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Monday, June 20, 2022

My Tea Shelf of Homegrown Teas


This is my tea shelf for my homegrown teas. The shelf beneath this one holds my collection of commercial teas. And the shelf above has my boxes of plain black decaf, plain black with caff, and green tea.

In the homegrown collection, I have cherry stem, peppermint, rose petal, lavender bud, black currant leaf, and lemon balm. I use these herbs, fruits, and flowers in both hot and iced tea, often blending several with some inexpensive black or green tea. I can stretch a single purchased tea bag to make a large teapot full, keeping the leftovers in the fridge to warm later or drink chilled.

I've also grown chamomile, pineapple mint, and spearmint in the past for teas. None of those plants were hardy enough for my climate to last more than a couple of years.

I'm always looking for new teas to grow. Do you grow any herbs for tea? Are there any plants that you recommend for growing in the home garden for tea?


6 comments:

  1. I'm not a big tea drinker, but I always think I should/want to drink more. For now, I have a good selection to choose from-mostly gifts from others. It's the perfect season for sun tea, so I should give it a go.

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    Replies
    1. That's nice you've been gifted with a selection of teas. Most of my better quality purchased teas have been gifts to me, also. I like sharing those ones when we have company.
      Enjoy that sun tea!

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  2. You've got a great homegrown collection going! That's awesome! Another one we like is Roselle hibiscus. It's a cousin to okra so likes heat, so it might be more challenging to grow in your area. We call it "nature's koolaid" due to it's gorgeous red color.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Cat,
      I've seen hibiscus as an ingredient in some herbal teas. So that's what's making the bright red color. I read up just a little and found that if I start the plants from seed indoors, then set out in a sunny spot, maybe against a south-facing wall, when the weather warms, I could get the parts of the plants needed for tea. I also read it's high in vitamin C, so a bonus! Thanks for mentioning hibiscus. It gives me something to think about for next year.

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  3. You have quite a home-grown collection! I can't think of any others that I would add. I love tea, but not herbal tea, so I would tend to add the other flavors to my black or green tea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kris,
      Adding the flowers and leaves of herbs to traditional green or black tea is a nice way to not overwhelm the taste of the tea, but enjoy a boost of flavor. You might like this idea better - I also add spices to inexpensive black tea to make my own hot spiced tea in winter. A little cinnamon, cloves, and/or ginger go a lot way to transform budget brands of plain black tea.

      Delete

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