I love herbal tea! I am sensitive to caffeine. Drinking anything with caffeine could lead to a headache. I save my potential headaches for a bottle of cola, not tea. Although tea is cheap...compared to almost anything else in the grocery store since the pandemic began, I still wanted to grow my own tea.
For years, we have grown mint. Mint is a lovely choice for tea.
This year, we added German chamomile. This plant is an annual, but it has been producing well.
To harvest, I cut the stems. I never cut more than half of the plant. I rinse them in cold water and place them on a splatter screen to dry. A splatter screen is used to contain popping oil when frying foods. All of my screens have feet on the bottom, allowing you to flip it over to rest on a counter. That's just enough height to allow 360 degrees of airflow and drying.
Once it is dry, I pull off the tops of the stems (the blossoms) and store them in a mason jar. The mason jar is placed in my cabinet to stay cool and dry.
When I want tea, I put some of the loose leaves in my tea ball and steep it in hot water.
If I really want to get creative, I mix tea together. Remember, we are also growing mint!
Chamomile calms the nerves and is a soothing drink to sip while in your garden, so why not grow it?
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