Well, I was busy again over the weekend. I did not get much dried herbwise this season. Sooo I'm taking what I dried last season and I am making tea bags. Lemon Verbena Lady Blend II is made up of lemon verbena mostly, a little orange peel, orange mint and rose geranium. I had some last night and mostly got lemon verbena and rose geranium in the flavor. I'm going to have a second brew this afternoon or later this evening and maybe I'll have a different opinion. I'll let you know. UPDATE: I did have a second brew of the first tea bag and my opinion hasn't changed, mostly lemon verbena (a favorite) and rose geranium and the first time around there was a hint of orange mint. Because I have GERD (reflux disease) I shouldn't have too much mint! Mint and herbs are forever connected. It makes it tough when you want some in your tea blends. So I use one herb as a foundation and a couple of other herbs as extras or highlights.
I love tea..those tea bags are adorable...I have some lemon verbena in the garden..never have heard of making tea with the lemon verbena..and I love tea and orange..
ReplyDeleteI'll check back later to see how it went with your tea making...
Kary
xx
Lemon verbena in tea is one of the perfect ways to use it. I'll let you know how it is, Kary. Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteYour teas sound wonderful! Right now I have rosemary, bay, marjoram, tarragon and basil growing. Have you ever used tarragon in tea? Where do you get your tea bags?
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely Thanksgiving.
FlowerLady
Hi Flower Lady,
ReplyDeleteTea bags are fun to make and very easy. All you have to have is fresh or dried material. I use a book called The Herbal Tea Garden and it gives a lot of suggestions. You want a teaspoon of dried or three teaspoons of fresh.
Tarragon if you are going to use it, should be used fresh. While you can buy dried tarragon in the store, drying it at home doesn't work so well. I usually make vinegar out of my tarragon and then used the pickled tarragon like you would use fresh tarragon. Someone has also said that early tarragon in the spring makes the best vinegar. Will be trying it next spring. Rosemary, marjoram, sage, peppermint makes a woodsy, fragrant blend. I would use more marjoram and peppermint and use the rosemary and sage as little highlights. Marjoram and a little mint or rosemary and lavender would be good also. Using lavender flowers can lead to a soapy taste so use them also as a highlight. Less is better. Only use English lavender. Other kinds of lavender are too camphor for eating. Also bay can be bitter and you need to combine it with other herbs if possible. My basil goes to make jelly or pesto so I never have too much to use for tea. I did use a small amount of lemon basil in my first blend. It worked well. Basil has a spicy, clove like flavor. You may want to use some whole cloves to enhance the flavor.
I buy my tea bags from Nichols Garden Nursery. I just want on their website and they are redesigning it so they are giving 15% off of November sales. 100 teabags are $7.25. This is where I got my first tea bags years ago. I just found them in my work area recently! LOL! I think you probably can find them cheaper some where else online. Hope this gives you some ideas. Have fun. Also have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Wow, thank you on this Thanksgiving morning for all that info on herbal teas. I will check out tea bags online too.
ReplyDeleteI have the good old fashioned tarragon that I've had for years. I love using it for cooking carrots, chicken fish.
I'll see if the library has this book you're using.
Have a lovely day today ~
FlowerLady
My pleasure FlowerLady. The pecan pie is in the oven and had a couple minutes as the bird is in a cold water bath in the sink finishing the defrost cycle! Hope you have a great day!
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