Kathleen Brown - Herbal teas for lifelong health

Excerpted from Herbal Teas,
by Kathleen Brown
Recipe development by Jeanine Pollak

My introduction to herbal tea started many years ago when I was told, for health reasons, to limit my caffeine intake. The biggest problem was going out for coffee with friends and dealing with the local coffee shops that had no herbal tea. For years, I had to carry around tea bags in my purse and feel the scorn of waitresses everywhere when I requested only hot water, please. Sometimes they even made me buy the Lipton tea bag just to get the water!

During those early years, an avid herbalist friend tried to help me with those health problems I was experiencing. He suggested I make therapeutic herbal teas, with strange-sounding ingredients found only in shops on back streets small dark places full of glass jars and really odd odors, the type of place youd be likely to find eye of newt! But it was the beginning of a journey for me, not only my initial foray into the world of herbs but also an awareness of the part I could play in being responsible for my own health. There was no echinacea tea at the local supermarket then, and the process of finding and preparing the herbs to aid digestion, encourage sleep, or ward off a cold was challenging, a real adventure.

Im actually thankful that I had the health problems I did early in my life. They started me down the path of lifelong learning about herbs and alternative medicine and, most important, forced me to adopt the habit of being responsible for my own health.

Happily, youve probably noticed that herbal tea is more available nowadays. Herbs are also more popular for mainstream consumers theyre on the cover of nearly every magazine in the grocery checkout line, and even brand-name over-the-counter remedies sport the word herbal on their labels. Fortunately for all of us, but particularly for those of you just discovering the benefits of herbal tea who think it has to come in a bag, even fresh and bulk dried herbs are much more easily found, usually in well-lit health food stores on the main roads.

The healing, health-promoting teas in this book were developed by recipe goddess Jeanine Pollak, who really believes in having fun with herbs. You can tell that by the names shes given them If Only I Had a Brain Tea, and Ginseng Swing. The selection is focused on teas designed to enhance your daily vitality and sanity, and thus promote an active, energetic, healthy future.

I feel that in drinking the medicine of the plants, you also gain the desire to know more about these green allies. Perhaps its something that happens in the natural order of things, that in gaining the medicine, you gain an awareness, and a desire is born for continuity, to learn and pass on the knowledge. This is the herbalist tradition. May this book illuminate your path, enriching your spirit and body, and may you enjoy every sip of herbal tea in good health and old age.

There are essentially two ways to prepare the perfect cup of herbal tea: an infusion, in which the herbs are steeped, and a decoction, in which the herbs are simmered for a period of time. Both techniques are covered in detail below, along with information on the tools and utensils youll need, whether to use fresh or dried herbs, the ratios to use, what kind of water is best, and so forth. Lets start.

An infusion is the better technique for brewing teas when leaves, flowers, or crushed berries or seeds are used. These ingredients easily release their essential oils and valuable nutrients while steeping in hot water. The basic rule of thumb is to pour boiling water over the herbs, cover the pot, and allow to steep anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. The longer a tea steeps, the stronger it will taste, but herbalists agree that, for some formulas, a longer steeping time allows nutrients to be extracted more fully.

Decoctions, on the other hand, are the method of choice when brewing teas from roots, barks, and more woody parts of herbs. In this case, the plant material must be simmered in boiling water at least 20 minutes and as long as 60 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces to release its valuable properties.

Brewing with Berries and Seeds

Its best to crush berries and seeds and infuse them with the leaves and flowers rather than decoct them with the roots, which destroys the more volatile properties released during crushing.

Youre probably wondering, what if youre using a combination of ingredients, both leaves and roots, for example? The basic technique is actually to both infuse and decoct simmer the roots 20 minutes in a covered container, remove the pot from the heat, add the leaves, stir well, cover, and steep 10 to 20 minutes.

Brewing in Large Quantities

You can always brew enough tea at a time to last you a whole day, or even 2 or 3 days. Leftover teas should always be refrigerated, though you can warm them up again over a stove top or in a microwave oven.

This next tip is so important its worth highlighting: Use organic herbs whenever possible. Your tea is going to be only as good as the herbs you put in it. If youre gathering fresh herbs in the wild, be absolutely certain they have not been sprayed or exposed to pesticides or pollution, such as those growing alongside a road. If youre using roses and some of the other flowering plants and trees, be especially careful they havent been sprayed.

Rules of Thumb

For an infusion: Pour boiling water over the herbs. Stir well, cover the pot, and steep 10 to 30 minutes.

For a decoction: Add the herbs to boiling water and stir well. Cover the pot and simmer on low heat from 20 to as long as 60 minutes, if, for example, youre using large, whole roots such as ginseng.

Besides a little knowledge, youll also need some tools and utensils. There are many types of strainers and other tools for brewing tea, some fancy, others very simple. A fine-mesh metal strainer is the tool of choice for many herbalists who believe the herbs need to float happily and unencumbered while brewing, without being confined by the ubiquitous tea ball or spoon. Some like bamboo strainers, others collect brewing gadgets (okay, I confess), but whether your tea tool is aesthetic or practical, simple or ostentatious, its up to you. Tea balls and spoons are convenient to use at work or when traveling, though some hard-core herbalists have been known to carry a porta-pot a portable teapot, that is!

Tea balls and bamboo strainers are among the most useful, and thus most popular, utensils for making herbal teas.

Another way of taking your tea with you whether to work or when traveling is to make your own tea bags. You can purchase empty tea bags from many health food stores or herb shops, or you can buy or make small cloth bags with drawstrings into which you put your tea blends. Cheesecloth cut into small squares and fastened with string, thread, or, in a pinch, a rubber band works well. Place 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of tea blend into the bag or fabric, and youll have tea to go!

I, along with probably every other avid herbal tea drinker in the world, collect teapots and other tea toys. Its always nice to bring out that special teapot when friends drop by for tea. My teapots have different experiences associated with them, many because they were gifts from family or friends or were purchased on a special adventure. Each teapot has its own story or memory, so when I make tea, I not only enjoy the beneficial beverage, but I reexperience special moments, as well.