Back in my early teens , I discovered the incredible pleasance of “ good afternoon tea . ” Those adorable little sandwiches , the elegance of pouring perfectly steeped Camellia sinensis from a delicate , decorated pot , and the experience of sip lento from a diminished cup made my mortal sailplane .
There is just something so enticing about elevating the average deed of having an good afternoon snack to the status of a gilded function . Now , as a full - clock time homesteader , heading out to the Ritz Carlton for the 4:00 pm tea , is n’t quite in my purview . However , I still like to twist my tea multiplication into special events .
I ’ve trade in frilly , fussy ceramic pots for pottery smiler that match utterly in the palms of my paw . In lieu of tiny tea sandwiches , I snack on squares offresh - baked sourdoughtopped with homestead chevre andpickled cucumber vine . And my teas are made mostly withherbs I grew , dried , and flux myself .
Even if you ca n’t make it to fancy good afternoon afternoon tea services , enjoying your own hand - crafted herbal homestead tea leaf is an easy way to add some elegance to your everyday experiences . With just a slight bit of effort , you’re able to grow those sugared and spicy herb you ’ve got growing in your garden flop now into tasty tea and tisanes to bask all wintertime long .
Teas, Herbal Teas, or Tisanes?
Some sticklers say that “ tea ” must hold some of the leave of the works calledCamellia sinensis – an evergreen shrub used to make white , light-green , and black tea .
Camellia sinensisproduces the finest , richest savoring leaves when it is behind - grown at higher elevations . It is only hardy down to 20º F. Though it can grow 10 to 15 feet tall and wide , it is generally pruned to about 3 to 4 feet magniloquent and all-encompassing to use for tea leaves .
you could growCamellia sinensisat home if you live inUSDA hardiness zones 8 - 11or have aheated greenhouseor other quick , sunny location to keep your plants over wintertime . However , you do n’t need to produce your ownCamellia sinensisto make your own flavorsome portmanteau at home .
Infused drinkable made of dried leave , spices , and other flavoring agents that do not containCamellia sinensisare technically call “ herbal teas”or “ tisanes . ” These can be just as delectable and comfort without the caffein .
Or , you may even tally other herbs to your homely onetime whitened , black , and immature teas to make them even tastier !
Make Delicious Tea Blends At Home
There are several different way to go about make tea . you may start bygrowing your own herbaceous plant . You cansteal them from fellow gardenerswho grow them or corrupt them fresh at thefarmers marketor grocery storage . Or , you may ordinate them pre - dried from suppliers who make herbaceous plant for medicinal and edible uses , as well as teas and infusions .
Sometimes I employ all three method . However , for the most part , afternoon tea blending get in the garden for me .
6 Tips For Harvesting Herbs
harvest home herbs at their superlative flavour , process fleetly , and store safely are vital steps for make secure blends for your teas and infusions .
Tip 1: Avoid Harvesting in Hot Weather
In hot conditions , plants tend to lose some of their crucial oils to drying up or transpiration . They ’ll be less aromatic and wo n’t stay fresh as long when drying .
Harvesting in cooler weather such as spring or fall , when herbs are boom and have the most colouring and aroma can bring out the best flavors in your homemade tea blends .
Tip 2: Avoid Harvesting in Extended Wet or Dry Periods
dense rain can dilute the flavor of your herbaceous plant . stretch out ironical period of time can also get your flavorful favorites to become more sulfurous .
Harvesting when your herbs have been well - irrigate , but not drenched , for several days can dramatically intensify the flavors and aromas of your dried herb .
Tip 3: Harvest Relative to Flowering
When plants bloom , they put most of their energy into efflorescence output . The leafage and stem maintenance become lower-ranking to flower growth .
Generally , harvesting before plants get to bloom is optimal . Alternatively , you’re able to harvest after flush have been dead - headed and plant have recover from bloom .
If you need to make pretty teatime blends , then I also recommend harvesting theedible flowersof your favorite tea herbs to add to the mix .
Tip 4: Dry Herbs Quickly
The key to capturing the full flavors and aromas of smart herbs and spices is to dry out right away and quickly after harvest without exposing plants to direct sunlight . There are stack of ways to achieve this consequence .
One of my favorite no - stress ways of doing this is to diffuse my herbs , bloom , and seeds out on a baking mainsheet and define them inside my gasoline oven ( without turning it on ) . Because I have a lit original light , the oven tend at around 90º F and has almost no humidness .
When the humidity is humiliated outside , and there ’s a soft breeze , I connect my herb in humble crew and string up them from alaundry lineunder my shadedporch area .
Using anelectric dehydratorworks well for acrid herbaceous plant and seeds that will only be used in small quantities like rosemary or lavender . However , for your main tea herbs , you may be drying amount that are too big for your received electric dehydrator .
In that suit , using something like theoast boxesdesigned for drying hops , works well for dry out large quantities of herbs in a hurry .
Tip 5: Store Herbs in Air Tight Containers
Check your herb often as you are dry them . As presently as they are soundly dry , collapse them up , and store them in airtight container . Glass mason jarswith pissed - equip lid or recycled tea tins act upon groovy for this purpose .
Never stack away dried herbs in lineal sunlight .
Tip 6: Skimp on Stem Picking
I hate picking all the dry stem out of my tea leaf herbs . So , I do n’t .
I pick out the openhanded obvious stems that are hard to fit in my containers . Otherwise , I am not so picky about just having leaf in my mixing .
If you plan to put your mixes into tea handbag instead of just putting them directly in your teapot or using a loose leafage teatime strainer , then you may need to get a bit pickier . Otherwise , skimping on the stem picking will save you tons of processing time and make you more probable to dry out your herbs for use in teas and extract .
3 Steps to Make Your Blends
Regardless of whether you originate , free source , or buy your shading herbs , once you have dried herbs , the process for make your own mixes is the same for all these methods .
Step 1: Choose Your Base
afternoon tea blends are made by mix complimentary flavors . For example , a full - bodied black tea seasoned with Cinnamomum zeylanicum makes for a mythological wintery pick me up . A peppy peppermint with just a hint of liquorice and black white pepper can do the same without the caffein .
Generally , your foundation herb will make up 50 - 75 % of your blending . Picking the mean herb that will contribute the principal flavor and body style to your tea is like preparing your canvass for paint .
We all have different taste , so your radical herb should be tailor-make to your personal preferences . But , here are some of my favorite base herbs to get you started .
This improbably soft to raise fellow member of the basil family is one of the absolute good foundation to apply if you want a caffein - devoid tisane that pairs well with Milk River and honey . It ’s also the perfect base for making a spicy chai - dash tea .
Peppermint or Spearmint are two of the strongest , most prolific growing mints . They both make first-class choice as a foundation for your afternoon tea . Sometimes they are even used without any additional flavoring components .
Many people do n’t call up of marjoram as a tea herb . But it makes a delectable base when paired with other strong flavors such as liquorice or anise plant or spices like cinnamon or cloves . This prolific producer also adds a passel of morose colour and trunk to an herbal teatime mixture .
Even if you do n’t uprise your ownCamellia sinensisat domicile , there ’s no reason you ca n’t use purchased plain wanton foliage white , green , or black as the flavor cornerstone for your homegrown herbs .
In fact , one of the most pop teas on the major planet , Earl Grey is made with a black tea base with a hint of bergamot . Caffeinated chai tea leaf , too , are made by part withCamellia sinensisleaves as the base .
Chamomile is a very aromatic but delicately flavored heyday that provides more calming benefits and smell puncher when used as the primary portion of a blend formula . I practice both perennial Roman and annual German chamomile for my Camellia sinensis to get a more extended harvest period and increase my production .
Lemon balm is another prolific member of the mint household that makes a great canvass for other flavors . Despite its strong lemony aroma , when dry out and used in tea , the lemony bouquet is more hushed . What comes through flavor - impudent is a hint of biting and a mild minty character that makes this a in force fomite for a panoptic diverseness of other aromas .
Almost any edible herbaceous plant or plant that you savour can be used as a base . Using herbs that are gentle to grow and prolifically bring out is a groovy way to shorten costs and do less workplace !
Step 2: Choose Your Flavor Agents
If your root ingredient is your canvas , the flavor agents are the brush solidus that fetch your vision into focusing . Just as with painting , you may employ whatever colors and smell you need to make a blend that suits your discernment .
These ingredients will make up roughly 25 - 50 % of your blend , depending on what you chose as a substructure . In the cause of really strongly flavored herbs like lavender , they may only make up 5 % of the mixture .
Here are some sense of taste groups and herbaceous plant idea to consider using in your portmanteau :
speck of Pimpinella anisum and black-market Glycyrrhiza glabra are very vernacular in herbal tea portmanteau word . There are many different herbaceous plant you’re able to use to make this flavor complex .
Licorice base is an obvious option . But , you may also habituate honest Hyssopus officinalis , anise Hyssopus officinalis , perilla , Gallic Artemisia dracunculus , wormwood , and horehound to bring in that caustic , almost medicative and confect - similar taste we link with cough drop ( and love in our tea leaf ) .
dry out orange and lemon zests make great flavoring agents . However , there are many other fashion to bring in in a bit of citrus even when you ca n’t grow lemons in your planting zone .
Lemon verbena , bergamot ( the herb , not the orange vegetable oil ) , rose hips , hibiscus , Citrus limon thyme , and ( my personal favorite ) lemon grass all make great citrus fruit substitutes when dried and used in tea blends .
specially for people who do n’t plan to supply sweetener to their tea , bringing in herbs that communicate a fresh taste sensation profile can make for a real dainty . dry out stevia , pineapple plant salvia flowers , Nepeta cataria , and sweet macer all give the thaumaturgy of sweetness without the glycemic forefinger ( or calories ) .
flowered flavors used to be incredibly democratic . They fell out of favor for a while but are making a come back . Some of my personal favorites are purple flowers , rose flower petal , calendula , and lavender seeds . Dandelion teais becoming a popular favorite .
Some flowers like nasturtiums , hollyhock , and queen do n’t contribute much by way of flavor . However , they can be dried and added to the admixture to add color .
Earthy flavors are also sometimes referred to as herby . They tend toward the savory spectrum and occur through flash and clear in things like rosemary , Italian basil , chives , and cilantro . When used in really small pane and couple with other flavors like flowered or licorice , these add together complexness and balance to afternoon tea portmanteau .
Milder herbslike stinging nettle , raspberry or blackberry bush leaves , or catnip are less pungent and can be used in expectant quantity to contribute earthiness .
you’re able to apply actual spices in your tea leaf blend too . Cinnamon , cardamom , clove , wizard anise , Chinese parsley , peppercorns , and juniper Berry are some of my go - to tea spices .
When using spice , they tend to be hard than dried herb leaves and get back to the bottom of blends . So , I mostly wish to use spices when I am making tea udder . That way I can put small amounts of these flavors in with my blends to insure the right ratios .
I apply round coffee bean filter as afternoon tea bags since they are cheap and wanton to find . The fibers are less porous than official tea base . So I add a mo more of my tea blending to the java filter to assure the flavors steep well in a cupful .
“ Out there ” flavors is n’t on the dot a perceptiveness category . It ’s more of an invitation to be creative . you could use all sort of different dry out inwardness in your tea mixes .
For example , I like to practice dried mushrooms like Chinese black mushroom combined with an oregano groundwork and bit of dried Chinese parsley to make a savory winter teatime that almost drinks like a stock .
dry out , minced fruit like orchard apple tree , persimmons , and mango add an tremendous amount of acute tone . Coconut , cayenne , cacao nibs , and more can all be added to your teatime blend to transform them into adventure or afters tea .
Step 3: Stir, Sample, and Store
Once you ’ve blame your base and your flavors , the last stone’s throw is to mix them . I tend to work out in large quite a little , so I habituate a large wooden trough to toss my herbaceous plant . Then I use my canning neckband and my hands or a ladle to transfer my blending to mason jars .
Before I do that though , I care to sample a small cupful to check that I got my blending veracious . The compounding get better after the herbs have been allow to meld together in a container for a week or two . However , you’re able to still say in minutes if it ’s decease to be good !
Time for Tea
You do n’t have to drop a fortune to make beautiful teas and infusions . Just take your clock time and make mixes that smell , penchant , and appeal to you visually . Blending your own teas is almost as much fun as drinking them !
When you have a courteous compendium of teas to share , invite your best champion over for a grass - fortune afternoon teatime . advance them to bring in the finger sandwiches and tiny biscuit . Then , you may all love the luxury of a 5 - star good afternoon tea without the price shred !
Was this article helpful?
What went wrong?
This clause contains wrong information
This clause does not have the information I am look for
How can we improve it?
We appreciate your helpful feedback!
Your answer will be used to meliorate our content . The more feedback you give us , the well our page can be .
