Garden & Home TeamPut your extra herbs to good use by drying them and making your own herbal tea. You’ll have a fresh cup out of the garden and the health benefits of these magical plants.
Step 1:
Snip your herbs straight from the garden, ensuring you do not remove more than one-third of the entire plant. After rinsing thoroughly, dry your herbs one of four ways:
- Bunch them together, tie them with string, and hang them in a warm, dry place for a few weeks, away from direct sunlight.
- Place them on a microwaveable plate and microwave on high for 3 minutes, stopping to turn the leaves at 30-second intervals. Never leave them in for the full three minutes without stopping, as the leaves can burn or start a fire.
- Dry herbs in the oven by spreading them onto an oven tray and drying them on the lowest possible heat for 3-4 hours.
- Dry in a standard food dehydrator until crisp.
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Step 2:
Make your preferred tea mixes by combining compatible flavours into a single bowl. Avoid crushing them to preserve the strong flavour. Try spearmint and lavender for a calming, stress-relieving tea or ginger and lemon balm for a digestive kick.
Step 3:
Place your mixes into individual bags or airtight containers to preserve them. They should last between six and twelve months.
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Step 4:
When you’re ready to test your homemade herbal tea, simply add boiling water and strain or place a few teaspoons of leaves into a tea strainer. Don’t use too much at once–freshly dried herbs’ flavours are far more potent than those from the grocery store.
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Images: LIVING4MEDIA
READ MORE: THE BEST HERBS TO GROW FOR TEA
