Top-of-the-line components of gardening is having fun with your harvest. One in every of my favourite methods to make use of my backyard’s edible flowers and herbs is to dry and blend natural teas. These teas are tasty, stunning, and enjoyable to make. They may also be nourishing and useful in supporting the system with minor points like nausea, sleeplessness, colds, and stress. Right here’s how one can get began making your personal natural teas too.

What Ought to I Put in My Tea?

You will have grown many nice tea elements in your backyard this 12 months. A few of these herbs are normally grown for medicinal functions, whereas others are sometimes included in culinary herb gardens and decorative flower beds.

For those who’ve by no means made natural tea, it’s a little bit extra complicated than simply choosing crops. Completely different herbs have completely different useful components. For instance, we might use one plant’s roots whereas specializing in one other’s aerial components (leaves, flowers, and stems). 

Listed below are a few of the frequent tea herbs chances are you’ll be rising and what half to reap:

• Anise-Hyssop (leaves)
• Ashwagandha (roots)
• Calendula (flowers)
• Catnip (leaves)
• Chamomile (flowers)
• Echinacea (complete plant together with roots)
• Feverfew (aerial components)
• Ginger (rhizome)
• Lavender (Flowerbuds)
• Lemon Balm (leaves)
• Mint (leaves)
• Monarda (aerial components)
• Rose (hips and petals)
• Roselle (calyxes)
• Skullcap (aerial components)
• Valerian (roots)

Moreover, you will have some enjoyable tea elements readily available or can simply decide up at a grocery retailer. These embody:

• Black Tea
• Cardamom
• Cinnamon Sticks
• Fennel Seeds
• Inexperienced Tea
• Lemon Peels
• Nutmeg
• Orange Peels
• Vanilla Beans

For those who’re outdoorsy, you might also need to forage for some tea elements! Simply be sure you are 100% assured in your identification. Additionally, keep away from harvesting crops from areas that might be contaminated. 

• Elderberries
• Chicory
• Clover
• Floor Ivy
• Nettles
• Pine Needles
• Raspberry Leaves
• Spruce Ideas

How To Course of Tea Components

You should utilize elements contemporary from the backyard, however if you wish to make bigger batches of tea blends to maintain readily available or get pleasure from tea out of season, you’ll have to protect your herbs. 

You may air-dry many herbs, like mint and lavender. To take action, you’ll want a spot with good airflow out of direct daylight. Mint and lots of different herbs will dry when hung the other way up in bundles from the ceiling of a kitchen or porch. Keep away from hanging them in areas the place they might be hit with water or steam, like over the range. 

You may as well lay the herbs in a single layer on an outdated window display or related materials that enables good airflow round them.

Nevertheless, in our humid local weather, it’s a lot harder to air-dry fleshier herbs like roselle calyxes and roots and rhizomes like ginger, echinacea, and valerian. We typically advocate reducing them into small items and drying them in a dehydrator. 

How you can Design a Natural Tea Mix

To get began, it’s important to consider why you need to make your tea. Are you attempting to make a citrusy mix that’s tasty to drink iced within the backyard? Do you need to make a soothing mix to drink earlier than mattress or an energizing mix for the morning?

As soon as I’ve a good suggestion of my aim, I begin with the Natural Academy’s primary suggestion. Usually, they advise together with:

• 3 components base ingredient
• 1-2 components supporting elements
• 1/4-1 half accent ingredient

This guideline is simply a place to begin. Begin simply making a batch that can make a cup or two after which change the elements as wanted. 

For many recipes, I’ve discovered {that a} tablespoon of tea makes one 8-ounce cup of tea when steeped for five to fifteen minutes. Nevertheless, you need to use kind of relying on how robust you get pleasure from your tea.

Instance Natural Tea Blends to Attempt

For those who’re uncertain the place to start out, listed below are a few primary blends I get pleasure from. You can begin with these and alter or change elements primarily based in your wants and style.

Sleepy Tea

It’s a calming tea to drink earlier than bedtime or once you’re attempting to loosen up.

• 1 cup chamomile flowers
• 1/2 cup catnip leaves
• 1/4 cup lavender blossoms

Abdomen Calming Tea

This tea is useful for indigestion, nausea, and automobile illness. 

• 1 cup mint leaves
• 1/2 cup chamomile
• 2 TBS ginger
• 1 TBS fennel seeds

Chilly Assist Tea

• 1 cup echinacea
• 1/2 cup monarda
• 1/4 cup orange peels
• 1/4 cup rosehips

When you have stunning herbs coming in from the backyard, it’s tea time! You may dry your personal herbs and create tasty, nourishing tea blends. What’s your favourite natural tea mix?