Herb Tea

Peppermint Tea

I don't know why this works so well but if I make a tea of fresh peppermint it really does relax me and makes me sleepy. I like this before bed. I saw the chamomile topic. What other herbs are used in tea?

Both Catnip & Rosemary are good to use in teas if you have or feel like you're getting a cold. While I like Catnip tea on his own, others aren't fond of the taste unless combined with other herbs (like mint), as well as honey, citrus, etc. Just be aware that if you have cats, they'll be trying to climb inside your mouth - lol!!!

I've never much liked Lemon Balm in tea, as to me the scent reminds of Lemon Pledge furniture polish. In fact, I even call it the Lemon Pledge plant. Lemon Verbena, however, does make a nice lemony tea.

Chamomile flowers, of course, are traditional & good. When I was a kid my mom would always make us Chamomile tea when we weren't feeling well, adding both a squeeze of lemon & a hunk of rock sugar.

Monarda (Bee Balm) leaves & flowers also make a nice sort of sweet/spicy tea. In fact, this used to actually be called "Oswego Tea" after the Oswego Indians who used it for a beverage, among other things. It was also used as a tea substitute by the colonists during the Boston Tea Party/British Tea Tax period.

That's all I can glean off the top of my pointy little head at the moment.

Good information. I'm going to go out and pick some of my Monarda right now. I think I did hear about that somewhere before. I'll have to try the catnip as well. It just sort of springs up around here so now I have something I can use it for.

Thanks

I got some licorish mint im going to try in a tea ,

Oh yes - "Anise Hyssop" is also wonderful in tea, both leaves & flowers. Has a licorice scent & taste. Some people also call it Licorish MInt, so perhaps we're talking about the same plant VbSparky.

The catnip tea is really noxious!

Well - it is meant to be medicinal - lol!!! But really, it tastes best when combined with other herbs or a goodly dollop of honey & some lemon.

Anise Hyssop does sound good. Where do you find it at?

LOL as far as catnip ... well it certainly isn't chamomile but I found it tolerable enough, though I think I'll save it for when I have a cold. I put some in the freezer for this winter when I get sick.

Anise Hyssop is easy to find from most herb seed companies - an internet search should find you lots of sources.

I've found it to be a tender perennial that reseeds readily, so once you have a patch of it going, you shouldn't have to replant it. It's lovely at the back of an herb border, as it reaches heights of 3-4 feet. Flowers come in a purplish-blue, & also a white, I believe.

Here's one for coughs and scratchy throats in winter that I'm always glad to have in years when I was organized in summer to make. It's from Herbs - Their Culture and Uses by Rosetta E. Clarkson pub 1942. I have the 23rd printing from 1979.

Quoted:
Horehound Tea

1 good handful horehound leaves
1 quart boiling water
2 T granulated sugar or rock candy
Juice of 1 lemon

Put leaves into an unchipped enamel kettle, add water and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the fire, strain, press the leaves to get all the liquid, add sugar and lemon juice and cool. If desired, 1 teaspoonful crushed aniseed may be boiled with the leaves. Aniseed has a soothing effect on the throat.

In the back of this book, there are lists upon lists - an incredible wealth of information condensed into a tiny space. One of the lists gives you the latin name for common names of herbs - Aniseed is Pimpinella anisum, which could have been changed by taxonomists since 1942.

Will post her recipe for Mintale in next post.

Again from: Herbs - Their Culture and Uses by Rosetta E. Clarkson pub 1942. I have the 23rd printing from 1979.

wonderful iced in summer:

quoted:
Mintale

1 cup equal parts orange mint, apple mint, spearmint
1 pint water
2 T water
Juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon
1 large bottle ginger ale
Sprigs of apple mint

Steep herbs in water for 15 minutes. Strain, add sugar and set aside to cool. Add juice of orange and lemon. Just before serving, add ginger ale with a sprig of apple mint in each glass.

I love her chapter, "Herb Arrangements in the Garden". LIke many herb books, there is much practical information on every aspect of growing and using herbs, but her comprehensive and unique treatment of the subject, as well as the elegance of her style of writing give this particular book a very special status among herbals.

grikdog, there are tons of herb tea recipes in Mobi's thread entitled Chamomile Tea in a post by NatureWalker on 8/17/05 at 9:13 pm in the first link she gives - just scroll down and click on the one for herb teas. The second one would also be wonderful to keep around.

Good day all,
I am a newbie here in Alaska and on this forum as well. I am currently renting in Wasilla, a very productive farming valley about 50 miles north of Anchorage. We are in the process of buying a cabin/house in Soldotna, a small town (borough) on the Kenai Peninsula, about 150 miles south of Anchorage. There is a wonderful garden pond with a small waterfall on the road side of the property that I am planning on for my herb garden. I will also have a small veggie garden on the lake side of the cabin, along with (I hope) a couple of fruit trees.

Like I said, I am new to Alaska and gardening in general, (a great place to try out a green thumb for the first time, eh?) but I have been stocking up on all the books and info I can find! The few veggies will be for sustenance, the herbs (a long time passion dream to hopefully come true) medicinal, flavoring and crafts.

I look forward to meeting all of you and sharing info, recipes, and ideas!

Welcome Polarice!

Darius,
Thank-you for the welcome! I have several books about herbs, wild native plants and cultured (I think I’m using this word right? I have a lot to learn ;o) Anyway, the books I have are very informative as far as where & how they grow, their medicinal & food properties and description, along with poison info & warnings. I am amazed at how *civilized* we (humans) have become! I hear and see people going hungry, when all they have to do is step into their back yard into natures pantry! Although I guess I CAN understand if they are in a large city where the only ’back yard’ is a city park kind of thing. Between the air, ground pollution and maintenance chemicals that are used these days, I wouldn’t eat anything from a park either! However this is a conversation for another time, back to the subject - I tend to ramble.

Books ; Even though as I said they are informative, they are lacking in the practical application both as a food source and medicinal. This is one of the things I hope to gain through this board! How to make a flower salad? How do you cook and prepare dandelion roots? Iris bulbs are good as an antiseptic and to slow bleeding, How is it prepared for these applications? I am really looking forward to finally getting the chance to grow, find, process, prepare, experiment and test all that I have read about. (with caution of course) I am hoping to learn even more here, to *fill in the holes* that the books have left.

(umm…. I hope I don’t find that I have a *black thumb* when it comes to the actual gardening!)

Rosemary tea is also very good for waking you up if you feel a bit sluggish in the morning. It is a brain stimulant, so a 2 inch sprig, bruised slightly and steeped in boiling water for five minutes is great first thing. I add a teaspoon of honey. It tastes rather antiseptic, which it is, but quite pleasant.

Sounds like a nice coffee substitute!