I want to grow a lot of herbs to make tea and iced drinks and need some input as to what everyone likes.
Mint. Can't beat mint. I also make tea from chamomile, salvia, thyme and Monarda didyma, beebalm. I like to put some Borago officinalis, borage, in drinks. The blue blooms are lovely and the leaves make a mild drink. For medicinal purposes I use lots of other herbs, but that's a different topic altogether.
I wish i could help you with this one, but there is so many other herbs and plants out in the wild that are tastier and better for you. The only herbs i grow are for cooking or mixing raw with something else. Some of the herbs i grow are used for medicinal purposes tho as teas. But i do not think you want to drink those as a "refreshing" drink,,lol. If i can make a suggestion,,,look around you, out doors and see the more potent plants and herbs that grow wild. There tastes are fresher and brighter than the "cooking" variety herbs. Chamomile grows wild here, also known as pineapple,,someting,,can not remember off hand right now. I go right out in the yard and pick and use. You can also find it all over the woods. Looks like traditional chamomile but the leaves are none existant. waaaay tastier than traditional chamomile. Nettles are also great. Along with the health benifits of it, the taste is very strong earthy tasting. Like drinking from the earths hand. Mix it with honey, pineapple sage, or mint, if you can not drink the nettles alone. Wonderful flavor. Also any of the mint varieties is great in this tea. Chickweed. Again along with the medicinal properties, chickweed will not hurt you one bit if you over indulge. Like nettles its like drinking straight from the earths hand, but not as strong flavor. If plain is not your style, then again mix with something that is. Birch Stems. This is something that is only done in the spring or if a new shoot comes up. Take off the new leaves,,,do not throw away,,they make great tea for muscle and joint pain,,,boil some water and place your stems in a jar that has a lid to it,,mason jars are great. Fill with boiling water,seal let stand for about 8 hours and the taste is a cross between cream soda and root beer. In Pennsylvania they call this Birch Beer,,,no alcohol what so ever, but an excellent tea. The beauty of the new shoots is you can keep reusing them for a bout 10-12 more times,,then throw out. The taste only gets better with each re-use. Dandelion. THIS is my ultime favorite. This is the wonder plant of all wonder plants. But the leaves make a great tea also,,you may have to go potty alot,,but it has a great taste also. Now in the fall,,when the plant is died back,,,dig up those roots. You can use them in your meals,,but also if you roast them in the oven until dried out, you can boil them with water for about 15 min. and have a very very old form of a drink that is sort of like coffee. I make mine with cinnamon, brown sugar and milk,,,,,in our home we call it "The Viking Latte" lol. But ohh so good. Those are just a few of the "better" drinks than just plain herbs. There is lots more, so why not take what the earth offers so freely.
I will have to look and see what is growing will here. Dandelions are rampant here of course, have had dandelion wine and tea a couple times. even ate the roots one day raw on a hot one, were refreshing and had an interesting flavor. I may have to try intentionally growing some of them. Could get some nice sized ones if I don't find a simple ton of them in the wild. Have to go to a local farm and see if there are any of the massive ones I have seen in the past. I have never heard of making a tea out of any tree other than willow and that wasn't to drink. Will have to see what if I can't find a couple young birch and see how that goes over. I think yarrow grows wild here. Not for certain it is yarrow but it is a very strong scented plant. I don't know if it will make a very good beverage or eating because it has a piney smell but who knows. Nettles are found here so that is a definite option. Never thought of using them for herbal uses simply because they are so painful to touch but if it makes a good glass of tea for a warm day it may be worth it. Does it matter how old the leaves are from the nettles? Can you use the flower for teas and such like you can rose hips? It is like regular herbs where the flavor is strongest right before it blooms? I would bet this one is going to be the second most abundant one I can get ahold of here as I have seen fields of it at different times of the year. Rose hips, wild ones are definitely available here. I actually grow some of my own wild ones although I don't get anywhere near the numbers I can from the wild. I don't know if any sage is wild here, although there is a plant we call sage brush that gets enormous and is found wild at the beach. No chamomile that I am aware of either but there again, wild plants often take on a much different shape than domesticated propagated ones. Of course there is the ever present mass abundant pine needles. I have thought about trying a tea made from them ever since I saw it on Survivor Man. That would be an absolutely unlimited supply here. Supposed to be super rich in vitamin C and other nutrients. I know it would be a nice welcomed cool burst on a hot summer day. I will have to look around and see what else is wild here. I took a couple natural resources classes in college but they didn't focus much on wild herbal and medicinal plants. I will have to dig out my old books and give them a read to see what else is edible and of course safe to eat and make teas out of.
Hi Fish, i can give you some more ideas if needed. First off,,the nettles. When young, i mean there is only 3 layers of leaves you can use the whole plant,,and no sting at all. If the plant gets big, then take the top of it,,with your fingers between the sets of leaves,,and bend back until you see the break point. There it will either break off or you clip,,,if you hold the stem,,there is no sting,,that is actually at the base of the leaf and stem where the toxin is held. Nettles is great also if chopped up and cooked with. It is great for soup, or mixed with spinach or other greens,,when you cook nettles the toxins are killed and the sting leaves. So all you get is pure natural wonder and over all goodness from this plant. If you see blooms on the plant,,do not use it,,it is not very bitter, and i mean very bitter,,,(holds hand up) i have tried and was not a happy forager then. Neither was husband. Rose hips,,do not have to be wild,,any rose you have in the garden or wild is a hip,,and is edible as long as it is not sprayed with anything. yes edible,,lol. And makes a great a tea. Just make sure the seeds are taken out along with the scratchy fibers inside if you plan to eat. Candy rose hips is oh so darn good. Yarrow you do not want to drink as a "refreshing" drink. It is an medicinal plant and has way to many properties that will extended use will harm. It is another of those "natural wonders" that just grow anywhere and is often over looked. If you do not like to drink yarrow,,then collect anyways, and they make dried flowers for crafts. may need to spray paint them,,,or not. Sage i would only use the cooking varieties for any kind of tea that you use in excess. The kind you talk about is more of a medicine plant,,in many ways. If that brush sage is used it is for medicine and is very powerful. Or it is used as a smoke for cleaning and purifing in religious ways. Do not drink that sage for a hot summer day. lol. Dandelion like i said is a great plant,,you can eat everything on the plant in many ways, all but the stem,,but even that is useful,,the white milk in the stem is the most natural potent way to get rydd of warts. little dab will do ya! repeatedly,,lol. but it works. The flowers i have used for cakes and pancakes, battered and fried like fritters, and used for wine. The leaves used any way you can think of using spinach or any other green. and ofcourse the roots like any root veggie and roasting til dried. To me the best plant in the world. Willow bark,,is not a tea i would drink as a sit down and relax tea,,because it is a natural pain reliever. Its basically asprin. But it does work. One i forgot is Oat Straw. If you have farmers around and they grow oats for their own use or animals,,ask if you can have the left over straw,,not all of it,,just some. Either out of their field or from them. This is a very refreshing drink,,great with just a bit of honey. Like Chickweed, you can not over indulge in it,,but the medicine value of this is wonderful. It is a natural hormone balancer, blood purifier, and balances the body chemistry. You want the long leaves that rap around the stem, not the stem. If you are allergic to wheats, i do not think i would drink this. But i do not know, because i am not allergic,,lol. Also any of the berries, that come into season,,the leaves can be used as teas. Currents, raspberries, blackberries. If in doubt,,take a leaf, and crumble it,,if it smells like its fruit or berry,,,then it is drinkable. More vitemin C in the leaf than in the berry. Don't forget your clover tops also,,,extremely sweet when in full bloom, can be used as teas, or in salads. I have never cooked with them only because they loose themselves when boiling water hits them. So heat makes them disappear kind of. Pine needles,,,this is a little off base,,but oh wow, it is the only thing i use now. Okay not the needle but in spring when the pine tree is just budding at the ends of its branches, you see that very very bright green soft as velvet buds? That you want to pick,,and pick alot. Take that home, and get a few mason jars, clean and boil to sterilise them. now put in to each jar filling half way with the buds. Next add brown vineger filling to the top. Let that stand for 6 weeks or longer,,i go 3 months,,,and shake now and again. When the 3 months is over,,drain out your liquid to all new clean and sterile jars. Let the jars cool first. you now have made all natural balsamic vineger. Add raspberries to some,,use for salads, great on anykind of fish. I take some out and put into shaker bottles and then add my fruits or herbs,,yes garden ones,,lol,,,and make all kinds of different kinds. I always leave one plain because that is the fish vinegar. I have not drank pine needle tea only because with the other more tasty teas i have told of, pine needle tea is not needed. As i think of more herbs and plants out doors i will let you know. To me the garden variety are just to,,,,,well,,,plain for me,,,lol.
I use a lot of Lemon Balm in teas. I have a mix I call the Terminator Tea because it should terminate any aches and pains and is also filled with preventative and powerful antioxidants against cancer and other disease. Steep thinly sliced pieces of fresh ginger (pain killer, anti-inflammatory), about an inch or so of the root/tuber (buy in the Supermarket) add about an eighth of a teaspoon of tumeric (a miracle spice, research it on the internet), a little honey (buying your local honey helps your body fight hay fever and allergies) and several lemon balm leaves (longevity and immune system). Steep about five minutes. Strain. You can drink as is, but I always add a dollop or two of citrus (vitamin C), such as orange juice. I always get a feeling of well-being after I drink this. The lemon balm you would need to grow yourself. The rest you can buy in the grocer.
Well Fish, where we live, it's hard to beat wandering out to the garden with a cup of honey-sweetened boiling water, plucking a couple of mint leaves, and letting it steep while you check out the chores for the day. I think we live in the perfect mint climate, it grows so crazy here!
I have lots of Sassafras Trees around.My mom always took the roots and washed them really well and then boiled the roots and made sassafras tea.I never liked it as it always tasted like root beer to me and I never liked root beer.Its suppose to be very good for you.
Gosh there are hundreds and hundreds of aromatic barks, leaves, and berries to make into a really good brew. I'm open to any book suggestions that cover a wide variety of drink-making plants. I think it would be an interesting read.
