Mint & Lemon Verbena Tea
Now that herb gardens are in full swing and so is the hot weather, take advantage of both! Most leafy green herbs make a refreshing herbal “tea.” (I say “tea” because true teas by definition contain leaves from the tea plant, camellia sinensis. If it doesn’t have tea in it, it can’t really be tea…but by this point, we’ve gotten used to calling anything that’s leafy, green, and steeped “tea,” so I’ll just go ahead and say tea. For the record, though, non-tea steeped beverages are infusions.)
You can make fresh herbal teas the same way you’d make regular bagged tea: pour boiling or almost-boiling water over the leaves and let them steep. I like to let mine steep for at least 10 minutes before I add ice cubes and make the hot tea into a refreshing chilled tea. I also like to crush the leaves with my fingers before I pour water over them — that way, they’ll release more of their flavors.
Aside from the joy of harvesting your own food from your own garden or windowsill, another big bonus of making herbal teas is that they’re caffeine-free. (The tea plant naturally contains caffeine, but seeing as you’re not using actual tea plant leaves…) And if you’re a big caffeine fan and a tea purist, you could combine your fresh herbs with bagged green tea leaves and enjoy the best of both worlds!
A Few Herbal Tea Combinations:
- Mint & Lemon Verbena
- Rosemary & Lavender
- Basil & Thyme
- Dill & Parsley
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Tags: herbal tea, summer tea
