RHS Journals
The Garden
November 2007
Fancier cuppa?
Fresh-picked herbs are invaluable for flavouring food, but they also make delicious drinks. Sally Charrett enthuses as she infuses some refreshing herbal teas. Images: Tim Sandall
Just as chefs advocate cooking with fresh herbs for quality and depth of flavour, the same can also be said of herbal teas. Snipping a couple of sprigs from your windowsill is just as easy as reaching for a box of shop-bought herbal tea.
Traditional tea drinkers might be fazed by the prospect of seemingly murky green hot water in preference to our favourite national beverage (which is made from Camellia sinensis). But herbal teas made from fresh herbs offer a caffeine-free, tasty and refreshing alternative. Added to this, you can be quite sure that no chemicals have been used in processing them.
Natural extracts
Herbal teas (or tisanes) are made by infusing flowers, roots, leaves and other plant parts in recently boiled water (never boiling). Drinking herbal and fruit teas for refreshment is a relatively recent phenomenon in this country, although the practice of imbibing tisanes for medicinal purposes predates the introduction of traditional tea to British shores. Herbal infusions consumed as refreshing digestifs are commonplace in other countries, such as the cooling mint tisanes served in northern Africa and mild, earthy rooibos (redbush) tea in South Africa.
Most herbs are easy to grow, given the right conditions (generally, free-draining soil and lots of sun), and respond well to frequent picking. Their flowers are great at attracting butterflies, bees and hoverflies. You could devote an entire area of the garden to growing herbs for tea. For those with less space, grow them in containers on a balcony or patio, or in a windowbox. Herbs are easy to propagate (see The Garden, May, pp324–325 ) and many will grow throughout winter on a sunny windowsill or in a conservatory.
Fresh herbal teas can be revitalising in summer (try them iced) and warming in winter (enhanced with spices and fruit such as orange slices, cloves and cinnamon). Minty or lemon-flavoured herbs, such as bergamot or lemon balm, can be added to improve the taste of others that are more bitter or earthy, such as thyme and nettle.
The quantity required for one cup varies from herb to herb, as does the brewing time; mint, for example, can steep for as long as it takes you to drink the beverage, but remove woody kinds such as thyme and rosemary after a minute or so – and only use a couple of leafy shoot tips. As a rule, with non-woody herbs, use as many leaves as you like, but herbal infusions in general should not be drunk to excess, because some can cause stomach upset (or even allergic reactions, so be cautious when trying an infusion for the first time).
Leaves should be torn and bruised before infusing, so that their aromatic oils can be released. A glass teapot infuser is the best way to make a tisane (metal will interfere with the delicate flavours), but I find it just as easy to pour hot water straight onto the fresh leaves, provided the sprigs are large enough, adding honey, lemon and sugar if desired.
So the next time you reach for the kettle, consider this charming use of herbs from the garden or windowsill.
Herbal teas to try fresh from your garden Popular flavours
Bergamot (Monarda didyma, M. fistulosa): citrus/mint-flavoured leaves; serve iced with a slice of lemon, or warm with cinnamon and orange slices.
Chamomile: lightly fragrant; infuse flowers; said to promote sleep. German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) is less bitter than widely-grown Roman (Chamaemelum nobile).
Lemon verbena: crème de la crème of lemon-flavoured leaves; good before bedtime.
Mint: offers a wide range of scented leaves from pineapple to chocolate; try Mentha spicata var. crispa ‘Moroccan’ (Moroccan mint) and Mentha x piperita (peppermint); team up with ginger for a spicy, winter digestif.
Thyme: good for hangovers and colds; soothing for stomach upsets; use the tender tips sparingly; great with rosemary or sage.
Others to try
Borage: cucumber-like flavour; good for colds and flu.
Dill: grassy and aromatic; infuse seeds or leaves; great easer of upset stomachs.
Fennel: sweet liquorice flavour; infuse the seeds; excellent aid for digestion.
Lemon grass: valued in cooking and cosmetics for citrusy fragrance, also makes a refreshing tea; easy to grow (see The Garden, January, pp48–49).
Nettle: spinachy flavour; high in minerals; use young leaves.
Rose hips (especially Rosa rugosa): fruity and mildly tart; extremely high in vitamin C. Cut in half and wash well to remove irritating seeds and hairs.
Sage : strong herbal taste; add lemon juice and sugar.
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium): aromatic; a traditional herbal remedy for fevers.
Further reading
A comprehensive A–Z of herbs and their uses, including herbal teas, can be found in the recently revised and enlarged Jekka’s Complete Herb Book, by Jekka McVicar, Kyle Cathie, Sept 2007, £25, ISBN 9781856267410. RHS price £22. Buy online from the RHS Shop .
Sally Charrett is Editorial Projects Manager at The Garden
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