Best of the Garden: Your Own Herbal Tea Infusions
With spring in the air, the bounty of Earth's flora is returning once again. Local markets are teeming with fresh herbs and early summer vegetables, and home gardeners are planting their own seedlings in hopes of a bountiful fall harvest. Nature's variety feels truly boundless during these warming months. An ideal way to make good use of the fruits of the fields and forests is through a short lesson on herbal tea making. By learning to create your own blends of medicinal herbs, you increase your ability to partake of nature's abundance with only a small investment of time and money.
Before we stray too far into the garden, a word on accuracy: herbal teas are not actually "teas" at all. The term "tea" is reserved for the Camellia sinensis plant, which produces the leaves that create what we call green tea, oolong tea, white tea, etc. Herbal "teas" are simply plant material soaked in water. They are frequently called infusions or tisanes, and in some instances, decoctions. While this technicality may seem irrelevant, if you find yourself discussing herbal "teas" with, say, a black tea aficionado, you may find yourself on the receiving end of a disapproving gaze. For our purposes, let's dispense with the term "tea" and replace it with its rightful, and equally beautiful, name infusion.
It is tempting to dismiss the idea of making your own herbal infusions when you can choose from fifty pre-made herbals at just about any grocery store nowadays. BUT! Remember the abundance of nature we get so excited about earlier? Commercial herbals do not reflect the true rainbow of medicinal and edible plants and herbs available to modern infusion drinkers. Most of these blends do not include hundreds of healing and tasty herbs that can easily be bought in bulk, either online or at a local apothecary or health food store. Ever consider tossing lemon verbena in your hot water? Rose petals? How about juniper berries? An enormous variety of plants in endless combinations makes herbal infusion making a creative and healing endeavor.
Herbal infusions are made from the tender parts of plants, such as the leaves, stems and flowers. Simply place the herbs in a brewing basket, pour hot (but not boiling) water over the blend and allow it to brew to desired strength. If you find your brew is a little bitter, poor a little cold water on the herbs first and let them sit for a bit before pooring on the cold. Decoctions are made by simmering roots, bark, seeds, twigs, berries and other tough parts of the plant in water for fifteen minutes or more. If decocting methods don't work because of time or place, these hardier plant parts can be crushed and infused in brewing baskets as well. With both infusions and decoctions, covering the brews during the preparation process insures the volatile oils in the herbs are contained. When you're done, infusions and decoctions can be blended together after brewing, and most will last three days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Some books and websites have specific recommendations for measuring herbs and brew times. Making infusions is a lot like cooking up a personalized dish, though - experimentation is the only way to find your inner herbalist. A good guideline is to remember that herbs disperse more of their medicinal qualities the longer they are steeped. At the same time, increasing brew times and herb amount translates to an intensification of flavor. If you are working with herbs that are bitter, be careful not to let them sit too long. Better yet, consider masking their flavor with other herbs that appeal to your palate. Many interesting herbal concoctions have been developed to "help the medicine go down."
Venturing into herbal infusion making is an inexpensive and nourishing experiment in creativity. There are hundreds of herbs available and many reliable resources for finding the medicinal qualities of these herbs. Each herb has a distinctive taste and lends a different note to the infusion, as well as its own healing qualities. It is sufficient to start with ten or twelve herbs, a brewing basket, a mug you adore and maybe a few jars to keep your herbs fresh.
A grocery list for your starter kit for making your tea blends at home: lemon balm, peppermint, ginger root, chamomile flowers, lavender, nettles, hibiscus, lemongrass, rose hips and licorice. It's nice to keep several plant varieties on hand for those special occasions. And if there are different plant parts avalable, you might pick more than one (nettle roots and leaves, for example). Using sweet plants is a great way to add a little extra something to your blends, and plants like Stevia and Licorice also have positive effects on the blood sugar.
Making your own herbal infusion blends allows you to create a strong bridge back to nature and her healing potential. Herbs are medicines as well as spices -- these plants all have something to offer, and letting you're intuition guide you to making spontaneous brews can give your formulas their greatest healing strength. Whether gently stimulating for morning, or relaxing for later in the day, don't think too much about what you should blend -- just go with your first feelings about what you you'd like best. Even if it's a blend you've never heard of, try it! There's no wrong choices! Making your own blends is such an excellent way to treat your mind, body and spirit, you're likely to give up those ol' tea bags forever.
Before we stray too far into the garden, a word on accuracy: herbal teas are not actually "teas" at all. The term "tea" is reserved for the Camellia sinensis plant, which produces the leaves that create what we call green tea, oolong tea, white tea, etc. Herbal "teas" are simply plant material soaked in water. They are frequently called infusions or tisanes, and in some instances, decoctions. While this technicality may seem irrelevant, if you find yourself discussing herbal "teas" with, say, a black tea aficionado, you may find yourself on the receiving end of a disapproving gaze. For our purposes, let's dispense with the term "tea" and replace it with its rightful, and equally beautiful, name infusion.
It is tempting to dismiss the idea of making your own herbal infusions when you can choose from fifty pre-made herbals at just about any grocery store nowadays. BUT! Remember the abundance of nature we get so excited about earlier? Commercial herbals do not reflect the true rainbow of medicinal and edible plants and herbs available to modern infusion drinkers. Most of these blends do not include hundreds of healing and tasty herbs that can easily be bought in bulk, either online or at a local apothecary or health food store. Ever consider tossing lemon verbena in your hot water? Rose petals? How about juniper berries? An enormous variety of plants in endless combinations makes herbal infusion making a creative and healing endeavor.
Herbal infusions are made from the tender parts of plants, such as the leaves, stems and flowers. Simply place the herbs in a brewing basket, pour hot (but not boiling) water over the blend and allow it to brew to desired strength. If you find your brew is a little bitter, poor a little cold water on the herbs first and let them sit for a bit before pooring on the cold. Decoctions are made by simmering roots, bark, seeds, twigs, berries and other tough parts of the plant in water for fifteen minutes or more. If decocting methods don't work because of time or place, these hardier plant parts can be crushed and infused in brewing baskets as well. With both infusions and decoctions, covering the brews during the preparation process insures the volatile oils in the herbs are contained. When you're done, infusions and decoctions can be blended together after brewing, and most will last three days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Some books and websites have specific recommendations for measuring herbs and brew times. Making infusions is a lot like cooking up a personalized dish, though - experimentation is the only way to find your inner herbalist. A good guideline is to remember that herbs disperse more of their medicinal qualities the longer they are steeped. At the same time, increasing brew times and herb amount translates to an intensification of flavor. If you are working with herbs that are bitter, be careful not to let them sit too long. Better yet, consider masking their flavor with other herbs that appeal to your palate. Many interesting herbal concoctions have been developed to "help the medicine go down."
Venturing into herbal infusion making is an inexpensive and nourishing experiment in creativity. There are hundreds of herbs available and many reliable resources for finding the medicinal qualities of these herbs. Each herb has a distinctive taste and lends a different note to the infusion, as well as its own healing qualities. It is sufficient to start with ten or twelve herbs, a brewing basket, a mug you adore and maybe a few jars to keep your herbs fresh.
A grocery list for your starter kit for making your tea blends at home: lemon balm, peppermint, ginger root, chamomile flowers, lavender, nettles, hibiscus, lemongrass, rose hips and licorice. It's nice to keep several plant varieties on hand for those special occasions. And if there are different plant parts avalable, you might pick more than one (nettle roots and leaves, for example). Using sweet plants is a great way to add a little extra something to your blends, and plants like Stevia and Licorice also have positive effects on the blood sugar.
Making your own herbal infusion blends allows you to create a strong bridge back to nature and her healing potential. Herbs are medicines as well as spices -- these plants all have something to offer, and letting you're intuition guide you to making spontaneous brews can give your formulas their greatest healing strength. Whether gently stimulating for morning, or relaxing for later in the day, don't think too much about what you should blend -- just go with your first feelings about what you you'd like best. Even if it's a blend you've never heard of, try it! There's no wrong choices! Making your own blends is such an excellent way to treat your mind, body and spirit, you're likely to give up those ol' tea bags forever.
About the Author:
The author is a consultant to Synergy Essentials, a resource for therapeutic aromatherapy. Visit the site for more information.