Since I got my food dehydrator, I've been drying herbs for cooking, and also some for making herbal tea. As I don't drink caffeine, I usually stick to herbal teas. So far I have dried mint, peppermint, thyme, taragon, lemon grass and lemon myrtle leaves for tea. I keep each one in a separate jar and then mix up a little of each to make a jar to take to work and I use a tea ball to brew my tea.
 |
| calendula flowers in my garden |
On ingredient that I've been hoping to add to my tea is calendula, and it is finally flowering in my garden. I have been picking the flowers and letting them air dry in a jar (as it is very dry here at the moment, I don't need to use the dehydrator). When the petals are dry I pull them off and put them in another jar, ready to add to my tea.
 |
| drying the flowers |
It does take a lot of flowers to make enough petals for tea as they really shrink when they dry, but they aren't hard to grow or dry, so I don't mind having a few in a jar until they dry.
 |
| dried petals ready for tea |
That must create the most beautiful coloured tea! What does it taste like?
ReplyDeleteI have just been drying my rosellas for tea - such fun! I found the best way is to spread them out on one of those foil window shades in the back of the car! I am going to have to grow some calendula now.
ReplyDeleteMy calendula is flowering too so this looks like a fun use for it.
ReplyDeleteoh yum, I have some Rosella tea at the moment, and I was thinking of growing some too, that's a good idea for drying them :) I usually mix the calendula with mint, lemon grass etc, so you can't really taste it or see a colour from it, just something that was in a commercial tea that I bought, so I thought I would try adding it to my homemade tea :)
ReplyDelete