Herb Tea

The first hour of my Sunday radio show starts with the SPCA report to help some local dogs and cats. Next we catch up on any gardening news and start the feature called “In Howard’s Garden” that weaves through all the calls and covers what I’m doing in my gardens and what you should be doing on planting, fertilizing, pruning, etc.

I also talk about the herb tea I have made and brought with me to sip during the show. Herb tea is one of the best by-products of organic gardening. Ginger has been my favorite ingredient lately. I use fresh ginger “hands” and cut a piece about tablespoon size into slivers by cutting with the grain, not across it. My other ingredients lately include thyme, basil, garden sage, apple cider vinegar and honey.

To prepare my herb teas, I pick fresh leaves, root pieces and/or appropriate flowers, crush them, put in a teapot and pour in hot water after bringing it to just short of boiling. I use a glass kettle, filtered water and a ceramic (glazed inside and out) teapot. Boiling water destroys many of the health-giving properties. In fact, letting the heated water cool down slightly before pouring is a good idea. Let the tea steep for a few minutes (the longer it steeps, the stronger it gets). Before straining out the solids and enjoying, add honey, stevia, apple cider vinegar or other flavors. These ingredients shouldn’t be added until the tea has cooled down a bit.

My favorite herbs for tea include lemon verbena, peppermint, thyme, anise hyssop, bay, rosemary, thyme, basil, sage, fennel, lemongrass, oregano, spearmint and chamomile. The flowers of linden, hibiscus, begonia, sambac jasmine, and Turk’s cap can also be used. I also use elderberry fruit and leaves and blackberry fruit and leaves.

Herb gardens are worth planting if for no other reason than a source for herb teas. Try some herb tea every day. Pick fresh leaves, crush them and put in the tea pot. Let the brew steep from 3 to 10 minutes depending on your taste. Tannic acid increases with time and will make the tea bitter. A single herb or a mix of various plants can be used.

Natural teas are great to me with nothing added, but lemon juice or honey can be added for taste. By the way, it really is important to use clean, filtered water. Chlorine and other contaminants can ruin the taste and quality of any good drink, as well as your health. Commercial teas can also be added to your own herbs. Japanese green tea is my favorite. It tastes great and is reported to help prevent degenerative diseases. It does contain some caffeine.




Unused tea also has uses. Pour on the plants as a liquid fertilizer after it has cooled. The tea can also be put into your foliar spray solution. The other use is to drink it cold over ice the next day. Toss a couple of fresh leaves into your iced drink for additional flavor. The unused tea can also be frozen into ice cubes to be used in other drinks later.

The rose is a greatly underused herb. Roses can be used in teas for taste and as a health drink. Rose tea can be made from petals and is believed to fortify the heart and brain, to help female problems, stomach disorders and other ailments. Hips, which are the colorful fruits that follow the flowers, are particularly high in vitamins A,B,E, and especially C.

To make a wonderful tea from roses, use the flower petals before they unfold or the hips after they mature to a red color in the fall. Opened flower petals taste good but won’t have as much of the health-giving vitamins and minerals. Use 1 teaspoon of dried or 2 teaspoons of fresh petals for each cup of hot water. Add a little honey and enjoy hot or cold. The rugosa roses have large hips that are the richest in vitamin C.

Don’t do any of this if you are still spraying with the systemic, toxic poisons. If you are still using these unnecessary chemical contaminants like Dursban, diazinon, Orthene, Orthonex, Funginex, Sevin, kelthane or any other toxic pesticide - stop! The synthetics are dangerous and a waste of money. If you don’t know how to avoid the harsh chemicals in your rose program, I can help. See the Organic Rose Program under Guides on the Home page. Try all the wonderful culinary herbs in your teas and let me know which are your favorites.
 

Herb tea continues to be an important part of my life. I enjoy herb tea both for its health benefits and for the variety. I could brew a different herb tea each day for at least a year. And, herb tea is a great example of the financial benefits of being organic.

More Ginger herbal sources

Two free eBooks offer recipes. They are both copyrighted but allow one download for personal use.

From TheHerbalAcademy.com is Herbal Tea Throughout the Seasons. Scroll down below the top screen and you'll find a link to the PDF file.

From HerbalRemediesAdvice.org is the page with the health benefits of ginger. The eBook by Rosalee de la Forêt is Ginger; scroll down the page to the form requesting your email to receive the book.

eBook links updated March 23, 2021

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