Scardanelli -- while scouting around, I found this site, which tells how to make alfalfa "tea" from rabbit food pellets. ""Add a small coffee can of rabbit pellets (alfalfa) to a 5-gallon plastic bucket and then fill with water and 1 tablespoon of molasses. Molasses speeds up microbial growth. Pour the mixture back and forth to a second empty 5-gallon bucket several times (a process called boxing). Let it age three days, boxing it back and forth at least once a day. What do you get? Alfalfa tea for plants. Water your new plantings with it and youÂll have the earthworms doing circus tricks in your soil."" http://www.herbcompanion.com/Gardening/Plants-Need-Tea-Too.aspx?page=2 Re: the question about use of gas to make "tea" -- I think that is confusion between tea brewed in kitchen for human consumption and "tea" manufactured thru method described above for use on plants. Truth to tell, the use of the word 'tea' to describe something made from fertilizer, sort of grosses me out .... wish we had a different popular term for this process to create a liquid fertilizer. [but you know what they say about wishes and horses... :) ] Here is a link that might be useful: Plants need tea, too

bumping down

My recipe for simple syrup: A 2:1 ratio. Start with twice as much sugar as water. Depending on what you plan to store it in, start with 2 cups sugar, to 1 cup water. Four cups of sugar and two cups of water will fill a 32-oz. container to the top when finishing your simple syrup. Over low heat, stir until sugar is no longer laying on the bottom on the pan and mixture is cloudy. Increase heat to medium/high and bring to a boil, giving it a stir with a wooden spoon occasionally. Boil for 3 minutes. Mixture will now be perfectly clear and of a thin, syrupy consistency. Remove from heat. While still VERY hot add: Citrus zest or rind...If using zest, drop thin strips in hot mixture, allow to steep until mixture is barely lukewarm. Strain through a seive and store in bottle in refrigerator. If using rind (for instance, by using a vegetable peeler), be careful not to get any of the pith (the white) of the fruit with the rind. Crush rind with the palm of your hand on flat surface to release oils and drop into the hot syrup mixture. Follow as above. For herbs....basil and sage, for instance....take several large leaves (I find 4-5 are enough) and roll up and crush with the palm of your hand to release to oils (bruise). Mint will vary, depending on type and it's potency. Your nose will tell you. Drop into hot mixture. Steep until barely lukewarm and remove whole leaves. Store in bottle in refrigerator. Rosemary...leave on stems, crush stem (again, to release oils), drop into mixture, same as above. Thymes are also best kept on the stem, because of their small leaves. Just be sure to bruise the stem to crush to herb to release it's oil. Some people use a 1:1 ratio with sugar and water, and I've tried it, but find it to be more of a "simple water" than I do syrup. Also, the 2:1 ratio seems to take less to sweeten beverages, be it a single glass, or an entire pitcher or pot. The 2:1 ratio will become a even thicker when allowed to get cold in the refrigerator, but dissolve instantly in cold or hot beverages. When the ODD occurrence presents itself and I find I don't have lemons or oranges in the house for citrus SS, I use lemon or orange oil. 1/4 tsp. = 1 tbs. fresh zest. I use even less, finding the culinary lemon and orange oils to be intense in flavor. A little goes a long way. And they are just as good as the real thing. Not lemon or orange juice, but the culinary oils. Whatever you do, don't boil your zest/rind or herbs with the syrup. It brings out the bitterness and the result won't be pleasant. Gently coaxing out the flavor by steeping and being patient is always the way to go and will always reward you with a flavorful syrup. :-) The amount of zest or herbs you would use actually depends on your taste. I find one large lemon or orange is fine with my 4 cups to 2 cups ratio, and provides the simple syrup with more than enough flavor. After all, you want a hint of the flavor, not an overwhelming one. The beverage is the star of the show, the syrup is just a sweetener, an accompaniment. Like a lemonade flavored with basil simple syrup. You want the tang of the lemon to shine through with just a hint of basil. I find 4-5 leaves of a healthy, potent basil or sage is just fine. A couple healthy stalks of rosemary will do you well, also. Pick a nice bouquet of thyme if using it. In my experience, it takes a little more to get the job done. As I said, mint will depend on type and potency, but I've found I never have to overwhelm the pot with any single ingredient to get the flavor out of it, if it's fresh and healthy. Trust your nose and tastebuds....but don't burn yourself. When making simple syrup, it's always a good idea to have a bowl of ice water nearby, in case of any accidental splashing or accidents that may occur. This stuff is H-O-T and WILL burn your skin on contact and it sticks!

If you have dried herbal tea, as opposed to a jar of a liquid herbal tea, it should be fine. It might have the date on it because after a certain time, the flavor would weaken, so using before the expiration date would give you the best flavor.