I hope you all are settling into the new year, and that it is treating you well. The Wild Things Round Up this month is featuring all manner of tea recipes - from tasty tisanes, to medicinal brews, and beyond. In the world of wildcrafting, there are endless possibilities in this theme. I hope that this collection of recipes will inspire you to blend your own favorite tea from wild plants.
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Herbalist Renee Davis, of the Olympia Free Herbal Clinic, wrote this gorgeous post all about teas made from Trees, Lichen, and Fungi. You'll be inspired by her blends.
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This entry from Sherkhanchan is a perfect introduction to the world of tisanes. It also includes a few scrumptious recipes, including Wild Passionflower, Honeysuckle, and Satsuma Peel.
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My best foraging buddy, Wild Food Girl, explore the use of mullein as tea. She even proposes making mullein boba tea (kinda genius, right?).
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Meg has shared her recipe for Rose Hip Tea with Hibiscus and Ginger. If you're anything like me, you'll enjoy the story that goes along with this post at the Joy of Cooking Kitchen almost as much as the recipe.
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You are going to flip when you read this awesome post about herbal tisanes from Wildcraft Vita. It includes instructions for making your own adorable tea bags! The Diva also shared her experience with making ground ivy as tea.
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Esmaa, from Middleground Farm has shared three great blends. The first is a detox tea called Easy Resolution, This second post contains recipes for Esmaa's Even Keel and Sweet William (which she created for her hubby).
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Herbalist Rosalee de la Foret has shared a blend that is medicine for the heart. Given that it contains linden, hawthorn, goldenrod, and rose, I'm guessing it tastes pretty stinkin' good as well.
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My local wildcrafting friends Rico and Beth, of Survival in the Wasteland, have shared one of their favorite blends.
One slice of dried american licorice root
A healthy pinch of dried linden flowers
Dried wild mint, preferably mentha arvensis, to taste
A little goes a long way with th' mint, i sometimes use just one leaf,
brew just till it's cool enough to drink, then enjoy!
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Heather was kind enough to share some information about one of her favorite wild teas.
Not much of a recipe, but I love cedar tea! It's the only herbal tea
I've ever found that I love hot or cold, with no added sweeteners.
Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil, throw in a handful of cedar (Thuja occidentalis)
"greens", boil for 3 minutes, steep for 3 minutes, then strain. The
lady who told me about it (A wonderful Native American woman who has
made a study of "tree teas") said not to be tempted to let it boil or
steep longer, because instead of tea you end up with a cleaner (which
is also very good stuff)If I remember she said that a cup has more
vitamin C than a couple of oranges and it's a great detox. But you
shouldn't drink too much of it for extended periods unless it's a
drastic situation because it's not good for the kidneys (high
tannins). I also met someone once who said a friend had cured
themselves of cancer using cedar tea (I'm guessing the high C is the
reason).
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Lisa Rose Starner of Burdock and Rose, uses winter's woodland delights to make medicinal brews. This is herbal medicine at its best - a little of this, and a handful of that to cure what ails you.
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Patricia DeMarco shared this recipe.
Changing Woman Herbal Tea Blend
A calming and restorative herbal tea for the reproductive systems of
women going through hormonal transitions:
Measure out by dry weight:
2 parts Avena
1 part Hawthorn Leaf/Flowers
1 part Nettle Leaf
1 1/4 parts Raspberry Leaf
1/4 part Garden Sage
1/2 part Dandelion Leaf
Grind and/or sift. Store in glass container. Prepare as you would any
herbal infusion.
To give it more color, I like to add equal amounts of domestic red or
pink Hawthorn Flowers with the wild white ones. Plus, in the fall when
the raspberries are making their second comeback and there are usually
small red, hard or even dry raspberries on the vines, I'll remove
hardened berries and fresh leaves, dry them thoroughly and add to tea
mixture. Adds a sweet, hearty flavor. Of course, you could harvest and
dry the the berries when they ripen earlier; I like to use the fall
harvested ones.
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Maury Grimm, one of the foragers who most inspires me, has generously shared several of her favorites.
*Maddie's Mix:*
1 Tbsp crushed dried Rosehips
1 inch (more or less) Cinnmaon stick
1 inch Ginger (can be chopped or sliced)
2 Tbsp dried Nettles
Put Rosehips, Cinnamon andGinger in 3 cups of water to boil. Decoct about
3-5 minutes, covered. Turn off heat, put Nettles in (this can be
transferred to a tea pot) and cover, let infuse for 5-10 mins.
Add local organic honey, if desired! Enjoy. My daughter made this up and we
love it!
*Mom's Heartshaker tea:*
1Tbsp dried Hawthorn berries
1 inch Ginger, sliced
1/2 tsp Cayenne flakes
Local honey to taste
Boil berries & gunger in two cups water, covered about 5 mins. Add hot
pepper, cover and steep. Sweeten with honey and prepare to have your heart
move!
*Headache tea*:
Infuse dried corn silk in water. Drink cold for best results.
*Cold buster tea:*
I keep this is a jar, just adding ingredients as needed:
Dried Rosehips
Dried Elderberries
Dried Lovage leaves and/or ground root
Dried Goldenrod flowers (if you are not allergic)
Dried mint (I use catmint for its calming effect, and I have allot of it)
This is a fairly standard mix at my home. Sometimes I will add dried
dandelion flowers and dried Echinacea root, but only as needed (one never
wants Echinacea as a constant regimen).
*Sleepy Tea*
*Equal amounts of *
Lemon Balm
Dried California Poppy
Hops
Verbena Hastata
Catmint
This is another mix I keep on hand from wild and grown herbs. The Verbena
Hastata is bitter, so add enough mint to balance and honey when served.
*Cleansing Tea:*
*Equal parts: *
Lovage root, ground
Dandelion Root, ground
Fennel Seeds
Steep all and drink throughout the day, a cold infusion is best.
Be well and light
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Sandi Priest has a moon brew.
I use this tea during my menses. All of the herbs grow naturally where
I live in the mountains of Boone, North Carolina. Yarrow and Red
Clover grow in my yard and the Bee Balm grows by the creek just down
the road. I also have beautiful Wild Mountain Mint that grows in
abundance. I add a little to the tea to give it an extra strong mint
flavor some times. It can be substituted with peppermint, spearmint,
or Lemon Balm. The herbs are easily dried for use all year long.
Minty Menses Tea (use equal parts)
Bee Balm
Yarrow
Red Clover
Wild Mountain Mint (optional)
Bee Balm/ Scarlet Bergamot - reduces muscle spasms and menstrual
cramps. (ref. 1 pgs. 34 -35) The mint flavor is very pleasing.
Yarrow - is a stimulant which increases the energy of the body, drives
the circulation, breaks up obstructions and warms the body. It is used
for the treatment of painful or suppressed menses. (ref. 2 pgs. 37 &
211)
Red Clover - regulates sex hormones. Researchers speculate that
isoflavones that are found in Red Clover, may attach to estrogen
receptors, in the bladder, arteries, bones, and heart, relieving
symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, PMS, in some women. It has also
been used in the treatment of cancer. (ref. 1 pgs. 304 - 305)
Reference 1 (ref. 1) - National Geographic Desk Reference to Nature's
Medicine by Steven Foster and Rebecca L. Johnson
Reference 2 (ref. 2) - The Way of Herbs by Michael Tierra L. Ac., O.M.D.
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Can you imagine a mid-winter treat as fine as tea made with dehydrated wild strawberries and cream? Jump over to visit the Dyhanaverse to find out more about how to make this glorious tea.
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Herbalist Kiva Rose combines conifer needles, acorns, and juniper berries in her Wild Woodlands Morning Brew.
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Hunter Angler Gardener Cook Hank Shaw tackled a roasted chicory root infusion, aka Chicory Root Coffee.
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This is an older post from this blog, but it remains my favorite winter tea blend. Perhaps you'd also enjoy a cup of Butter's Favorite Tea Blend.
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This is another of my older posts, in which I talk about two of my favorite summer herb teas - Strawberry Leaf and Navajo Teas.
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Here's one I wrote about using red clover flowers to make Red Clover Sun Tea.
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Earlier this month, I became a little obsessed with pounded tea, or lei cha. It is made creamy by the use of pulverized nuts and seeds. Of course, I made my version with wild teas - Wild Pestle Tea.
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Did you know that you can ferment raspberry or blackberry leaves to make something more like a black tea at home? Here, I've used fermented raspberry leaf tea to infuse Goat Cheese Custards.
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I made these Wild Tea-Marbled Eggs using locally wildcrafted plants. Aren't they gorgeous?
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Thanks for the inspiration, everyone! See you next month. I think you'll be very *excited* by the theme (any guesses?).
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