Herb Teas from My Garden - Page 2

Find These Teas in Any Garden

The various mints are well-known as herbal ingredients. Most of them are stimulating, but one of them, catnip, is a relaxant and may help to give you a good night's sleep.
Raspberry and blackberry leaves taste similar to black tea and are well-known as an aid in female complaints, but they can be enjoyed by the whole family.
Leaves from rose bushes have a flavor similar to those of raspberry leaves, and the delicate rose petals are reminiscent of jasmine flowers in Chinese teas.
Strawberry leaves have a more delicate flavor than most berry leaves. They are among my favorites.
The whole fireweed plant is the herb tea staple of some North American aboriginal tribes. The flavor is quite mild.
Clover and alfalfa leaves are rich in minerals. Use them along with the flowers. A local herbal distributor sells a very tasty tea called Alfamint, consisting of alfalfa leaves and spearmint, and it is quite refreshing, especially as iced tea, sweetened by a touch of honey.
Red clover flowers are full of sweet nectar. A well-respected German homeopath recommends their daily use as a cancer preventive.
Calendula is called pot marigold in England, because the leaves are used in cooking. I use the flowers in teas or in salads. Go easy on them until you get accustomed to the taste.
Basswood leaves are a soothing tea ingredient when the flowers are not available. The tea from the basswood flowers is often referred to by its German name "Linde" or its English name "lime." It is easily the most palatable tea even for small children.
Hawthorn leaf tea is similar to basswood leaf tea in texture. Like the hawthorn berries, they are said to strengthen the heart.
The needles of evergreen trees are good not only in baths, they give teas a taste of adventure. I learned about this tea ingredient from Canada's agoriginal people.
Rosehip, of course, is one of the best-known sources of vitamin C and it is enjoyed in tea by people who prefer a slightly sour taste. In commercial teas, the acidic taste is often intensified by the addition of hibiscus.
Many of the herbs used in cooking can also serve as tea ingredients. Thyme, for example, is one of the best remedies for congestion and inflammation, and rosemary is supposed to be a heart strengthener.

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