Plants To Try In Your Herbal Tea

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

19 Feb 2007 05:37 PM

There are a lot of good reasons to drink herbal tea. They usually lack the caffeine of black tea, and lots of herbs come with other health benefits! If you've got a green thumb, there are a ton of flowers, herbs, greens, and even weeds that you can dry out and steep in boiling water for a delicious and unusual tea experience.

Edible (and drinkable) flowers

• alliums (flowers and young shoots)
• bee balm
• carnations
• hibiscus blossoms
• hollyhock
• honeysuckle flowers (avoid the berries; they are highly poisonous)
• Johnny-jump-ups (flowers and leaves)
• lavender (blossoms and leaves)
• nasturtiums (flowers, buds, leaves, seedpods)
• pansies (flowers and leaves)
• roses (petals, leaves, and rose hips)
• violets (flowers and leaves)

The scent of lavender and rose are both very soothing. Try pairing these flowers with chamomile for a relaxing bedtime tea.

Edible (and drinkable) kitchen herbs

• basil
• chamomile flowers
• chives
• dill
• lemon balm
• marjoram
• oregano
• parsley
• peppermint, spearmint, and other mints
• rosemary
• sage
• thyme
• verbena

Peppermint is great for digestion, so a mint tea is a good idea if you have an upset stomach. I can't say the thought of dill or oregano tea is especially appealing to me -- I tend to like my teas to be sweet, rather than savory -- but it's worth a try!

Edible (and drinkable) grasses, bushes, and trees

• birch leaves (these taste better when young, if possible)
• blackberry leaves
• citrus blossoms (lemon, orange, grapefruit, etc.)
• gardenia
• hibiscus flowers
• honeysuckle flowers
• raspberry leaves
• chickweed
• chicory (flowers and buds)
• dandelions (flowers and leaves)
• goldenrod
• kudzu
• stinging nettle

A citrus blossom tea sounds like a lovely drink for a hot summer day!

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Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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