Wild teas? and other tea questions

[that_crazy_lady]

I can see that many of you love tea. I do too, I'll drink hot tea and coffee all year long, day or night. I've be looking at some of the other threds. But i've still got questions.

1. are there any wild plants that grow in north east Oklahoma {I don't know the zones yet} that make good teas?

2. Is it better to use planters or does it matter?

3. how hard is it to grow black tea and Chicory, or can I even do that here? I know Chicory is used in coffee not tea.

4. is there some typ of licorice plan that I could use for a tea? I love licorice

5. what are your favs? your list of have to haves for a tea garden.

6. can I freez the leavs/flowers instead of drying? I have found I like the flavor of fresh better then drid when a friend of my grandma's gave me some lemon balm

I guess thats all for now. any other tid bits are welcome too. I don't know much about gardening, but I'm here to learn thanks all

 

[jojo54]

I used chocolate mint for tea and liked it alot. Haven't tried any others yet.

 

[digitS']

If you have already done a search, Jocelyn, you know that I grow anise hyssop in the veggie garden each year for tea. Actually, I've planted the seed a couple of times in my greenhouse but don't need to bother starting the plants. It self-sows just fine by itself in the garden. I just have to be careful to leave some of the plants each year.

Anise hyssop tastes like licorice. In fact, it is sometimes called licorice mint. It is in the mint family but doesn't live thru the winter.

As far as wild plants that you can find out in the country, I don't know. I planted wild bergamont one year on the advice of a New England gardener. At the end of the season, I said that I didn't like the taste of the leaves. He said, "No, no. You are supposed to use the flowers!"

Well, it didn't flower but it survived the winter and I took care of it for another growing season. It didn't flower the 2nd year . . .

Wild bergamont is supposed to grow and bloom in other parts of the United States. Maybe the season is just too short here . Here is a picture of it in Oklahoma.

Steve

 

[digitS']

5. what are your favs? your list of have to haves for a tea garden.

6. can I freez the leavs/flowers instead of drying? I have found I like the flavor of fresh better then drid when a friend of my grandma's gave me some lemon balm

I really like the anise hyssop and also like lemon verbena ! In a blend, they are really great !

I've also been known to use catnip for tea.

The only one that I've frozen is lemon verbena. I don't see why others can't be frozen rather than dried. However, I prefer the taste of catnip dried rather than fresh. It is okay fresh but I didn't realize that I preferred it dried until I tried it that way. There's quite a bit of difference.

Steve

edited to show other photo's of wild bergamont, this time in Missouri.

 

[digitS']

3. how hard is it to grow black tea and Chicory, or can I even do that here? I know Chicory is used in coffee not tea.

I'm a little disorganized today . . . maybe it is this d**n, continual, cold wind . . .

I've grown chicory and like it just fine toasted, ground and mixed with coffee about half-and-half. I had bought Witloof Chicory seeds and intended to save the roots and allow them to grow during the winter, in the basement, for salad greens. I quickly learned that I don't care about the greens in a salad - toooo bitter!

So, I tried grinding and toasting them in a cast iron skillet. That was just fine!

But . . . dandelion roots taste just about the same. Why don't you give them a try. It's about time for me to search some out and spend a miserable day like this, making beverages in my kitchen. Here is what I did last year.

Steve

 

[that_crazy_lady]

If you have already done a search, Jocelyn, you know that I grow anise hyssop in the veggie garden each year for tea. Actually, I've planted the seed a couple of times in my greenhouse but don't need to bother starting the plants. It self-sows just fine by itself in the garden. I just have to be careful to leave some of the plants each year.

Anise hyssop tastes like licorice. In fact, it is sometimes called licorice mint. It is in the mint family but doesn't live thru the winter.

As far as wild plants that you can find out in the country, I don't know. I planted wild bergamont one year on the advice of a New England gardener. At the end of the season, I said that I didn't like the taste of the leaves. He said, "No, no. You are supposed to use the flowers!"

Well, it didn't flower but it survived the winter and I took care of it for another growing season. It didn't flower the 2nd year . . .

Wild bergamont is supposed to grow and bloom in other parts of the United States. Maybe the season is just too short here . Here is a picture of it in Oklahoma.

Steve

I wanted to make sure I understould that right about the anise hyssop. thanks

as for the bregamont, we have that now this mite sound crazy, but I don't get a lot of dandelions. I'll just have to go next door to my grandmothers, they drive her nuts hee hee

So I take it tea is kinda like wine, you can make it out of anything you want that wont hurt you?

I'll have to make sure I try things both fresh and drid

 

[Ariel301]

Anise will give you a licorice flavor.

Yep, you can make tea from anything that is suitable for eating. You just have to experiment and see what you like. Some good additions that aren't necessarily from your garden are dried lemon/orange peel, and dehydrated fruits like cranberries. You can also mix in some spices from the kitchen like cinnamon, to make yummy custom mixes. Lavender is a great tea herb that I really like to use...lavender, chamomile, a little lemon peel, and some honey. Yum! Lemongrass is a good tea herb too, and supposed to be medicinal. (I use lemongrass essential oil for my carpal tunnel that I got from milking goats, and it works wonderfully) I'd like to try developing a tea blend with rosemary this year, I think that could be interesting.

I'd love to grow black tea too. I found that it will grow in my climate (northwest Arizona) and it probably would in Oklahoma, depending on how cold your area gets in winter...finding it is hard though. I could not find anything but a packet of seeds, 10 seeds for $5! And since it is a bush, it would take probably a few years to get to a harvestable size from seed. I'd love to find some already started plants.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Hi there that_crazy_lady,

Last year we had a TEG member (karanleaf) who wanted to make a tea garden on her nursery-site. Here is the link to that topic in case you haven't already found it in the archives (search section). :happy_flower

http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=25501


Oh & WELCOME TO TEG....!!



:rose Hattie :rose

 

[Hattie the Hen]

I also thought you might like this site:

http://whatgrandmaknew.weebly.com/wild-wonderful-weeds.html



:rose Hattie :rose

 

[aussieheelr]

I like alfalfa tea. Really good for seasonal allergies. Alfalfa/dandilion and local honey, homey tasting