© The Press Democrat — Sat, June 26, 2004

Create your own herb heaven
By Frederique Lavoipierre

It often begins with an overabundance of rambunctious mint. In an attempt to use up the bountiful harvest, you pour boiling water over a handful of freshly plucked leaves and as you breathe in the aromatic steam, you're hooked. Soon, you're tucking lemon balm, chamomile and pineapple sage into any spare corner of the garden.

Many delicious tea herbs are available commercially, but usually only in dried form. When fresh, most offer a different flavor profile, a unique experience accessible only to the adventurous tea gardener.

Some tea herbs are simply unavailable unless homegrown. In addition to their delightful flavors, many tea herbs have healing qualities, and tea drinkers sensitive to the effects of caffeine often prefer herbal teas. But perhaps the best reason to grow your own herbal teas is the pleasure of creating a fragrant garden in which to enjoy a relaxing cup of tea.

A garden full of tea herbs also provides an abundance of blossoms for either vase or teapot.

"One of the first blends I created was lemon verbena and rose geranium flowers,'' says Julie Baron, tea manager and co-owner of Taylor Maid Farms. "I like to use flowers in my teas— French lavender and pineapple sage, rose geranium and anise hyssop.''

Blossoms, she notes, while contributing color and aroma, don't always have much flavor, but add to the experience, especially when you use a glass teapot so you can see the colors.

Herbal teas (sometimes known as tisanes, or infusions) are usually considered separately from China teas (Camellia sinensis), but traditional black and green teas are also herbal teas, and are often included in blends. Although strictly speaking, herb teas are concocted only from leaves, in fact roots, seeds, bark and fruits are all sometimes used to make fragrant brews.

When using seeds, bark, and roots, a decoction is sometimes made: These tougher plant parts need to be crushed and boiled a few minutes to bring out their essence.

When planning a tea garden, the first consideration is flavor.

"I love lemon verbena, it's a lovely tea herb—iced too,'' says Baron.

Lemon flavors

If you enjoy lemony flavors, choose lemon balm, lemon grass, and lemon thyme in addition to lemon verbena. Annual lemon basil also makes a tangy tea. Lemon gem marigolds are a fine addition, especially frozen into ice cubes for a festive glass of iced tea. Any of these lemon teas make a fine base for mixing your own lemonade.

If mints are your cup of tea, try orange bergamot, chocolate peppermint and apple mint in addition to traditional peppermint and spearmint. Anise hyssop, fennel, and anise seed keep the licorice-loving tea drinker supplied.

"People don't think of culinary herbs, like lemon thyme and sweet basil, but they make delicious teas,'' notes Baron.

Basils offer a wide range of flavors for aromatic teas. Basils like spicy cinnamon, lively lemon, licorice-scented Thai and perfumed Holy are all candidates for the teapot.

Most tea herbs are versatile garden plants. Beebalm and pineapple sage attract hummingbirds, fennel and chamomile attract beneficial insects, and hollyhocks attract butterflies.

Many favorite tea herbs attract pollinating bees. Raspberries and other brambles and strawberries provide baskets of fruit in addition to leaves for the teapot. Most tea herbs are easy to grow, ideal for even the novice gardener.

Almost any garden situation, from formal to naturalistic, can accommodate a few tea herbs. Mints, elder, lemon balm, sweet woodruff and alpine strawberries will thrive in a semi-shaded situation.

The dry garden is ideal for Mediterranean herbs such as thyme, rosemary, sage and fennel, while roses, hollyhocks and lemon verbena are at home in an ornamental border. In a moist area, plant mints, elder, angelica and bee balm. Many tea herbs grow well in containers, and even just a few plants on a patio can provide plentiful pots of fragrant tea.

Containing herbs

Potentially invasive herbs such as mints can be attractively contained by sinking a chimney flue pipe a few inches into the ground to act as a barrier. Frequent harvesting will stop runners from escaping over the edge.

To prevent lemon balm from self sowing, cut it back before it flowers. Be cautious when harvesting from nursery plants sold as ornamentals, such as roses, as you don't know what pesticides may have been used on them. Better yet, purchase organically grown plants, or directly from a grower who can tell you if it's safe to use your plant immediately.

Harvest fresh leaves throughout the season of growth, as most tea herbs respond well to frequent pruning. Herbs are best harvested on dry, sunny mornings, after the dew has evaporated. Evergreen perennials such as rosemary don't need to be stored as a dry herb since they're available year-round, but many tea herbs will need to be dried if you are to enjoy them year-round.

"When the herb is going into bloom, the essential oils are at their peak, if you want to harvest some to dry and store,'' recommends Baron.

Rinse herbs and shake out excess water, then drain on a clean dishcloth before drying them for storage. Although herbs can be dried in an oven set on low, it is easy to over-dry herbs and lose flavors.

Either use a dehydrator or hang small bunches upside down in a cool dark closet until dry. Be sure to label herbs, as it can be hard to tell them apart once dried. Strip the leaves off the stems (leaving them whole until ready to use) as soon as they are dry.

Store in sealed plastic bags or jars in a dark place, and check after a few days to be sure that moisture isn't condensing. To harvest seeds, cut the clusters as the seeds begin to turn brown, and place in a paper bag in a cool dry place until well-dried.

To retain peak flavors, and kill any insect pests, store seeds in the freezer in sealed plastic bags.

Herbal teas

Brewing herbal teas is a simple matter.

"With fresh herbs, just bring your teapot into the garden and pick a leaf of this and that,'' suggests Baron.

Crumble dry herbs, or bruise fresh leaves when adding them to a pot. Generally, depending on how strong of a brew you like, use one teaspoon to one tablespoon of dried herbs, or double that of fresh herbs. Use good drinking water for brewing herb teas, bring it to a boil, and keep additional hot water at hand in case the tea becomes too strong.

"Anise hyssop really sweetens tea, and stevia will, also,'' says Baron.

Honey, lemon, orange, and milk can also be added to herb teas for extra flavor.

Herbs are well-suited to making sun teas. A morning walk through the summer garden can fill your gallon jar with handfuls of herbs for ambrosial iced sun tea during the heat of the afternoon. Top the herbs with fresh water, put on a lid to keep out insects, and place in the sun for a few hours to steep.

Freeze some herb teas in ice-cube trays so that you won't dilute your brew as the ice melts.

Experimenting with tea blends can be a surprise and delight.

"In the beginning, start with individual herbs and taste them alone, because they change when they're combined with other herbs,'' says Baron. ``Then keep it simple—three herbs at the most makes a good blend. The theory behind blending is the same as with wine or perfume. Ideally, there's a base note, a top note, and body.''

She notes that sometimes, beginner blenders are disappointed when choosing flavors to blend, as they choose too many "top notes'' such as lemon or mint flavors when body is needed as well.

"Raspberry leaf is a great leaf to hold up the other flavors. Others to use for body are strawberry leaf or nettles.''

Dried blossoms such as bachelor buttons, roses, sunflower and calendula petals add a colorful confetti appearance to blends, especially if you plan to use them as gifts. And what could be a nicer gift, come the holidays, than a decorative jar of your own signature herbal tea blend, packaged with a pot and a cup?

HERBS FOR TEA

For more information on a variety of tea herbs, see "The Herbal Tea Garden: Planning, Planting, Harvesting and Brewing,'' by Marietta Marshall Marcin (Garden Way Publishing)

Angelica: A large biennial; can live several years when flowers are removed. Use leaves and seeds.

Anise hyssop: Not anise or hyssop, but a non-invasive member of the mint family, one of the best tea herbs.

Basil: Try lemon, cinnamon, Thai and Holy basil in addition to Italian. Best fresh.

Beebalm: Also known as Oswego tea or bergamot, a good substitute for China tea. Decorative flowers attract hummingbirds.

Chamomile: Blossoms of annual German chamomile are more commonly used for tea than perennial Roman chamomile.

Catnip: Leaves and flowers make a relaxing tea; there is also a lemon-scented form ideal for tea.

Elderflower: Use Sambucus nigra fresh or dried flowers.

Fennel: Use leaves, flowers or seeds of the versatile licorice-flavored perennial. Don't use roadside plants, which may have been sprayed with herbicide.

Hollyhock: Use fresh or dried leaves.

Lavender: Fresh or dried leaves and flowers; be sure to choose a sweet-scented variety.

Lemon balm: Best fresh, as it loses flavor when dried.

Lemon verbena: Use fresh or dried; can grow into a substantial shrub.

Mints: Choices include apple, chocolate peppermint, spearmint, and orange bergamot.

Pineapple sage: Use blossoms to add color and aroma to teas.

Raspberry: Use leaves to add body to tea; try also blackberry and other related brambles.

Rose blossoms and hips: Blossoms add color but not always a lot of flavor to teas. Rose hips are akin to citrus in flavor.

Rose geranium: An easy way to add rose flavor to tea; leaves turn brown when dried; blossoms are more attractive for dried mixtures.

Rosemary: A delicious herb tea, fresh or dried.

Sage: Common culinary sage makes a wonderful tea, either fresh or dried.

Strawberry: Leaves add fruity body to teas; alpine strawberries are best, but garden strawberry leaves are suitable.

Stevia: So powerful that a tiny portion of a single leaf will sweeten a cup of tea.

Thyme: Use fresh or dried. In addition to the common culinary variety, try lemon thyme, orange balsam thyme and lime thyme.