Tea Benefits


: )

Richard 01-24-2011 10:00 PM
Re: Making Tea From Plants ???
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Hollyberry Lady (Post 153212)
Why is that, Richard?
With regard to Comfry: Safety Issues Affecting Herbs: Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids

This article is from the ITM site, which in general contains a lot of helpful information. For example, check out this article to see if Echinacea and other herbs are right for you:
Checking for Possible Herb-Drug Interactions


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