Rediscovering herbal teas

Flower & Garden Magazine, August-Sept, 1995 by Lisa Megahee

HERBAL TEAS, ONE OF THE world's most ancient beverages, have been used for centuries for medicinal purposes. Today we enjoy using herbal tea as a refreshing beverage and for its natural therapeutic effects. Herbal teas can lift your spirits, calm your nerves, help lull you to sleep, soothe your stomach and ease the misery of a cold as well as simply taste wonderful.

As a gardener, you probably already know the pleasures of growing and cooking with herbs; now try your garden herbs in creating delicious, refreshing herbal tea blends.

Your herb garden may already provide most of the ingredients needed to brew a steaming cup of herbal tea. If you would like to try various tea blends before deciding whether to grow the herbs needed, or if you do not grow all the herbs the recipes call for, you can buy loose dried herbs from health food stores, herbal stores or mail-order sources. You may also have to purchase some herbs that aren't suited to the growing conditions in your area.

The best time to harvest herbs is on a sunny morning after the dew has evaporated but before the sun has become hot enough to draw out the natural oils. When harvesting, use scissors or shears. Cut the stems, leaving at least two sets of leaves at the base of each stem to allow the plant to continue growing. By pruning this way, you can obtain two to three successive harvests throughout the season. If you are harvesting from perennial herbs, cut judiciously for the last harvest of the season by trimming no more than one-third of the height of the plant. This trimming helps the plant withstand the rigors of winter.

The best time to harvest from most leafy herbs, such as basil, savory, chervil and marjoram, is just before the plants begin blooming. At this time the plants' leaves are storing the greatest abundance of natural oils. Mints, however, develop their fullest flavor during blooming.

Herbs are always best used fresh, when their flavor is the strongest. There is nothing more delicious than a steaming, aromatic cup of herbal tea made from freshly picked herbs. But you will also need to choose a method of preservation so you may continue to brew herbal teas during the winter season.

You may prefer to dry the herbs by hanging small bundles of two or three stems upside down in a warm, dry location. Make sure the area has good air circulation and place the herbs out of direct sunlight. The herbs will dry in about two weeks, depending on weather and humidity conditions. Drying is complete when the herbs are brittle and crush easily between your fingers.

You may also dry the herbs with a food dehydrator or a gas oven with only the pilot light on and the door left ajar. Place the herbs flat on a cookie sheet and turn them over once daily. This process takes two to three days. With an electric oven, set the temperature on the lowest possible setting and leave the DOOT slightly ajar. Check the herbs frequently and turn them every half hour. This method takes only a few hours, so watch the herbs closely to prevent over-drying.

Whole leaves and flowers generally retain the greatest flavor and aroma. So, if space permits, store the dried herbal tea ingredients whole in airtight glass containers or jars. Remove the dried leaves from the stems, discarding the stems. Place the jars in a cool, dry, dark place, occasionally checking the containers for condensation. If moisture appears, remove the herbs and dry them a bit longer to prevent mold from forming.

For gift giving, it is most convenient to dry the herbs for making herbal tea. But delicate herbs lose some flavor in the drying process, so for your own brews, you may consider freezing the herbs for use during the winter months. Freezing is an excellent alternative preservation method that keeps the herbs aromatic and flavorful longer. Before freezing, the herbs should be washed and gently patted dry with a paper or tea towel. Freeze the leaves whole or chopped in tightly sealed plastic bags. When you are ready to brew the tea, simply mince the frozen herbs with a knife or process them briefly in a coffee grinder or food processor before adding to the teapot.

When you are ready to brew a pot of tea from fresh herbs, cut off dead and imperfect leaves. Wash the herbs thoroughly in clean, clear water, then shake and pat dry with towels. Remove stems, when possible, before placing the herbs in the teapot.

If you are using dried herbs, break them by rubbing the leaves between your fingers to release the maximum amount of oils. Again, for large batches, a coffee grinder or food processor hastens the job. If you are using a combination of fresh and dried herbs, prepare each kind as described above.

To make a pot of herbal tea, fill a kettle with fresh cold tap water and set it to boil. When the water is nearly boiling, pour a little into the teapot, swirl it around to warm the pot, then pour it out and add the herbal tea mix. At the moment the kettle starts boiling hard, pour the water over the herbs. Cover and steep from three to five minutes. With this method you will need to pour the tea through a strainer into the teacups. Lovely old-fashioned tea strainers, some ornately wrought out of silver, are attractive tools especially designed for this purpose, but regular small kitchen strainers work as well. Some teapots also have strainers built in over the base of the spout, so the loose leaves will remain in the pot as you pour the tea.