Herbs and Spices

Sara, from over at Farming Friends, asked to know more about my herbal teas.

My herb and spice rack:














My interest in herbs began in the early 90's when I purchased a small paperback book which gave a fairly brief history of the usage and importance herbs and spices have had through the ages. The author shared various recipes (called receipts) for medicinal, culinary, cosmetic and household uses. Herbs played such an important role in the lives of people, (of particular interest to me was the Victorian era), and sounded so easy and enjoyable to work with that I began to experiment with them myself.

I grew as many as I could and located places to purchase them in bulk. I must say it can be quite an investment if you choose to make this a hobby. I read every book on the subject that our library had and began to purchase others. My Mother became very interested as she saw what I was doing and so we decided to have a little business together. We went to craft festivals, flea markets (boot sales in the UK)? and consignment stores. Then my cousin invited us to help him manage his gift basket store where we also sold our herb and spice products.

I think it is important to purchase anything that you will eat or drink from places who have good growing practices or advertise that they grow organic. How can something benefit your body if it is filled with toxins?

Some of my favorite teas are one ingredient such as: lemon balm, chamomile, rosehip. A combination of hibiscus and rosehip is good and loaded with vitamin C. Since I have been involved with tea making I have found articles written about some people having suffered side effects from one herb or another. It makes sense that too much of one thing might not be good for a person, even natural, so it would be good practice to use blends.

For example, wood betony, skullcap and white willow bark are known to relieve headaches. Add a little chamomile and peppermint which have soothing properties and you have a great relaxing, yet medicinal tea blend using small amounts of everything. You'll not likely have a side affect from using very small amounts of each herb. Also, I don't drink any one of my teas everyday, but I would consider using a blend if I had a need for it.

St. John's Wort has been over used and many people have had trouble with it. They offer it in capsule form as well and it is said to be a mood stabilizer and work as an antidepressant. Using a blend is much safer.

Keep in mind also that you should never boil or simmer the herbs leaf, fruit or flower, but the bark or root, may require it. It could destroy the properties of the more tender leaf, flower and fruit.

To prepare a leaf, flower and fruit tea you would allow the boiling water to sit for a bit and then steep your tea. Add a little stevia to your blend and you have no need for sugar or honey. Although if you use local honey you could solve some allergy problems ;)

I highly recommend the well known herbalist Rosemary Gladstar's book, "Family Herbal". I would like to quote a recipe of hers which is good for the heart:

HAWTHORN BERRY CONSERVE

Dried seedless hawthorn berries
Apple juice
Honey
Ginger (grated or powder)
Cinnamon

1. Place the hawthorn berries in a pan with just enough apple juice to cover them. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Cover and let sit overnight.

2. Sweeten with honey, ginger, and cinnamon to taste. Store in the refrigerator, where it will keep for 2 to 3 weeks.

(the addition of some orange slices or chunks is tasty)

She also tells how to make a syrup of hawthorn berries in her book and how to make tonics, tinctures, salves, ointments and elixirs.

I will leave you with a couple tea blends, the headache recipe and upset stomach recipe:

Headache Blend recipe

1/4 Cup peppermint leaves
1/4 Cup skullcap herb
1/4 Cup chamomile flowers
1/8 Cup wood betony herb
1/8 Cup white willow bark finely chopped for steeping

Makes 32 servings. Put blend in a glass jar and store in a dark place for up to a year.

To brew 1 cup:

1 heaping tsp.
1-1/2 cup boiling water left to sit for a minute or so

Steep blend for 15 minutes in a teapot or French coffee press. Drink while warm.

Upset Tummy Tea Blend

3/4 Cup dried peppermint leaves
1/2 Cup dried chamomile flowers

Makes 40 servings. Store in a glass jar away from light for up to a year.

To brew a cup

1 heaping tsp. of blend
1-1/2 cup boiling water

Steep in boiling water which has sat for a minute or two. The addition of honey to sweeten compliments the blend.