I make all my blends in jars and shake blend them to avoid bruising the herbs which helps give my herb blends and teas a lengthy shelf life. I craft this tea and keep it in a large glass jar in the kitchen to brew whenever I needed a pick-me-up. If it was the time of year I was harvesting late into the night I made this blend with black tea. If in the morning, I used green tea. And once I discovered red bush (rooibos) tea from Africa, I used that all the time.
Harvest Tea
- 1/3 cup dried apple pieces, chopped in small pieces
- ¼ cup hibiscus flowers
- ¼ cup rooibos or black tea
- ¼ cup rose hip shells
- ¼ cup allspice berries
- 1/3 cup wintergreen leaves (substitute spearmint but not peppermint)
- 1 Tbls. Currants or dired cranberries
- 15 inches of cinnamon stick or ¼ cup ground cinnamon
- 1 rounded Tbls. birch bark (You can leave this out. I find its medicinal benefits useful in cool weather)
Combine dry ingredients in a glass jar. Add the wintergreen oil; shake well to blend and distribute the oil. Store away from light for up to a year. Use 1 heaping teaspoon per cup of hot water. Steep 5 minutes and sweeten only with honey.
These recipes are just one aspect of the Backyard Patch. To read our herb research, or see a listing of our 25 different herbal teas visit the Backyard Patch on-line at http://www.backyardpatch.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment