· Unless specified that they should be dried , herbs can be brewed either fresh or dried . Put material in a tea infuser , tea strainer or fillable Camellia sinensis bags , and allow steep for 4 minutes for Christ Within - tasting tea or 15 arcminute to 4 hours for a more medicative teatime .
Camellia (Camellia sinensis)
Parts Used : leaves , dried properly
This is grown in India and China for the well - have sex English Breakfast and Darjeeling varieties of caffeinated tea that many of us are familiar with . Green afternoon tea and black tea also come from this plant but are dried to different degree . C. sisensisis an easygoing bush to develop and keep small , and it moderate many potent antioxidants . It is the only ingredient heel here that is a caffeinated addition to afternoon tea .
Mint (Menthaspp.)
Parts Used : leaves
Any species of mint , admit spearmint and peppermint candy , is great for making tea . The taste and aroma of raft leafage can invigorate and energize , and they are good for digestion .
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)
Melissa looks and behaves like a mint and is a adept familiar for mint tea blending , but it has a solid , almost sweet , lemony flavor . It is a digestive herb , and it also serves to beef up the immune arrangement .
German Chamomile (Maricaria recutita)
Parts Used : flowers
Chamomile is a traditional bedtime afternoon tea because its herbal quality invoke look of calmness and repose . It has a sort of dusty , lemony flavor that appeals to many , and it is often used as a digestive aid .
Catnip (Nepeta cataria)
office Used : leave , prime
Although the catnip industrial plant is in the mint family and is used to make cats playful and up-and-coming , it has the opposite outcome on humans , serving as a powerful soother in tea . A blend of teatime with catnip helped me through a particularly stressful home - remodeling projection .
Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea)
Parts Used : blossom , leaves
Echinacea is an easy - to - grow perennial plant that has advance fame for its remedial properties ; I blaspheme by Echinacea tea during cold and influenza season . Like chamomile , it acts as a soothing ingredient and can have a similar dustiness in tone , but it has a more or less more floral overtone .
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
Parts Used : seeds
In India , people eat on fennel seeds after meals as a digestive financial aid . When lend to tea blend , the seeds impart gentle licorice overtones that I detect subtly invigorating .
Lemon Verbena (Aloysia triphylla)
This herb is knavish to grow in colder climates , but if you may grow it , you ’ll never regret it . Lemon verbena is wonderful cook with , and it imparts a more nipping , lineal lemon feeling in teas than lemon balm does . It is a calming herb that aids digestion and sleep .
Lemon Peel
part Used : Sir Robert Peel ( also called zest )
A credit crunch of Citrus limon juice in brew tea is scarcely a novel mind , but you could also use lemon tree peel , sweet or dried , in your tea portmanteau . Go light on the skin , as the substantive vegetable oil in it can overpower the admixture easily . Orange peel can be used the same way .
Wild Rose (Rosaspp.)
Parts Used : leaves , rosehips ( seedpod )
survive in the City of Roses ( Portland , Oregon ) , I learned early on that the endearing intercrossed tea rosiness that are used in bouquet and displays are not for glaze , steeping , or adding to concoctions ; wild rosiness are the pink wine that we can take in . Rose petal in tea give a lovely , gentle floral fragrance and can serve as a digestive aid . rosehip are a potent source of vitamin vitamin C and useful with Echinacea in tea leaf for a dusty or influenza .
Rosemary (Rosimarinus officinalis)
Parts Used:(needle - like ) leaves
Generally more of a zesty herbaceous plant , rosemary can be judiciously added to a tea blend to impart its hard , invigorating scent . Rosemary acts as an herbal antidepressant drug , digestive assist , and mild stimulant .
Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) and Clary Sage (Salvia sclarea)
While the extensive salvia family is used for both culinary and medicinal purposes , these two varieties have sweeter essences and are better additive to tea than some of their cousins .
Scented Geraniums (Pelargoniumspp.)
These are not your gran ’s brilliant - crimson Martha Washington geranium . Scented geranium are a different class , and they have a broad variety of perfume and flavors as the resultant of extensive hybridization . They , like rose , can transmit a scented , aristocratic floral overtone to your afternoon tea .
Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana)
Parts Used : leaves , flowers
Stevia is a natural bait , having many times the sweetness of refined cabbage ; it also aids in digestion and has many other uses . It is challenign to grow in cold climate but can be a houseplant .
Common Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) or Lemon/Lime Thyme (Thymus citriodorus)
region Used : leafage and flowers
Lemon or lime thyme is a better addition to tea than the garden - variety culinary thyme , but any type of this herb will give a pungent flavour to the tea . Thyme is a intimate and virile healing herbaceous plant that is used to facilitate ease the symptoms of colds and coughs through intake .
Nettle (Urtica dioica)
Use carefulness when harvesting brisk nettle because small pilus on the plant produce a stinging reaction . They do not sting when they are dry , and they are potent herbs for respiratory and circulatory wellness , have anti - inflammatory qualities . They are rich in vitamins and minerals — and also make a neat pesto !
This article was take out with permission from the bookUrban Farm project : Making the Most of Your Money , Space , and Stuff , copyright 2014 , I-5 Publishing , LLC . For more budget - friendly and environmentally scruples projects and recipes , pick up a copy today !
