sugarworm
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Hydrangeas for tea?

I've bought some really nice hydrangea tea at my local korean mart and am wondering if it is a specific breed they use or if 'mildly toxic' only applies to the flowers. Does anybody have any experience with this?

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rainbowgardener
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Wow... I was getting all excited about something new to make tea out of in my garden. But here's what wiki says about it (article on hydrangeas):

"Hydrangeas are moderately toxic if eaten, with all parts of the plant containing cyanogenic glycosides.[5] Hydrangea paniculata is reportedly sometimes smoked as an intoxicant, despite the danger of illness and/or death due to the cyanide.[6]

In Japan, ama-cha, meaning sweet tea, is another tisane made from Hydrangea serrata, whose leaves contain a substance that develops a sweet taste (phyllodulcin). For the fullest taste, fresh leaves are crumpled, steamed, and dried, yielding dark brown tea leaves. Ama-cha is mainly used for kan-butsu-e (the Buddha bathing ceremony) on April 8 every year—the day thought to be Buddha's birthday in Japan. Ama-cha is poured over a statue of Buddha in the ceremony and served to people in attendance. A legend has it that on the day Buddha was born, nine dragons poured Amrita over him; ama-cha is substituted for Amrita in Japan.

In Korean tea, Hydrangea serrata (hangul:산수국 hanja:山水菊) is used for a tisane called sugukcha (수국차) or ilsulcha (이슬차)."

So it sounds like the tea hydrangea is a different species than the ones we have here.

sugarworm
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Joined: Fri May 18, 2012 4:00 am

Aw dang :( Oh well I guess I'll have to browse a bit to find it, thanks for the reply!



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