I make lots of herbal teas. Today, I served a stinging nettle/oatstraw/spearmint combo to the Herb Society of America group that visited my herb gardens. Everyone loved it.

I read about a weird-sounding one but then tried it and really liked it--hot basil tisane. I'm really sensitive to caffeine so this is just the thing on a cold evening. :-)I've also steeped some lavender flowers...ah!

Here's my Faves!

* Chamomile Tea (flowers) - for sweet dreams, hypertension, sore throats due to colds. It is the best remedy for colicky babies.
* Rosemary Tea (leaves) - relieves stuffy nose
* Lavender Tea (yummy with sugar cookies) - for sweet dreams
* Garden Sage Tea (leaves) - great for relieving cramps, tummy aches, and quickly relieving urinary infections. Great for relieving sore throats. (and I LOVE the taste.)
* Lemon Basil tea (leaves)
* Lemon Balm tea (leaves)
* Lemon Verbena (leaves and flowers)
* Lemon Grass (leaves and tender stems)
[all lemon teas are good for sore throats and waking you up.
* Blackberry leaf tea - tastes like black tea but no caffeine
* Rose tea (use flower petals and/or dried, ground rose hips)
* Pine needle Tea - a great source of vitamin C (I know I am weird, but I LIKE the taste)
* Calendula Tea (petals)
* Mint Tea (try combinations of various kinds or straight)
* Bee Balm Tea - (aka - Bergomot Tea). Monarda (leaves) - Native Americans introduced this delicious herbal tea to the early Colonists. It was the tea the Boston Colonials drank when they threw the English tea into the harbor in protest and had their famous Boston Tea Party!
Simply mix dried Bergamot with Black tea (China tea) and you have your own Earl Grey!

I dry all of these and then mix up different combinations. Tins or dark, opaque glass jars make the best storage containers for dried teas. Light quickly destroys the beneficial oils in herbs (and therefore flavor).
All of these have medicinal properties that are good for the body. Herbal teas help cleanse your blood as well as your liver, spleen, intestines, and colon. ** For best 'cleansing' results, drink the juice of one Lemon in water 30 minutes before you eat in the morning. It works DUDES & DUDETTES!
Now, point that Lemon at me and make me drink it!
~ sweetannie4u

Annie, we have a lot of wild blackberries around here, not the ground hugging really delicious little berries but the ones similar to the cultivated varieties. Are these the leaves you dry and then use to make a tea with? Sounds like something I'd like to try.

Annette

Very interesting!
-herbalbetty, what is oatstraw? Im guessing its not a combonation of oats and straw...
-Annie, now thats a list! Do you use only one of these at a time or do you mix them up? Whats your favorite concoction? And (im not sure id do it or not, just curious) does it have to be a spicific kind of pine needles? I want to try lavender and bergamont sometime. I tried Lemon Balm tea and didnt like it. It was like I was sucking on a citronella misquito candle.
Ps. I read something interesting about the history of Calendula officinalis in my herb book. It got its name from the Romans because this plant could be found blooming every month of the calendar year around Rome (Calendar=Calendula). And a long time ago Calendula was used to flavor and color butter and cheeses.
Im not really a 'self medicating by herbs' kind of person, but I enjoy reading about them in my herb book. Its called The Complete Book of Herbs- by Lesley Bremness. It has a photo and description of the plant and its history. It also gives culinary, medical, and cosmetic uses as well as info on how to cultivate, harvest, preserve, and use the herbs.
CMK

Annette,

Yes, use the wild blackberry leaves.

You don't need to dry the leaves to make tea, but you can dry some for later if you like it. When you use fresh leaves, you need to put a lot of leaves in your cup or in the teapot...like half full. Use boiling water. Pour over the leaves, cover, and allow it steep for a long time...a half hour is not too long. Longer if you want it stronger. You have to adjust it to your own taste.

Rule of thumbs when using herbs for any purpose: use twice as much when it is fresh as is called for in dry form.

It is not well known, but many commercial 'herbal teas' contain blackberry leaves, even though it is not listed as an ingredient.

Use young, tender blackberry leaves. Not only are they less prickly, but they are more flavorful. The best time to gather young, tender blackberry leaves is in early Spring as soon as new leaves begin to emerge. Wild blackberries are the best ones to pick as they contain much more essential oils and are more potent. This is true of all herbs, as well.

Hope this helps.
~ Annie

I grow a variety of kinds of mints in pots. I enjoy snipping 3 to 6 inches off to make them bushier, and pour water from my electric teapot onto about a cup or two maybe (I don't measure) in a gallon jar, and if I'm in the mood, will add a decaf teabag before pouring a few inches worth of water over it. I let it brew about 5 to 10 minutes, then add water and sometimes ice to fill the jar. I drink it cold for iced tea, but on occasion will drink some hot. My favorites are orange, lemon, chocolate, and ginger mint. I have some lemon verbena. I want to try making some tea from it soon.

Sue

Pineapple sage makes a good flavorful tea. We use lots of mints as well. Drinking hot tea is a frequent event in our home (cultural thing).
~Natalie

I've made comfrey tea. For my plants to drink.

Libby

Libby, we've done that too, how do you make yours? Our method was extracting the juice, diluting it a 1/10 ratio for tomatoes and a 1/20 dilution for everything else.
We used a plastic garbage can, a hole cut in the bottom with a sieve wired over the hole. The GC sat on a little stand with a bucket to catch the juice as it dripped out. We'd load the can with comfrey put a weight on top to help compress the leaves and keep adding leaves when there was room.

Annette

I use a plastic bucket with lid, weigh the leaves down with a brick, fill with water, cover tightly, and wait a few weeks for them to decompose. Use it diluted.

Hold your breath when you uncovering bucket. EWWWW

Libby

christinmk, oatstraw is the stem of oats, Avena sativa. The straw. Very nutritious. Rather bland, so plays well with other herbs.

This comfrey tea, do you make it and use it any time of the season? If I made some now, would it be good to use for the plants in late September?

Sue

Sue, I don't fertilize after September 1st. Roses by August 1st. You could use it on your lawn or on any shrub that has already set buds for next year. Camellias, Azaleas etc.

Libby