How I Prepare Herbal Tea For The Winter From Mint, Lavender, Dill, Grape Leaves And Apple Tree. Photo

2023 Author: Ava Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 07:13

Traditional tea made from tea leaves is perhaps one of the most beloved drinks in the whole world. But this article will focus on herbal teas that are no less fashionable now. Today they have become an indispensable part of a healthy lifestyle. I will tell you about my experience: how I harvest and store mint, lavender, dill, grape and apple leaves tea at home, about their health benefits and rules of use.

Content:

• The benefits of herbal tea
• How I Collect Herbs for Tea
• Drying and fermenting tea
• Storage of herbal tea
• How to make herbal tea?

The benefits of herbal tea

Mint leaf tea

Mint leaf tea is a pleasant light green beverage. It can be consumed both hot and cold. Cold mint tea is very refreshing in summer in hot weather. In winter, warm mint tea is good, especially in the afternoon, because mint is known for its calming effect and is advised to be taken for insomnia.

In addition, mint has antispasmodic, choleretic, antiseptic, analgesic, diuretic, hypotensive properties. It increases appetite, normalizes the work of the gastrointestinal tract. From time immemorial it has been taken for nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, heartburn, diarrhea, flatulence and cough.

It is much easier to persuade your family to drink some medicinal infusion, for example, St. John's wort, if you add a little mint there. Peppermint improves flavor. Dried mint leaves can also be flavored with vinegar or added to other teas.

Lavender tea

Lavender has long been used in perfumery, and in cosmetology, and for medicinal purposes. It is rich in essential oils, tannins, and minerals. Lavender has a calming effect, is used for migraines, insomnia, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, strengthens the general condition of the body.

Lavender tea tastes very good. It can be brewed on its own or flavored with other teas. French bakers traditionally use lavender as a flavoring in buns.

Dill tea

We are all used to adding dill to salads, okroshka, soups, canning cucumbers with it, etc. But it turns out that dill seeds make excellent tea. Perhaps its taste is specific, after all, it is not lavender with mint, but the benefits of such tea are obvious.

Dill contains fatty essential oils, sugars, carotene, vitamins C, B ₁, B ₂, PP, flavonoids. Dill tea has a diuretic and hypotensive effect, improves appetite, it is used for flatulence, and also as a sedative for insomnia. It is good to drink it to enhance lactation for lactating women. This tea can be given to children as a carminative.

Grape leaf tea

The grape leaf is a storehouse of vitamins. It contains a large amount of vitamins A, B, C, minerals. Grape leaf tea relieves swelling, has antiseptic properties.

Apple leaf tea

The leaves of the apple tree are no less useful than its fruits. Apple leaf contains 100 times more vitamin C than lemon! It has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial effects. Improves metabolism, reduces edema. Strengthens the walls of blood vessels. This tea is good for colds.

Fermented tea made from apple leaves of dark, red-brown color, pleasant to the taste, with sour notes, has a fruity aroma. Drinking such tea is not only a pleasure, but also a benefit.

How I Collect Herbs for Tea

Collecting herbs is one of the main points in making tea. The same rules apply here as with medicinal herbs. It is necessary to collect herbs in sunny weather so that the dew has already dried, but the sun should not be high yet.

In lavender, I cut spikelets with a pruner, which have already faded 1/3 or 1/2. In mint take the upper part of the plant up to 30 cm. Mint tea collect during flowering, when it is the most fragrant. I just pluck the leaves of the apple tree and grapes. The leaves of an apple tree should not be very old, but very young ones are also not suitable. I choose the middle ones.

And for grapes, on the contrary, you need the youngest leaves, light green, those that are at the very top of the vine. In the case of dill, I'm only interested in its seeds. They should be already darkened, matured.

I collect herbal teas in June-July. When collecting plants, it is necessary to avoid plastic bags, since the raw materials in them quickly deteriorate. It is best to put herbs and leaves in a rag bag or basket.

Herbal teas, like medicinal herbs, are usually stored for no more than 1 year. Later, their nutrients are destroyed. Therefore, it is better to immediately decide how much tea you need to prepare so that you do not throw it away later.

Drying and fermenting tea

The next stage - the collected herbs and leaves must be sorted out, low-quality, diseased leaves must be removed and thus the raw materials must be prepared for drying.

I will tell you in detail about each plant, how I dry it, and, if necessary, pre-ferment it.

Dill

In the case of dill, I collect only brown umbrellas, ripe seeds are very easily shaken off them. Then I let them dry a little on the veranda, the main thing is to make sure that they do not fly away. To do this, I put them between two sheets of paper.

Lavender and mint

I dry these two aromatic herbs in the same way as medicinal herbs. The main thing is to follow the basic rules for drying plants: they should be in the shade and in a ventilated area. A shed, an attic, or, like mine, a summer veranda, will do just fine.

Lavender dries well if you tie it in small brooms and hang it in a place where it does not get sunlight, otherwise it will simply burn in the sun and you will get hay. Useful substances are destroyed.

It's the same with mint. I dry the mint like this: I put it on a large tray (a baking sheet is also suitable), pre-lined with paper (I use baking paper), and I also cover it with a sheet of paper on top, because it dries out on my street. I don’t tie her with brooms. I noticed that in places where the rope was, it dries poorly and sometimes even deteriorates.

Grape leaves

I do exactly the same as with mint. Put on a baking sheet or tray between two layers of paper.

Dill, grapes, lavender, mint - these are not bitter plants, therefore it is enough to simply dry them, as I described above, then the leaves and grass need to be chopped a little with scissors or pruning shears and that's it! The tea is ready to drink.

Apple tree leaves

In the case of apple leaves, the situation is different: they are very bitter, tea from such dried leaves will taste unpleasant, although it has medicinal properties.

But in this case, we need tea, not a bitter medicine. Therefore, the apple leaves must be fermented before drying. Fermentation is a biochemical oxidation process, during this time chemical transformations take place in the leaf, due to which its taste and aroma change for the better.

So, in detail about what I do with the apple leaf. After collecting the leaves, I must sort them out and throw away the ugly and sick leaves. Next, I spread the leaves on a tray lined with paper and leave the leaves to lie down for 2 hours. Not so that they dry out, but so that they wither a little. They are in my house.

Next comes the most crucial moment - the fallen leaf must be crumpled so that it gives juice. I collect some leaves, so I sit down to watch some TV series and at this time I rub each leaf between my palms, as if I want to roll a pea from a leaf. I do this carefully so that the leaves become slightly damp.

Probably, this could be done with a meat grinder or food processor, but I do not want the leaves to come into contact with metal. Then I put the crumpled leaves in a clean, glass jar and, instead of a lid, tie it with a rag, put the jar in the closet for 8-10 hours (at night).

It is interesting to note how the smell and color of the leaves changes. At first they are bright green and smell like hay, but as the fermentation process proceeds, the leaves turn brown, and the smell changes to fruity and even slightly, I think, banana. And only now I start drying this tea.

Precipitating it on a baking sheet lined with paper and put in the oven for 2-3 hours at a temperature of +40 ^of C. Dried leaves are broken and scattered between the fingers. That's it, apple tea is ready, you can brew it!

Storage of herbal tea

General storage rules are the same as for medicinal herbs - the place must be dry and cool, room temperature is allowed. The room should be ventilated, and it is best to use a cardboard box or paper bag as a storage container.

Dill seeds, chopped mint and grape leaves - that's what I keep. All individually, each tea in its own box. The boxes are all signed. But I put the dried lavender flowers in a glass jar, and even tightly close the lid. Otherwise, her smell will permeate everywhere.

And I also put tea made from fermented apple leaves in a glass jar, but I do not close the lid, but I tie it with a rag so that the tea “breathes”. It is necessary to store herbal teas separately from other products: firstly, so that the tea does not take on someone else's smell, and secondly, so that the products do not smell like these herbs.

How to make herbal tea?

It is very important to be able to brew tea correctly. The taste of tea and the presence of nutrients in it depends on this. Tea should be brewed in small portions and as needed. Do not boil herbal tea, otherwise all vitamins will be destroyed. For the same reason, tea cannot be kept on a hot stove for a long time.

Before brewing, rinse the teapot with boiling water, put herbal tea (to taste) into it and pour boiling water over it, first 1/3 of the teapot volume, cover with a towel, let stand for 5 minutes, and then add boiling water to the teapot.

Herbal teas can be consumed both cold (then they will quench thirst, refreshing drinks), and hot.