Thyme to Sleep Tea - Tea of the Month

I have many nights where I find sleep elusive.  I am a light sleeper and easily wake and find myself unable to fall back to sleep.  Thyme is a go-to herb to help me sleep. Thyme is a powerful antibacterial; combined with its strong action as an antitussive (cough suppressive), those dry winter days indoors will bother you no more! When the dry cough comes creeping in and sleep is elusive, drink some of this thyme tea with honey and lemon, and you won’t even need to count sheep.

Thyme to Sleep Tea

3 cups water

4-6 tsp dried garden thyme

4-6 tsp dried bee balm leaves or flowers

Honey to flavor

Place herbs in a tea ball or coffee filter and place in a teapot.  Boil water and pour over dried herbs. Cover immediately to trap volatile oils. Steep time is your preference; longer is stronger. Start with 4-6 minutes. Add honey and lemon juice to flavor bring out the flavor. Sweet dreams!

Lemon Thyme Mint Fall Tea for Tea blend of the Month

Thyme is a great germ fighter and lemon is always refreshing, so this special recipe for a thyme -based tea will have you sipping as the days grow cooler.

Lemon Thyme Mint Tea

1 part lemon thyme (or ¼ part lemon peel)

1 part peppermint

1 part thyme

¼ part crushed coriander

Blend the ingredients together and place in a jar with a tight fitting lid.

TO USE: Add 1 Tsp to an infuser or coffee filter and allow to steep for 7 to 10 minutes.  Sip and enjoy!

Relaxation Tea Blend - Tea Blend of the Month

Today I am speaking to the Village Garden Club of Hinsdale, Illinois. They asked me to speak on my favorite subject, herbal tea!  The program is called the Curative Properties of Tea, where I review and explain the medicinal properties of various herbs used in healing teas.

I became an herb grower because of my love of herb tea, and back in the 90's there just was not much selection, so I needed to grow a few herbs to make my own.

When making tea, you have to consider several flavors: sweet, savory, pungent and floral.  Floral flavors can be savory or sweet, but we separate them out when making tea because they are so commonly used.

Here are the rules for blending teas:

• 1 pungent, 1 savory, 1 sweet, 1 floral
• 1 pungent, 1 savory, 2 sweets, 1 floral
• 1 pungent, 2 savory
• 2 savory, 3 floral
• 1 savory, 1 sweet, 1-2 floral
• 1 sweet, 2-3 floral

And here is a tea recipe using those rules that my lecture participants will be creating today.

Relaxation Tea Blend

• 1 part lemon balm (sweet - helps relaxation and reduces stress)
• 2 parts hops (floral - increases restfulness and calm)
• 1 part mexican oregano (savory - reduces cold symptoms)

Mix together and store in a jar with a tight fitting lid.  

To Use: Use 1 tsp per cup of hot water and allow to steep 7 to 10 minutes before enjoying.

January is Hot tea month

To celebrate hot tea month this year, I dragged out the infusers and the teas I “have been meaning to try.” And put them front and center in the kitchen so that I can enjoy them morning and night.  I also took my hot pot to the office so I can make hot tea at work.  I think this will start a new and tastier habit for me in the office as well as show off my new tea blends as I make and test them in the weeks before I start to sell them.

So if you enjoy wrapping your hands around a warm cup of tea, you might want to make it a habit too. And if you need incentive, the evidence continues to mount that tea is good for you.

Heart health is the most notable benefit, says Jeffrey Blumberg, director of the Antioxidant Research Laboratory at Tufts University: "People who drink more tea do appear to have less risk of heart disease, and for those who have developed some cardiac event like a heart attack, those who are tea drinkers seem to have a lower incidence of a second event."

Herbal teas are more than just decaffeinated alternatives to regular black tea. In fact, they can be very powerful & beneficial, and whether you’re looking to improve your digestion, boost detoxification, curb your sweet tooth or if you need a natural sleep aid – there’s an herbal tea that can help! The secret is to buy the right tea & brew it the right way.

Tea is a bit like food – quality matters. There is the food in its natural state and then there’s the nicely packaged processed food, which is often void of any original goodness. In tea language, this means that the processed teabags with dust-like tea inside are more than likely devoid of any original aroma or nutritional value. Meanwhile, whole leaf teas are the very best choice and well worth the price difference. These teas have whole or slightly broken down pieces of leaves & stems and are not bagged but instead bought as a loose tea. These teas are full of uncompromised nutritional benefits, and aside from having a higher content of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, they also contain the fragile essential oils which are responsible for the medicinal properties of herbal tea. Loose and Fresh can truly make a difference to your health and improve your overall wellbeing. Check out the more than 25 varieties of Backyard Patch Herb Teas in our Etsy Shop.

After buying the right tea, brewing it right is just as essential. It all goes back to the beneficial essential oils. These oils are fragile and need to be preserved as best possible. Covering your tea while steeping it helps preserve these oils that otherwise easily escape in the steam, rendering the herb less effective medicinally.

Here are a few more useful brewing tips:

o    Make a whole pot of tea and use a tight lid to cover while steeping. Any tea pot with a lid or French press tea maker is good as long as it is covered up.  If you like your tea very hot get a cozy as well.  These are made by PawPrints onEtsy and are my favorite style that will fit any sizes of pot!

o    Let your tea steep for 10-15 minutes to maximize the health benefits of the herb.

o    Get a good tea cup infuser tool. The larger the better to give the leaf room to unfurl and release minerals and oils. We have been making beaded infusers for a year now.

o     Remember that herbal teas have medicinal properties and some of them can interact with certain medications. Check with your health care provider before taking any new herbal teas if you are on medication and if you are pregnant or nursing.

And finally, if you want to enjoy our teas and tea accessories like infusers, shortbreads and scones, use this discount code at checkout on Etsy for 20% off – TEASALE11

Cough Relief Herbal Tea - Weekend Recipe

Coughs are very common in the winter months.  A cough remedy or cough drop is always a good idea, but in a hurry a cough relief tea is also quick and easy.  You can blend up this recipe of cough relief herbs way in advance and use just 3 tsp. per cup of hot water.  Allow the tea to steep for 5 to 7 minutes.  Drink this tea as often as needed.

This blend makes a strong tea to help relieve your cough as well as make coughs more productive to rid the body of toxins and heal quicker.  This recipe will make 5 1/2 cups which should be enough to get you through the winter.   Enjoy!

Cough Relief Herbal Blend

1/2 cup each:
Red Clover Blossoms
Horehound
Mullein Leaf
Nettle Leaf
Echinacea Purpurea Leaf
Marshmallow Root

1/4 cup each:
Thyme
White Pine Bark
Elecampane Root
Echinacea Purpurea Root
Wild Cherry Bark
Licorice Root

1 cup:
Peppermint Leaf

Combine and store in an air tight container.

Rose Hips & Rose Hip Tea

Here is a little extra for you, you can also make Rose Hip Wine. This wine concoction will aid circulation.  It is also known to stimulate the appetite. Steep 3 ounces of dried rose hips in 1 quart of strong, dry red wine for 2 weeks. Filter the wine. Drink 2 small glasses per day. Who can beat that prescription!

In this week of celebrating Roses I thought I should also speak about Rose Hips.  Roses, traditional non-hybrid roses, develop a seed pod just at the base of the flower.  These red balls are known as "hips" and yes the seeds are in them.  Rose Hips make a wonderful tea.  They are high in Vitamin C, also contain vitamins A, B, D, K, E, and flavinoids (antioxidants), and prevent bladder infections, ease headaches and dizziness. 

You can grow the non-hybrid roses and harvest your own hips, or you can obtain hips from local growers or freinds.  I usually wait until frost before I harvest my rose hips. I find the best way to let them dry is on the plant, rather than indoors on a screen. So many times they would mold indoors which made me decide to let mother nature do her thing and gather the dried hips instead.

To prepare Rose Hips:  

1. Collect hips from only wild roses or untreated roses that have not been sprayed. Leave the flowers on the rose bush.

2. Clip off the red fruits at the end of the blossom and spread rose hips out to dry. As the rose petals dry, the fruit of the flower matures to a red or orange bulb. 

4. After the petals are completely dry, store them in an airtight container.

To make Rose Hip Tea:  

1. You can use fresh or dried rose hips for tea. If you're using fresh hips, you’ll need about twice as many. The seeds inside the hip have an irritating, hairy covering. Trust me—you must remove those aggravating little hairs inside the hip. To do so, hold the hip securely, slice it in half, and remove the inner seeds. Use a knife or a pair of little herb scissors to do this.

2. For fresh rose hip tea, steep about 12 to 16 hips in a cup of boiling water for about 10 to 15 minutes. For dried rose hip tea, steep about 6 to 8 hips in a cup of boiling water for about 10 to 15 minutes. Strain the tea.

3. Sweeten to taste using stevia, sugar or sweetener. The flavor of honey may overpower this astringent rosy tea.

Note: Do not use aluminum pansor tea pots to craft rose hip tea. The tea will react to the aluminum and destroy the vitamin C.

Drink your herbs - herbal tisanes and teas

Many years ago I stopped using in general conversation the real name for an herbal tea, a tisane.  Recently I was watching Masterpiece Mystery on PBS and they were showing a Hercule Poirot episode where he was constantly drinking healing tisanes.  It reminded me that when I was a teen reading Agatha Christie for the first time, I had no idea what that was, now I drink them every day, just like the great detective.

If regular tea is not your thing and you find coffee to be too strong and soda before lunch out of the question, then perhaps it is time to consider a tisane, otherwise known as herbal tea. We’re talking herbs, fruit, flowers, roots, grains and just about any other plant material you can get your hands on. Steep it in hot water and you’ll have a low-calorie, flavorful and healthful beverage.

Tisane drinkers fall into two categories: those who drink them for flavor and those who drink them for health benefits.

Half my customers don’t care what it does for you as long as it tastes good. The other half don’t care what it tastes like as long it’s beneficial.  I realized that although I blend my herbal teas for taste first, because I think medicine should go down well, it was still the medicinal properties of those teas that some people cared most for.  Recently I started rewriting my tea descriptions to include these medicinal pieces of information so tisane drinkers could make the best choices.  If you want to see the rewritten descriptions, check out our Herbal Tea Listings in our Shopify Store.

While I do not dispense medical advice, many customers are seeking specific herbs that have health-benefiting qualities, so I try to craft herbal teas that work in combination with certain medicinal properties. It is important, however, that customers use the same discretion with herbs as they would with products in a drugstore.  There are a world of plants to be explored in terms of flavor and benefits. 

When brewing a tisane you need to realize that unlike black tea a brewing time of 2 minutes is rarely long enough.  If you use a root, like Echinacea you may need to steep as long as 15 minutes to extract the medicinal properties and flavors.  I general recommend 5 to 7 minutes except when I have included certain long steep herbs. Different palates also demand different strengths so when trying a new herb, sample it after just a few minutes of steeping. It can always be diluted if it gets too strong. The standard formula is one teaspoon of herbs for each eight ounces of water.  

Some herbal remedies made as a tisane can bring almost instant relief, when they are taken to ease a headache for example, others take time to strengthen and stimulate the body systems which in turn promote healing.  So when hoping to effect rheumatism, patience will be required.

Tacoma Washington’s Mad Hat Tea Co has an herbal tea called “Pounding Headache”  that was designed by co-owner Maureen McHugh.  Made from white willow, lavender, rosehips, blue violet, lemon peel and chrysanthemum it is a good relaxer and has the essential components to work on headaches.  Willow bark is the original ingredient used in making aspirin.

Herbal Infusions of a single herb are not nearly as flavorful or as healthful as a blend. I make a popular blend called Dreamtime that I originally formulated as an alternative to Sleepy time from Celestial Seasonings which I found to be too strong in flavor to help me relax.  “Dreamtime” tea blend helps to promote sleep, with a mixture of chamomile, catnip, lavender and when I have some, skullcap.  Many sleep blends contain mint which is a great herb for relaxation and settling the mind, but I dislike mint so this blend does not use it.  Unable to avoid making a mint relaxation blend to promote restful sleep I did make a minty flavored tisane called “Rest Easy.” Using lemon balm, chamomile, catnip, spearmint and lemon grass the blend is slightly mint-flavored and but sweet and citrusy.

Another item to consider when brewing herb tea is not only what will enhance the flavor, but also what will improve the look or aroma of the tea.  Natural Herb tisanes are general light in color. Sometimes colorless, so you need to add hints of color and touches of extra flavor with additional ingredients.  I use hibiscus to add a rich red color, like in Holy Basil Relaxing Tea and cinnamon it lend a natural brownness as it does in Afternoon Lift Tea.  When I want something sweeter fennel seed, anise seed or licorice root will work. I put that in a winter teea called Holiday Magic.  Strongly flavored medicinal herbs like valerian can be covered by adding other strongly flavored herbs like peppermint or lemon verbena.

The following is a varied list of herbs that are safe to drink on a daily basis (the only exception being the caffeine in yerba mate which should be treated similar to coffee and tea). Pregnant women should consult their doctors before using any new herb.  Many herbs are not advisable for those pregnant or breast feeding.

ROOIBOS (we give more details on this tea herb in the Herb of the Week Rooibos post)

This is the herbal drink for people who don’t like tea. It’s not bitter, grassy or even green. In fact, its nickname is red tea. The bushy shrub grows only in South Africa where it has long been a staple.

Some describe the flavor as citrus; others liken the taste to a grain like wild rice. Whatever people taste, the slightly sweet flavor is unique. It brews into a deep honey-colored liquid.

There are many health claims surrounding rooibos, but one thing is certain: it has high levels of antioxidants. Weve used this in seasonal teas, as well as specialty teas.

YERBA MATE

One might not think of holly when reaching for an herbal tea but that’s what yerba mate is. A South American holly to be exact. A popular drink in Argentina and other countries south of the equator the herbal infusion is traditionally drunk through a metal straw from a gourd.

The herb is sold dried in green and roasted forms. The green version has a grassy flavor, reminiscent of bamboo. The roasted replaces that grassy flavor with smoky and grain notes.
Because yerba mate has caffeine and other xanthines, However, the profile of those stimulants is different from that of coffee and tea and some studies have suggested it affects the body in a different way. It’s high in antioxidants and can give a morning lift.

Maureen McHugh, who believes in the curative properties of yerba mate and rooibos that she blended them together in a tea she calls “Remedy for death.”  I love that idea, and may be making a similar version myself.

MINT

I grow a black stem peppermint because the scent and flavor or both sweet and cooling and stronger and more singular than other mint varieties.  I drink it for the soothing qualities it has on my throat when I have to do a lot of speaking and lecturing.  The scent will help wake you up and I love using it in my bath as well as tea products.  The girl scouts always gravitated to Peppermint when we would use the herb in programs, so I always include it in a tea blend for children.

Since peppermint is a strong mint flavor I will also use Spearmint or Applemint (which a spearmint cultivar) in my tea blends (like Winter Remedy) when a gentler hint of sweetness and mint are desired. 
Mints will be both cooling and warming as well as stimulating, but they are also good for relieving digestive problems and soothing fevers.  Peppermint is said to be good for migraines and headaches.

LEMON BALM

Lemon Balm is a great choice for growing in the garden as it has a pleasant lemon-scented leaf.  It is also good for attracting bees to the garden and the aroma is said to drive away insects.  In the Middle Ages it was one of the herbs strewn on the floor.  Lemon balm is a known anti-bacterial with anti-oxidant properties.  It is a calmative, anti-spasmodic, sedative, and nervine.  Its antidepressant qualities are gaining popularity. The tisane can relieve tension, restlessness, nervous sleep disorders, menstruation, digestive and gastrointestinal disorders.  It can rejuvenate the central nervous system. And most importantly, lemon balm leaves make a wonderful refreshing and calming summer iced tea. Recent research shows it may benefit "cognitive performance and mood and may therefore be a valuable adjunct in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease."

Good for feverish colds, nervousness and depression including post natal depression, the light flavor of lemon balm makes it good for children and it is a great remedy for childhood infections and chronic bronchitis.  The oil of lemon balm has been used on cold sores and a handful of the leaves are even good used in the bath to add relaxation.

As part of a new idea I thought I would share at least one herbal tea recipe a month and then use it as a spring board to discuss the herbs included and how to grow or use them during the rest of the month.  So here is an herbal tea (tisane) to try on your own:

Sweet Mint Remedy

This is a great cold remedy with anti-bacterial properties and stomach calming attributes.  It is also good fro women issues and cramps and upset form menstruation.  With the licorice it is sweet enough that no sugar or honey will be needed.

1 Tbls. plus 1 tsp. peppermint leaf

3 slices Chinese licorice root *

2 tsp. raspberry leaf

1 tsp. lemon grass

1 quart water, boiling

Steep the herbs in the boiling water covered fro 4 minutes.  Strain and discard herbs but save licorice root and return it to tea for some extra sweetness.  Enjoy the tea hot or chilled. (Makes 4 cups.)

*Licorice note – Chinese licorice is available at Chinese markets and herb shops.  Do not substitute American or European licorice, both are strong laxatives and will not give you exactly what you were expecting with this tea.

Hot Tea Enjoyment Step 5 - Experiment with other tea drinks

Okay this was out of order because I lost the recipes I wanted to include, so rather than hold up the series I listed step 6 on Monday. HEre are all the steps to increasing your enjoyment of Hot Tea if you ant to review:

Step 6: http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2012/01/hot-tea-enjoyment-step-6-tea-tastings.html

Step 4: http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2012/01/hot-tea-enjoyment-4-storing-your-tea.html

Step 3: http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2011/03/brewing-tea-hot-tea-enjoyment-3.html

Step 2:  http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2011/02/loose-herbal-tea-hot-tea-enjoyment.html

Step 1: http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2011/02/hot-tea-enjoyment.html

So now. on the the next step:

5. Experiment with tea in other drinks, such as lattes, cider, cocoa or as Chai.  I stretched this out a bit and included using tea as an ingredient in recipes not only for desserts and main dishes, but in the bath as well..

When I was younger I thought Tea is Tea, Coffee is Coffee.  They are specific drinks prepared a specific way.  I do not drink coffee.  I love the smell, dislike the taste.  So as a result I do not drink hot coffee, coffee liqueur, iced coffee, or coffee ice cream, wait if coffee comes in all these varieties, doesn’t tea?

That was when I realized that there was probably more variety to tea than hot or iced.  So I began experimenting with ways to use brewed teas.  In the process I created a tea version of a Latte, a Chai Tea Latte you can enjoy cold as well as hot.

Chai Iced Tea

You will want to use a coffee filter to strain this mixture as the powdered herbs will float on the surface of the tea otherwise.

1/3 cup loose green tea leaves
2 tablespoons loose black tea leaves
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
6 whole cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Milk (may substitute soy or rice milk)

Blend all ingredients in a medium bowl. Place 1/2 of the mixture into a tea pot and add boiling water. While the tea is steeping, heat an amount of milk equal to the amount of tea brewed.  Steep until tea is of the desired strength Strain and pour into a mug, filling halfway. Add the warm milk to the mug and blend with the tea. Then pour over ice for iced chai tea. Skip the ice for a hot version.

In my experimenting to create a Latte, I ended up with a traditional Chai and two Green Tea Chais that I now market (scroll to the bottom of the web page and you will find them!) 

I even found ways to cook with tea and ways to use it in the bath.

Spanish Rice with Crab or Shrimp  

(Makes approximately 4 servings)

Ingredients
3/4 cup long grain rice
1 small onion
2 small cloves garlic
2 tblsp canola oil
1 1/4 cups water
1 - 8 ounce can stewed tomatoes
2 tsps loose green tea
1/4 tsp salt
hot pepper sauce (optional)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 lb. crab meat or cooked medium shrimp

Cut up onion and garlic.  In skillet cook rice, onion, garlic, Backyard Patch Spanish Rice Seasoning (optional) and tea in canola oil over medium to low heat, stirring occasionally until rice is golden brown.  Remove from heat.  Add water, undrained tomatoes, salt, and a couple dashes of hot pepper sauce (optional).

Cover and simmer about 15 - 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.  Stir in frozen peas and crab OR shrimp and cook for 5 minutes more, or until heated through.

Green Tea Chicken Stock

1 cup freshly brewed green tea
2 Tbls. canola oil.
2 Tbls. of ginger root chunks
1 tsp. white pepper
5 cloves minced garlic
5 green onions
6 cups canned chicken broth
3 cups kernel corn
1 cup chicken, chunked

Heat a deep saucepan over medium heat and add oil. Stir in ginger, garlic and green onions and fry for 1 minute. Add chicken to it and cook for 2-3 minutes until it turns brown.  To the chicken mixture add the tea, chicken broth and corn. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer and cover it for 40 minutes. Season it with white pepper. Strain the liquid through a sieve, pressing out as much liquid as you can. Cool it and pour the stock into a container. Keep in a refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze. You can use this great tasting green tea chicken stock in any other recipes calling to broth or stock.

Green Tea Bath Blend

1/4 cup parsley

1/4 cup chamomile flowers

2 tbsp. loose green tea

1 tbsp. orange peel, dried

1/2 cup Epsom salt

Mesh drawstring bag

Mix ingredients thoroughly in a small bowl. Fill mesh drawstring bag with mixture. Pull drawstrings tight, and tie. Run warm water in the bathtub. Place the ingredient filled mesh bag under running water. The water will seep through the mesh, and release the essential oils and other nutrients into the water.

Hot Tea Enjoyment step 6 - Tea Tastings

We have been working our way through 7 ways to enjoy hot tea in celebration of January as Hot Tea Month.  Here is number 6.

6. Host a tea tasting with friends. Try several different flavors and compare notes. Or hold an actual tea and serve scones and treats with your tea selections.

I love the possibility of inviting people over to try tea.  When I do programs on tea and herbal tea, I always have participants try samples because once you understand how different teas and herbs taste you can begin to put them together into blends of your own which you can enjoy.

Al you need to host a tasting is a tea kettle, some cotton tea infusers (easier than cleaning out the tea ball each time), a selection of tea cups or mugs, and a few friends.

A short tea sample list would include both traditional tea and /or herb teas.  You can combine a tasting of both or choose one or the other as a theme.  You brew up the teas or herbs and have everyone jot down impressions, likes and dislikes and discuss them.

Two Tea Tasting Event Suggestions

Be aware that black, green, oolong, and white teas all come from the same plant – Camellia sinensis.  The flavors of these tea leaves however, vary by growing region’s soil conditions and weather.  So tasting the various teas and linking them to country of origin is always a great way to study the differences in flavor.

Varieties to include in Camellia sinensis tasting:

Black Tea is the strongest tea in color, flavor, and in caffeine content. It is fermented giving it a dark color, and a full-bodied hearty flavor. 

Earl Grey (a black tea blended with bergamot oil so it has a citrus after taste)

Assam (rich aroma, strong-flavored, malty body)

Darjeeling (rich golden color with a delightful aroma)

English Breakfast (traditional full-bodied tea, familiar aroma)

Irish Breakfast ( darker and more rich than English breakfast)

Lapsang Souchong (a robust tea with smoky aroma and flavor, may be an acquired taste)

Green tea is created using hand-picked tea leaves steamed immediately after harvest, allowing the leaves to retain their bright green color, and fresh vibrant taste.  A popular tea, it is most well-known for its health benefits and as a powerful antioxidant. 

Two main styles to try are Gunpowder (also known as Pearl) and Dragon well.

Oolong is a medley of black and green tea leaves created by only partly fermenting the leaves.  This tea is beautiful, full bodied, and has a mildly smooth aftertaste. It is preferred by those who dislike the bitterness commonly associated with green tea and contains less caffeine than black tea. 

White tea has become recently popular.  It is the least processed for the tea leaves are simply picked and dried.  White tea is picked early in the season when the buds are still fresh, young and tender. The taste is very mild and sweet.

An herb tea item list for tasting, could include:

Once you have tried the herbs, find three to combine together to make your own herbal tea blend.  Although herbs can be taken singularly in tea, the best flavors come when you combine the herbs together to create a rich combination that exhibits all the aspect you enjoy singly.

Blackberry leaf – this is an earthy flavor, it combines well with sweet and floral tastes and is goof for female issues of cramping, digestion and other concerns.

Lemon Balm – this is a sweet gently lemony flavored herb with a multitude of medicinal properties which it can impart to tea.  Trying it to see that it is not overpowering in its tartness is always good

Spearmint or Peppermint – these mints are gently cooling in flavor and will work well with most other herbs earthly, savory or sweet.  Peppermint is a sharper more mint-like flavor and Spearmint is a gently soothing taste.  You may want to try both to discover a favorite.

Thyme – a savory traditional cooking her, this herb brings many medicinal properties like being an anti-bacterial to the table.  It is to be used sparingly as it can overpower the flavor of other herb and more is not needed to gain it medicinal benefits.

Chamomile – an old fashioned remedy for colic and sleeplessness this herb adds a apple-like flavor to tea.  It is used for it soothing properties as well as its nice sweet flavor.

Lavender – some lavenders can seem soapy tasting, so I recommend a pure blue lavender for tea.  The savory sweet flavor as well as the relaxing and stress relieving qualities make it a great addition to herbal tea.

Rose hips – the flavor they add is soft, but tart, however the vitamin C they bring is better than several glasses of orange juice.

To go with your teas, you can enjoy scones and biscotti.  Tea is the perfect accompaniment to dry items and those with light flavors so you combine with the flavor of the tea rather than overpower it.

Here is a seasonally friendly scone recipe:

Nut & Raisin Sticky scones

4 cups unbleached flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 T baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

1 egg

4 T butter, cut into pieces

1 1 /2 cups buttermilk

½ cup raisins

1 cup pecans

4 T butter melted

¾ cup brown sugar

1 T honey

1 T molasses

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  In a large mixing bowl add flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar, baking powder and soda.  Stir.  Add the egg and butter pats and beat at low speed with an electric mixer for one minute.

Slowly add the buttermilk to the bowl and continue to beat just until the dough is formed.  Do not over beat

Turn out the dough onto floured bread board and lightly press out the dough to form a rectangle, approx 1 inch thick.  Sprinkle with raisins and nuts.  Roll up the dough form the long side, to form a log.  Cut into 8 to 10 slices.

In a small bowl Mix together melted butter, ¾ cup brown sugar, honey and molasses.  Pour this mixture into buttered 9 x 13 baking pan.  Place the sliced rolls into the baking dish.  Bake for 28 minutes.

And if you want already blended tea for your event, be sure to check out all our Backyard Patch tea blends, or our monthly tea subscriptions available on Etsy.

Hot Tea Enjoyment #4 - Storing your tea

Somehow the Tea Enjoyment series I started in January 2010 became derailed sometime in March 2010.  I apologize to those who were actually following it.  If you were not, what I started in January 2010 in celebration of Hot Tea Month was a series of  7 points about improving your enjoyment of tea.

To see the first few posts, check out:

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2011/02/hot-tea-enjoyment.html

It was the 7 points that got me thinking about how I sell my loose tea and I realized that I was not using the best storage method so I changed.  Discussing that lets me move to the next Step in the 7 points.

For reference here are the 7 points to enjoying hot tea:
1. Try a new type of tea.
2. Buy loose tea instead of bags

3. Learn how to brew the best tea.

4. Understand how to store tea.
5. Experiment with tea in other drinks,
6. Host a tea tasting with friends.
7. Put brewed tea leaves to good use.

4. Understand how to store tea.

When storing teas the key is avoiding exposure to light, heat, moisture, and air Use opaque food-safe containers with a sealed lid. Tins and plastic are best. Because tea has a certain amount of moisture in the leaf that can be trapped in glass it is generally not considered best, especially clear glass.  That being said I personally store much of my tea in amber glass jars. 

Store tea in dark, airtight containers such as tins or opaque plastic containers with tight-fitting lids.

Split large quantities into smaller packages, and vacuum-pack them for long-term storage. Keep them in a dark cupboard or opaque container to exclude light.

Keep herbal teas away from other spices and strong odors. Herbal teas can absorb odors and flavors from other foods and ruin the brew. Each herbal tea should have its own tin or container. Do not pack several different teas in the same container.

Store herbal teas for up to six months in an opaque airtight container. Vacuum-packed teas keep for up to two years. Place them in a cool, dark place but not in the refrigerator.  The air circulation in your refrigerator is actually very drying and can shorten the life of tea and other dried herbs by more than half.

At the Backyard Patch I sold all my loose teas in zip seal bags.  That is not bad, but I decided that since I pride myself on long shelf life, the tea needed to have a long life container, so in 2010 we switched to selling our loose tea in round metal tins.  They stack nicely, can be magnetized to the refrigerator for easy access, and are a perfect storage container.  If you would like tea in these wonderful new containers, check out our herbal teas on the website.