Seasonal Tea

A home grown luxury

I love tea and it loves me back. A few years ago I decided to grow a tea garden and, like most of my projects, I might have got a little carried away. I have plants suitable for tea making marching across my entire garden now and that makes me smile. My favourite are the wild plants that I can just forage for when out and about walking. This summer I have been trying to be more focused on drying specifically for my tea drinking but the weather has been against me. I live on a small Scottish island and it knows how to rain here. Nevertheless, I have managed to dry quite a bit and my jam jars are beginning to fill up with tea ingredients. Dried versions of the plants usually give a deeper flavour.

I thought I would share some of my favourites. Chamomile and lavender are perfect for my last tea of the day. I am not that keen on the taste of chamomile but it is fine mixed with the lavender. I use a tea infusion mug and pop the dried plant material in there and pour the boiling water on top and let it sit for about 10 minutes.

I discovered rose tea earlier this year when I bought a commercial version of it. Now I make my own using tiny rose buds mixed with rose petals from both my garden and a beautiful wild rose that grows near the shore. Rose tea is packed full of antioxidants and it is also good for inflamation making it excellent for sore joints.

The tea that, for me, makes me feel the best after drinking it is self heal. It grows wild in my garden and also on the track beyond my garden gate. Self heal will seek out any infection in your body. I have a friend who also lets her infusion goes cold and uses it to treat cuts and bruises.

I am quite seasonal with my tea drinking. It all gets dried in the summer and early autumn but I find I that I save my mint and fennel for the winter months. Energy levels can be lower in the winter months with the reduction in natural light so both fennel and mint are good are energising me. They are real ‘wellbeing teas’ capable of restoring health after those winter viruses. Fennel is excellent for tummy aches as well.

As with all these things you do need to do your own research on what is safe to ingest and I would always advise starting with the commerically produced herbal teas to see what suits you. But there is something so satisfying about growing your own herbal teas. The one tea I drink from fresh leaves is lemon balm and I drink that all year round. It grows like a weed in my garden so I will never go short! Lemon balm tea is my go to tea when I need to relax and refresh my mind. I have rather a chaotic mind and I find lemon balm settles it down. I need lemon balm tea all year round so I do dry some leaves as well. I use recycled jam jars for my tea ingredients and my collection is growing all the time. I have also started mixing a few herbs to make my own recipes and that has been interesting but not always successful.

I will sign off with a ‘bath tea’ that I often use in the winter. I use a piece of muslin cloth and a blend of chamomile, lavender and oats before gathering the muslin and tying it so that it will hang over the hot tap. As the water runs through the bath tea it infuses my bath with their magical properties. I then release it and let it float about the bath. It helps to soothe winter aches and pains and restores a lovely sense of wellbeing and I highly recommend it. Time for a cup of tea…x