Make your own tea!

[ninny]

I was wondering what your favorite teas are and why? Do you grow the plant yourself if so how do you process it then?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

and to think....I also just put fresh ginger in a cup and pour boiling water over, steep and add honey... who knew there was any other way, lol!

 

[Hinotori]

We buy black and green tea, but I drink a lot of herbal tea. Lemon verbena, peppermint, and rose hip. I grow the herbs and dry them for later. I'm going to collect blackberry and raspberry leaves this spring.

 

[Hinotori]

The hip is the base where the petals attach. They will swell up and turn orange or red. So if you dead head your roses, you won't get hips. We have a ton of wild roses here but the type we have doesn't have a nice tart flavor so I leave them for the birds. The wild roses by my grandmas were very tasty, and I used to gather them. I like the hips best after first frost. I pick them, split them in half so I can scrape out the hairy seeds, rinse, and dehydrate.

I really need to plant a few old fashion roses so I can collect my own again. I like rose hip tea a lot. I have a 25 lb bag of dried ones I bought from the korean tea store last month.

Just make sure that the roses aren't spray with pesticides. Mom used to spray hers because of the aphids, but then she learned that soapy water worked just as well. She dead heads so no hips from her.

 

[Jardin]

If you live in the south you should look up camilla. That is what black, green, and white tea is made from. Green and white seem simple enough, don't know about black.

For me I live in zone 5 so I can do the herbal teas: chicory (grows wild), oswego (aka bee balm, mix with black tea to get Earl Grey), mint (any mint I hear chocolate is good, I have spearmint), catnip, and chamomile. There are others too but those are what I have. Others include rose hip, alfalfa, nettle (look that one up on youtube it will change color!), oatstraw, etc.

Some roses don't really develop hips. The hip is the seed pod of the rose. A tea egg is like a metal tea bag for loose tea.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Various mints for gastritis (not me), chamomile to relax, corn silk for kidney problems, elder for any infection process, ginger for warmth and several that are about to be implemented.....just started. Reason I use teas, are all for medicinal uses. More to follow, as I learn more herbology.

 

[Britesea]

The California poppy contains some sedative alkaloids, but not any opium. It's very safe, even for children. Not only is it good for nervous tension and insomnia, but it has been used effectively for memory and concentration in the elderly, as well as ADD and ADHD in children. I've also read that the dried and powdered leaves are good against head lice.

I tried drying some rosehips from our wild roses this year, but I didn't think of cutting them open and scraping out the seeds. I hope that won't be a problem?

I just finished drying what I think will be my final cutting of Stinging Nettle this year. My husband has problems with gout and joint pain, and finds a cup of nettle tea twice a day very effective in relieving some of the pain. Sometimes I will add some chamomile or mint to it, just for the flavor, and I was thinking the rosehips would be a nice change too.

 

[Britesea]

I use Valerian a lot, but I've never had success getting seeds to sprout and grow for me. *sigh* Supposedly the root is more effective as a tincture than dried. I buy the tincture and squirt a dropper full into a glass of water when I need help sleeping or if I'm feeling anxious or tense. The taste is there, but not that objectionable in its diluted state.

I have heard that a "sleep pillow" stuffed with herbs such as lavender flowers, chamomile, and hops- tucked under your pillow while you sleep- is good for insomnia; but go easy on the hops if you try them. The woman that told me about this said she tried a pillow of straight hops; she slept for 12 hours straight, and felt very "dopey" for the rest of the day.

Here's an idea I ran across in a book for getting children to take herbal medications, which are admittedly often bitter. Use Jello as a carrier for it! (make a tea of the herbs, and use the tea to make Jello). I know that Jello has lots of sugar, but when you have a cranky, sick child I say whatever works to get the medicine into them. It's only short term, after all.

 

[Hinotori]

Mom likes to use her micro grater on fresh ginger than use that for tea

 

[moolie]

I have grown chamomile flowers and made tea from them, but I'm not a big tea-drinker so don't really bother buying it much.