herbal teas

[Denim Deb]

I love raspberry iced tea. Anyone know how to make it?

 

[miss_thenorth]

This webpage is froma woman who lives about ten minutes from me. I have not seenher yet, but plan to in the summer. Scroll down a bit, and she has a list of herbal teas, and different combos for different ailments, so to speak. I'm sure you could play around with the ingredients to come up with something pleasant to the palate.

http://www.kent.net/Healthyou/GenesisHerbs.html

 

[AnnaRaven]

This webpage is froma woman who lives about ten minutes from me. I have not seenher yet, but plan to in the summer. Scroll down a bit, and she has a list of herbal teas, and different combos for different ailments, so to speak. I'm sure you could play around with the ingredients to come up with something pleasant to the palate.

http://www.kent.net/Healthyou/GenesisHerbs.html

Unfortunately, the site doesn't provide what I consider appropriate warnings for herbal medicines. Just remember that, just because it's natural doesn't mean it's safe for all people. Some of those herbals should not be used for pregnant women, for example (the Cohosh in EZ Moon). Others have questionable properties when used internally (comfrey) but are quite effective used externally. Others are fine used occasionally but not for long-term use (uva ursi).

Just do your research before drinking any herb - some of them are quite active medicinally and should be treated as a medicine. For example Wild Cherry is a great expectorant but not good for pregnant or nursing women or anyone with kidney or liver disease.

Personally, I prefer herbal medicines - for example, catnip tea is an incredible antispasmodic so it's great for menstrual cramps. However, I always research the herbs first to know what I am taking and possible side effects or counterindications.

 

[ORChick]

I drink herbal teas frequently. I purchase some at stores, but I grow a lot of my own herbs as well. The homegrown herbal teas are definately better tasting in my opinion. I get my seeds and any herbs I don't grow myself from Mountain Rose Herbs.

http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/

Some of my favorite herbal teas are:

Catnip
German Chamomile
Peppermint
Passion FlowerLemon Balm
Lemon Grass
Thyme

When you say passion flower, you mean passion fruit flowers? I think they call them May Pops around here.
I am growing the rest that you mentioned. Have any of you grown bergamot? I think I spelled it correctly. I believe it is a blue flower. I had some bergamot tea once, and it was so yummy. I have never heard of anyone growing it around here, and I do not know if it is the leaves or flowers that they use.
and as one poster mentioned, it may have been the oils that made the difference.
I may just need to go visit the library and see what i can find.

I an drinking a lemon/ginger tea right now.
I believe it is lemon grass.
When you use the lemon grass, do you use the white heart, or the green blades?
I may have to go over to the easy gardener and see how to grow these things. Florida isn't as great a place to garden as on might think. The season is very short, if it warms up early we are good, but it gets too hot too quick for most things to survive past May.

I'm not too fond of herb teas, I prefer hot black tea, and drink a lot of it. But I do sometimes make peppermint or spearmint tea, and lemon verbena is nice as a before sleep tea.
Florida is probably a good place to grow lemongrass, as it is native to southeast Asia, and would appreciate your heat. All of the stalk is lemony, and any part would make a nice tea, but I would use the white part for cooking, and save the leaves for tea. I grow it successfully here in Oregon, but in a pot, which lives inside in the winter; It won't take a frost.

 

[AnnaRaven]

I drink herbal teas frequently. I purchase some at stores, but I grow a lot of my own herbs as well. The homegrown herbal teas are definately better tasting in my opinion. I get my seeds and any herbs I don't grow myself from Mountain Rose Herbs.

http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/

Some of my favorite herbal teas are:

Catnip
German Chamomile
Peppermint
Passion FlowerLemon Balm
Lemon Grass
Thyme

When you say passion flower, you mean passion fruit flowers? I think they call them May Pops around here.
I am growing the rest that you mentioned. Have any of you grown bergamot? I think I spelled it correctly. I believe it is a blue flower. I had some bergamot tea once, and it was so yummy. I have never heard of anyone growing it around here, and I do not know if it is the leaves or flowers that they use.
and as one poster mentioned, it may have been the oils that made the difference.
I may just need to go visit the library and see what i can find.

I an drinking a lemon/ginger tea right now.
I believe it is lemon grass.
When you use the lemon grass, do you use the white heart, or the green blades?
I may have to go over to the easy gardener and see how to grow these things. Florida isn't as great a place to garden as on might think. The season is very short, if it warms up early we are good, but it gets too hot too quick for most things to survive past May.

I'm not too fond of herb teas, I prefer hot black tea, and drink a lot of it. But I do sometimes make peppermint or spearmint tea, and lemon verbena is nice as a before sleep tea.
Florida is probably a good place to grow lemongrass, as it is native to southeast Asia, and would appreciate your heat. All of the stalk is lemony, and any part would make a nice tea, but I would use the white part for cooking, and save the leaves for tea. I grow it successfully here in Oregon, but in a pot, which lives inside in the winter; It won't take a frost.

If you like the lemony flavor that is better at surviving some cold (zones 4-9 but I grew it successfully in MN), lemon balm (melissa officinalis) is a good perennial. Avoid it if you are on thyroid meds, but otherwise, it's a good mild sedative and antispasmodic, and tastes really good.

 

[chipmunk]

I think Maypops will grow great from Georgia and southward. There are some. growing wild on my sister's property in northern Alabama.

 

[ORChick]

AnnaRaven wrote: If you like the lemony flavor that is better at surviving some cold (zones 4-9 but I grew it successfully in MN), lemon balm (melissa officinalis) is a good perennial. Avoid it if you are on thyroid meds, but otherwise, it's a good mild sedative and antispasmodic, and tastes really good.

Thank you; I have lots of lemon balm - its actually considered something of a weed around here, though not by me . I agree, very lemony - I like to add some both to my black tea on occasion, or combine it with spearmint or peppermint. The lemon verbena and lemongrass that I grow will neither of them take a frost, but I really like trying different things just to see if I can get them to grow. Both these mentioned come indoors for the winter, but I like them both well enough to not mind the bother.

 

[Marianne]

My aunt used to make her tea in a drip coffee maker. She always dropped a few fresh mint leaves in the basket with the tea bags.

Although you didn't really taste mint, it was the freshest, best tasting tea I have ever had, hot or cold.

 

[calendula]

Denim Deb, raspberry iced tea is pretty easy to make. Just brew your tea as if making a pitcher of regular sweet tea. While it is still hot, stir in honey to sweeten to your liking, and add 2 cups of raspberries. Cover and steep for 20 minutes. Strain well, and chill. I also like to add sprigs of lemon balm to it for a little lemony flavor. This tea isn't as good as the commercially made corn-syrupy stuff (according to my kids anyway ), but I like it since I find the other stuff to be much to sweet and overpowering.