# ISO Herbal Tea Ideas



## tdiprincess (Jan 13, 2008)

I like to tea. I have a variety of loose leaf teas. Does anyone grow specific herbs for their tea? What about roses for rose tea..are there specific rose types to grow? (My parents have about 5 rose bushes in their yard that I can steal)
And is it just simply letting the herbs and stuff dry to make the tea or is there a specific method for herbal tea?
Thanks!


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## ErikC (Jan 13, 2008)

Mint is the only thing that comes to mind at the moment.


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## expatgirl (Jan 13, 2008)

tdiprincess------there are so many teas out there and for so many different things--calmness, stomach upsets, gas--there are lots of books and info on the internet---but my grandmother always kept the chamomile plant in her garden and it was wonderful for menstrual cramps and a general calming agent before bedtime but unfortunately I'm allergic to it now.......I also grew fennel in my garden which is wonderful for indigestion and gas and a host plant for butterflies---has a sweet flavor to it and is wonderful paired with seafood but the list is endless but since this is just the beginning of your thread you are going to get lots of replies.......glad that you are such an herb enthusiast..I am, too, but I now live in a very cold climate in an apartment with no balcony and can't indulge one of my passions........


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## tdiprincess (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks... I also live in an apartment. I do have a balcony..but right now its winter here. Can't really grow out there. Getting a simple growlight you can grow different stuff. Maybe not as much as with a garden.. but I've started out a few things. 
I have some thyme sage and oregano. I was thinking about trying the thyme or sage for tea. 
Do I have to dry the stuff or can I just put it in my tea infuser and heat it up?
Thanks for the suggestions or the mint and the fennel and chamomile. Those all sound good. I think for now the mint and chamomile will be the easiest to grow... we'll see.
Thanks


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## expatgirl (Jan 13, 2008)

It's been my experience that yes, you can use the fresh, but in some cases, the dried herbs concentrate the aromatic oils inherent in them--for me I never got a chance to dry the fennel because of the butterfly larvae feeding on them and I believe  that they were the Giant Swallowtail babies so no way was I going to dry them!!!!  I'd rather lose the herb than disturb their reproduction.  You now see so little of them.....it's sad.....my grandmother used to have many on her farm in the surrounding fields........chamomile is a fantastic herb and is wonderful paired with mint and or fennel and others...........


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## xmascarol1 (Jan 17, 2008)

*herbal teas*

a good place to start for herbal teas is plant a lot of mint--spearmint, pineapple mint, lemon mint, peppermint, etc.  Watch where you  plant mint as it can get away from you.  Harvest it all season and dry it.  Other things you can easily harvest are hibiscus, if you live where they grow.  Rose hips are generally gotten from old time roses like rigosa and wild roses, that have big hips.  Just cut them in half, get rid of the fuzzy junk and dry the seeds and the peel.  Sage is easy to grow, but I don't find it a  pleasant tea, so I just use that tea medicinally.  Raspberry leaves are good in tea, if you have an abundance of bushes.  Dandelion root is pretty nasty tea, but very valuable for liver and gall bladder ailments.  Chamomile is not a very easy herb to have because it takes a field of those babies to get much.  So my advice there is to buy a # of this at San Franciso Herb Company.  That's a lot of chamomile.

I make a tin of herbal tea mix for the winter and use it in my tea infuser.  It consists of 2 parts mint (any kind), 1 part chamomile, 1/2 part hibiscus petals, 1/2 part raspberry leaves, 1/2 part rose hips, 1/2 part clover blossoms.  For a really excellent treat, use some peach, pear, or apricot nectar , (or other similar fruit juices you've canned like cherry) .  If you've got a sick person you must tend, make them a thermos of this, add a T of honey, juice of 1 lemon.  If they're really under the weather, add a shot of whiskey.  He'll be feeling fine at the end of the day.


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## tdiprincess (Jan 18, 2008)

cool thanks for the awesome ideas for the tea. Especially for the sickies. It'll come in handy. Its funny I like the taste of sage and thyme teas. I'm gonna be trying oregano soon. I hear it helps. I'm just wondering what it tastes like. We'll see!


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## cookinmonster (Mar 19, 2008)

I like to drop a whole clove into my green tea sometimes.  Cardomom pod is good too, and aids digestion I believe.  Dried basil isn't too bad either.


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