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basic herbal tea questions


PoorMusician

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I just recently started drinking herbal teas. (someone gave me a box of Lipton variety). I'm really hooked. They really help with any minor aches and pains I get, or just helping me get to sleep at night. I've found recipes to make my own for most flavors, except apple cinnamon, which is my favorite. How do I make apple cinnamon herb tea?

 

And also, any advice or suggestions as I head out into the herbal tea making world?

 

 

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Also, for those that buy brand name herbal teas, please read the box. Many of these are flavored black tea.

No big deal if you just want a cup of mint flavored tea , but if you want a cup of relaxing, chamomile mint tea, you don't want the caffine from the black tea.

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yes I do have a suggestion...

 

I have found that "Hyssop" comes pretty close to the flavor of black tea. You can use Hyssop as a base if that is a flavor you like.

 

Apple cinnamon, sure a bit of apple juice would work fine! you can also slice apples, sprinkle with cinnamon, dehydrate and use that when brewing your tea..however it won't have the strong apple flavor. I wonder do they make dried/powdered apple juice?

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Hyssops does make a good base much like black tea in flavor but dried strawberry leaf will do so also and is easy to come by if you grow strawberries. Blackberry and raspberry leaf works too. All have a bit of tanic acid that gives them that black tea flavor.

 

As for making your own apple cinnamon flavor, here's a very old fashioned way. I take apple peels, from organic or well washed apples, and dehydrate them. They will be a bit leathery when dry. Place two or three large pieces in a cup with cinnamon chips or a stick (you can use powdered too but it's not as smooth and tasty) and pour almost boiling water over them.Let them steep five to ten minutes and sweeten with honey if desired. A bit different taste, one that I prefer, is to take the dried apple peel, place them on a cookie sheet and put it in a 250 degree oven and roast them until they are deep golden brown. Watch so you don't burn them though even very brown ones are still tasty. Cool and store in an air tight container. Use them the same way as for regular dried apple peel tea.

 

To make a good orange or lemon spice flavored tea, take the rind of lemon, lime or oranges and scrape the inside white pith off as much as possible. Cut these in about one inch squares and poke a whole clove or cinnamon chip through each one. Dry until very hard and store in an air tight container. Use one or more in each cup of tea. These store for years.

 

Now if you really want to make a finished product, you can grind or chop any or all of these and put them in iron shut tea bags and have them all done ahead of time. You can buy the empty tea bags at many herbal suppliers and they are really easy to use.

 

Welcome to the herbal tea drinkers world. One thing nice about herb teas, there's a never ending variety of them. If one doesn't suit, there's always another waiting to try.

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Quote:

As for making your own apple cinnamon flavor, here's a very old fashioned way. I take apple peels, from organic or well washed apples, and dehydrate them. They will be a bit leathery when dry. Place two or three large pieces in a cup with cinnamon chips or a stick (you can use powdered too but it's not as smooth and tasty) and pour almost boiling water over them.Let them steep five to ten minutes and sweeten with honey if desired.


Ooooh goodie. I am 'Packrat with a Purpose' but I hadn't yet found a purpose for saving all those oodles of apple peeling spirals left over from dehydrating apples this fall. But I couldn't just *gasp* throw them OUT!

MtRider
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I tried your dehydrated peel method mother and it was great!! Better than the packaged stuff. I checked the labels, and there isn't any black tea in any of the teas. The strawberry leaves sound like a neat flavor though. I'll have to try them.

Thanks!!!

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I'm glad you liked them Poor Muscian. Remember though to use DRIED strawberry (or blackberry/raspberry) leaves. The chemical composition changes as it dries and some constituents that are not good for you in fresh leaves becomes inactive in the dried. The taste is also quite different. Fresh leaves taste 'green', dried leaves taste like regular black tea without the caffein. Pick the leaves early in the season as they are starting to grow for the best flavor. It doesn't seem to harm the plants at all, in fact, it seems to stimulate them. I'm careful not to pick them bare though. I do pick the leaves again in the fall but am careful to pick the fresh younger leaves to use for the best properties. Blackbery/raspberries produce fruit next year on this years canes and that's the ones I pick from. I dry lots of different herbs and plants for tea. I never get tired of the same thing that way.

 

(((( all )))

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I love the Good Earth Original Caffine Free herbal tea. BUT, I can't get in my local grocery store. If I want any, I have to order it online. The GE tea is naturally sweet, although I do add a bit of honey. Rose Hips makes the tea naturally sweet. When I have a cold, I do use the mint tea. It is really easy to make, if you grow your own mint.

 

You can dehydrate mint and some other leaves in the microwave. You place them between layers of paper towels. Just take care not to over cook.

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