What Herbs do you like for Teas??

My wife would like to find some more herbs to make teas out of.. she loves chocolate mint tea.. any ideas?

LOL... Chocolate Peppermint was the first one that came to mind when I read the thread subject!

Most of the mints would make good tea ingredients... you have to experiment, as the flavor of the fresh leaf and of the brewed tea aren't always as similar as you might think. I seem to remember somebody posting a link last year to a site that had reports on the tea flavors of many varieties of mint, but be darned if I can find it now, should've bookmarked it, sorry. Lemon balm and lemon grass are also excellent additions to tea. Some people like catnip for its medicinal properties (sleep inducing, I think?), but I can't get past the flavor, even in small quantities. Chamomile blossoms also make a classic tea. I think part of the fun of growing your own tea ingredients is experimenting with various combinations... a little of this, a pinch of that, and if it turns out a little bitter or astringent, add honey!

sleepy won't work for her she is a home care nurse that works midnights. My Lemon Balm might be trouble it hasn't really taken off yet.. but she is eyeing it out the window now :) lol

There were some good tea suggestions on a recent thread on lemon balm, http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/604446/

And here's a thread on herb tea from the next page of (older) threads, http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/538517/

I also googled "herbal tea recipe" and found this link, which should really get your imagination going on different combos, http://coffeetea.about.com/od/herbaltearecipes/

I'm sure you will get other input, as there are some skilled tea brewers hanging around the Herbs forum. :-)

My personal favorites are lemon verbena, chamomile, pineapple sage, lavender, and just about any mint.

I sell tea blends at my local farmers markets (though I'm taking the year off right now) and of my blends that contains herbs that you can find in just about anyone's garden, most people seem to enjoy chamomile with spearmint.

I'm with glamoury--lemon verbena is my favorite.

Dragonhead (Dracocephalum moldavica)

It's lemony like lemonbalm only moreso (and maybe not quite as lemon pledge-y tasting) and doesn't lose it's flavor over time when dried like lemonbalm can.

Here's the PF link for it, http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2340/index.html

Prickle, that sounds like a plant I'd like to try! If you collect seeds from it, PLMK... maybe we can make a note to do a fall seed swap... I'm sure I'll have something in my stash that appeals to you... :-)

Hi Critterologist,

I didn't plant any this year because we're moving but I have some left over seeds from last year...I just have to remember where I put 'em..::head scritchy

Please Dmail & LMK if you find them... I've got some basil seeds left yet, and I'll be harvesting more this summer.... also have hot peppers and tomato seeds, plus a bunch of flowering annuals & perennials...

:-)

Will do :)

I've been a little lucky (caress wood) with the stevia plant I got from Richter's -- just toss a piece of a leaf in while brewing if you want sweetened tea. It's amazing.

brigidlily - I had stevia, and killed it. That is truly an amazing plant tho,isn't it?

It's amazing! It's hard to start, though. I have some seedlings (three out of eight survived) and they just sit there being seedlings. I'm leaving them alone. My granddaughter (4 yoa) wanted to eat ALL the leaves on "grandma's sugar bush". I have a very bad reaction to the poisonous sweetener they use in diet sodas, so it's the plant for me!

Brigid--had any success with seeds from it? I've found them impossible to germinate--but it could have been the seed source.
Debbie

Well, guess I'm just a *plain Jane* ... but I love spearmint tea! LOL

(Sorry to be so late responding!) The seedlings I have are from seeds I started. I planted eight little peat plugs, and there are three that are still green, but still very small. I've put them in a pot and they aren't dying, but they aren't growing, either. I'm just leaving them alone and hoping. The one I got from Richter's was about 5" tall and is now over 2'; I'm doing my best to root a cutting from it. We shall see.

IO1 -- I absolutely agree with you. Nothing like a simple spearmint tea.

This message was edited Jun 27, 2006 3:00 PM

Brigid--you got that stevia in full sun or shade?

dmj, it's on the patio, so it gets some morning sun. I have it tucked at the back of a whole slew of pots, so I think the pot it's in stays cool. The seedlings (I think I got the seeds from Park's) are a little higher and more forward, and one of them is growing. I put a cutting in water three days ago and it's not showing any roots yet, but I'll give it time.

Did you say you have kin in Lumberton, or am I thinking of someone else?

yes I do--all over that neck of the woods. Got a brother in Groves; cousins in Lumberton, Angelina, Kountze, and Lufkin.

We drink lots of peppermint, lemon verbena, monarda (bee balm) and tulsi teas.
Tulsi is Holy Basil. There are three types, Vana Tulsi, Rama Tulsi and Krishna Tulsi that are oftern blended together. Tulsi tea is very good for the adrenal glands....much needed in today's stressed out world.

Horizon Herbs carries seeds for all three. Use the search function and search on "tulsi"
http://www.horizonherbs.com/pilot.asp?pg=default

For those of you who are growing lemon balm but do not like the taste - try taking a bath with it. Very soothing.

Oh thanks ... This is very interesting ... I've never heard of Tulsi tea. I'm going right now to read about it. :-) I'm growing lemon balm and have added it to my bath. Made the mistake of just throwing the leaves in there one time, though, and I thought I was being attacked. LOL I use a tea ball now. *grin*
~Elaine~

One of my favorite recipes for tea I created is my Sweet Dreams. It works great without leaving you feeling drugged.

2parts dried Chamomile flowers
1 part Hops chopped in food processor
1/4 part Elder Flowers
1 part dried Lemon Balm
1 part Catnip dried

Shake in large bag. Use 2 tsp./cup of water, cover, steep for 5 min.
for folks who don't much about medicinal teas, covering them while they steep keeps the essential oils from escaping. They are what makes the tea work for you.

Here is another one for all you young un's.

Womens' Tea (Moon Cycle)

2part dried Crampbark 1/2 part dried Lemon Balm
1/2 part dried Chamomile 1/2 part dried Parsley
1/2 part dried Raspberry Leaves 1/2 part dried Vitex

Place in large bag and shake well. Use 1 Tbs. to 1 cup of water. Cover, steep for ten min. Take 3-4 times/day to relieve bloating, cramps and tension and balance your homones.

There is a commercially available Tulsi tea from Om Organics:
http://www.omorganics.com/product_pages/teas.htm

a few links to its beneficial properties:
http://hinduism.about.com/od/ayurveda/a/tulsibenefits.htm
http://www.holy-basil.com/30501.html?*session*id*key*=*session*id*val*

Wood Betony is another member of the mint family that is absolutely wonderful for tension headaches. We keep a bottle of wood betony in capsules in the medicine cabinet. It combines well with other herbs for flavour. Some folks report "mild intoxication" when using the fresh leaves instead of the dried ones, so if you're brewing fresh from the garden, make sure you are not driving until you know how you respond to it.

http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_betony.htm

Mint, equal part peppermint and spearmint does it for me.
Someone give me a recipe for chocolate mint tea, gotta try that!!

Here it comes: I really enjoy using the herb teas and have many of my own recipes I will enjoy sharing.

For Chocolate Mint Tea

1 part dried Chocolate Mint
1 part dried chopped Rose Hips


For Apple MInt Tea

1 part dried Apple Mint
1 part dried chopped Apples

Thanks!

Those stevia seedlings are growing, finally! I think that plant is very picky -- kind of like a fungus. I'm going to plant it in various places around the yard and find where it does best. It's supposed to grow in zone 11, so it's hard to believe it gets too hot here, you know?

I managed to kill my stevia in zone 8B. Didn't try it again this year. Good luck with yours. :-)

IO1, it's an uphill battle. I may not win it, but I'll sure give it a shot. If I figure out how to do it right, I'll post it.

I guess I am not the only one having trouble growing stevia. I have tried seeds plants and taking cuttings without success. I willing to try again though. The dried leaves are great to add to the teas.

When you say you have trouble growing stevia, what happens to your plants?

My cuttings won't root, herbaceous or woody. Seeds sprout, but only three out of eight lived, and they are growing VERY slowly. The leaves wilt in the heat of the day.

I have a feeling yours is bushy and green and probably sings when you water it, mermaid. ;p

Yep, mine wilt also. I grew mine in containers, though. the next time I decide to grow them I'll plant them in the yard. It was also during the hurricane season of last year, and the winds bent them over. I don't think they have a very deep root system? Anyway, it was my first year of trying them, and I learned some things from my mistakes. :-) When I dried some of the leaves, they tasted green to me, so I'll need to practice on that also. I use Splenda for sweetening now, but was impressed with how sweet just *1* little leaf was.

Stevia is really hard to start from seed. It's also easy to drown them when they're young and parch them when they are older. You may need to shade them a little in zone 8b.

Sweetness can vary from plant to plant, so if you have the opportunity to taste the leaf before you by the plant, do so.

Here are some links to the stevia websites with growing information:

http://www.stevia.net/growingstevia.htm

http://culinaryherbguide.com/growingstevia.htm

http://www.loghouseplants.com/stevia_info.htm

Thanks for the info. I don't have much shade in my yard. That might be part of my problem. I'll go check out that info. :-)

You may have to create a shady nook for your stevia by planting under the leaf canopy of another shrub or a bean pole, etc. Just stash a stevia seedling here and there in the landscaping or vegie garden.
You could also create a shade arbor from decorative fencing materials, or just plain chicken wire. It depends on whether function takes precedence over aestethics.

My stevia plants seemed to do just fine then just started wilting and died from there. My cuttings rotted and the seedlings just didn't get past the second set of leaves. I tried growing them in a greenhouse, in the garden and on the back porch (east facing). The plants I have purchased look great for about a week then go down hill from there. I live in zone 8b/9 in San Antonio, TX. By the way I have the same problem with Lemon Verbena and Rue.