tea herbs

[speedster7926]

im just starting to make my own herb tea but im very picky when i drink tea i like it full of flavor and not water with a hint of something so right now since we don't have a lot of herbs we use some mint and some peppermint tea bags and some lemon juice w/ some ginger. what herbs can i grow that taste great and full of flavor?

[digitS']

Daniel, I am particularly fond of lemon verbena and anise hyssop.

Also, I am very happy to be able to grow these here. The lemon verbena has to stay on the floor of the greenhouse through the winter. I don't turn the heat on until March. You should have no hardiness problem.

Anise hyssop grows in my vegetable garden. I've allowed a few plants to reseed themselves each year. They do this so well that even after the tractor guy tills the garden, there are volunteers. My job is just to make sure they are where they can grow thru the season. And, I've got to get them harvested (most of them) before they fully bloom.

At just about equal amounts for tea, they are a great combination!

Steve

[rainbowgardener]

Those are some of my favorites too. Here's a thread where I posted some herbal tea recipes and tea herbs I like to grow:

http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... pes#128195

There's an absolutely wonderful spiced anise tea made with 4 parts anise hyssop to 1 part each of cloves, cinnamon, and vanilla bean. So fragrant and flavorful, it makes your mouth water just to smell it.

Lavender is lovely in tea blends with mint or chamomile or lemon balm (or lemon verbena - I only grow the lemon balm because lemon verbena isn't hardy in my climate).

[ozark_rocks]

Oswego a member of the mint family,is a good one. I don't grow it, but gather it from the wild, it grows in ditches around here.Chocalate mint is good in coffee.

Some more "teas" I like, but are not herbs, are spice bush and sassafras.

[soil]

don't forget chamomile, nothing like fresh picked chamomile tea.

[WinglessAngel]

u might also think of trying jasmine or lavender...very fragrant and tasty teas!

[Barefoot Herbalist]

im just starting to make my own herb tea but im very picky when i drink tea i like it full of flavor and not water with a hint of something so right now since we don't have a lot of herbs we use some mint and some peppermint tea bags and some lemon juice w/ some ginger. what herbs can i grow that taste great and full of flavor?

I have grown applemint (which is very fragrant and supposedly good in tea, I haven't tried it yet), also melissa/ lemon balm is very good by itself or added to black tea, both are mints and therefore grow very well!!!

Chamomile is a great tea (a personal favorite), but I couldn't get it to grow last year, but I'm trying again this year.

Spearmint is a good one as well. Echinacea tastes pretty good too!

I am more versed in medicinal teas, so ones just to drink for pleasure aren't really a big deal (just a plus when you need a medicinal tea and it tastes good too).

Hope this helps

[Vorguen]

I love tea, I'm hoping to grow my own soon

[applestar]

Oswego a member of the mint family,is a good one. I don't grow it, but gather it from the wild, it grows in ditches around here.Chocalate mint is good in coffee.

Some more "teas" I like, but are not herbs, are spice bush and sassafras.

Oswego is basically same as beebalm. I have named cultivars Jacob Kline and Coral something. They are mildew resistant. I use the flowers too.

What part of spice bush do you use Ozark_rocks? I have a still small one only 2 feet tall.

I can add Pineapple Sage. I think my NJ Tea shrubs will be ready to harvest this year. Waiting for Carolina Allspice to grow up some more, and I have a tiny Camelia sinensis var sinensis that was planted last year and appears to have managed to survive the winter outside (no harvesting this year).

Some time in the winter, Lorax posted that you can use the foliage of ginger grown from store-bought fresh ginger root. I've been using small amounts from the overwintering Ginger and she's right. Yum!

Oh and definitely add Stevia to the list if you want flavor in addition to fragrance.

P.S. I have all the herbs that have been mentioned so far

[ozark_rocks]

What part of spice bush do you use Ozark_rocks? I have a still small one only 2 feet tall

Applestar, I use the leaves, and small twigs. Throw a handful in 4 cups boiling water, turn off the heat and let seep 10 minuets,strain, add honey then enjoy. You can use more or less leaves for desired intensity. The leaves can be used fresh or dried. This year I plan to try Stevia with it.

"My" spice bush is by the swimming hole/ fishing hole on the river. Every year I harvest, leaves and berries from it. When I'm fishing I break off a twig to chew.After years of threatening to dig one up and bring it home, I bought two this spring that are only one foot tall. If the wild ones are any indication, they won't produce berries till they are about waist high.

[applestar]

Sounds good! My little shrub is just starting to leaf out. Can't wait to try it!

Have you thought about taking cuttings from the wild shrub? Location aside, they may not have the same flavor. Early summer is usually a good time to start most semi woody cuttings.

[ozark_rocks]

Sounds good! My little shrub is just starting to leaf out. Can't wait to try it!

Have you thought about taking cuttings from the wild shrub? Location aside, they may not have the same flavor. Early summer is usually a good time to start most semi woody cuttings.

Yes, but for some reason have never gotten around to it. I will blame it on the kids.Taking all the neighorhood kids to the river is distracting. I'd also thought of bending branchs to the ground, and weighting them down without breaking, covering with dirt, and leaving till next year, to see if they would root. But for some reason have never got around to it . Not sure what you call starting plants that way, but it works well on some .[/img]

[applestar]

Yep. It's called "Layering" or "Ground Layering" to distinguish from "Air Layering". I've been successful with Blueberries and Azalea so far. If you can be sure to find it again (Placing a rock or a brick over the buried part is what was recommended to me) it's a sure fire way to propagate.

You don't want to break off completely but scraping the bark on lower side to expose the cambium or snapping without severing is a good way to get them started.

With the blueberry at least, I needed to protect the tender young branch from being nibbled by rabbits over the winter.

[Runningtrails]

I am growing my own teas this year! I like the various mints for tea and in coffee. I also have hibiscus, bee balm and many, many others. I am growing some stevia seedlings and hope to be able to add stevia to my teas, as well.

It's a new path for me in gardening! I'm excited about it!

[speedster7926]

ok so i have these herbs growing : pineapple mint, sweet mint, peppermint, lavender, bee balm, lemon thyme, and chamomile growing i got a few questions. #1 I was told not to use the thyme cause it is a cooking herb and would not taste good in tea is that true? #2 w/ chamomile do i use the leaves or flowers and what do i need to do w/ it to dry it just like the rest?