stonermom

Hey, all! I hope this is the right place to post this (if not, please move me O Kind Mods ) For all that dont know (that would be most of ya ) I have a small outdoor garden that I grow veggies and stuff in every year. Well, this year I want to try something different - Teas! By that I mean that I want to cultivate a bunch of herbs that I can use to make my own herbal teas.

Of course, Mint will be a staple of this venture but I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on other herbs that I can try out - mint tea will soon get boring My garden gets full sun and they will have to share space with tomatoes, garlic, onions and maybe a couple other veggies. Oh, and I will be cultivating the mint in a barrel so I dont have a yard full 'o mint in a few years My mom made the mistake of planting mint where it wasnt contained by a pot or a walkway or anything and, man, that stuff is pervasive!!

So, anyone have any fave herbal teas?

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TJm

The very first thing that comes to my mind, before my morning coffee. Chamomile.

Although most people choose to drink this without mixing it with traditional teas, I prefer to mix the two together when I have some available to me. Allegedly helps reduce anxiety, and promote sleep. It is naturally caffeine free.

Disclaimer - I have never grown this and have never used any of these companies. They were links on my PC that Im passing on to you.

You can purchase chamomile tea seeds from a few different companies. One of which is seedlover.com There are two different types of chamomile, one is a annual and one is a perenial. If memory serves me right, German chamomile is the perenial but ask me again after some coffee

curious|george

Chamomile is my favourite herb tea as well, but personally i've always wanted to try and grow real tea, Camellia sinensis. Don't know much about its cultivation tho. In addition there seriously are hundreds of herbs that can be used as tea. To name a few: Hibiscus, rosehip, Red raspberry, Lemon grass, Anise, Echinacea (medicinal), Kava root (psychoactive). Check out the wikipedia entry for herbal tea for a longer list. Happy Gardening!

stonermom

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! I will do some searching in my local nursery for what seeds are available around here and let you know what I decided to go with

Chamomile sounds yummy...

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webeblzr

I'm on the east coast, and I found our area had some wild teas around. I have or had 3 plants, a spearmint tea, a mint tea, and one other kind. I put them in big pots out on the patio, and remove some leaves and steep them in hot water, and the tea was very nice, relaxing. They have come back from winter for 3 years now...maybe one more time. Sorry I dont know more about them, except all were from friends properties around where I live.

PorkHunt

Bit late but

Real tea, comes in two main varieties. They grow like all camellias. I have a sinensis but I have no idea what variety of sinensis it is. I dont think its worth it however as the process of making the tea includes drying and fermenting. In china, they have this process of drying and fermenting the tea by tossing it around in a wok with bare hands. Its a beautiful flowering plant though and the dried flowers can be added to some tea to give it a sweeter taste.

Echinacea is pretty hard to start from seed unless you can stratify the seeds. Echinacea Purpurea doesnt need it apparently but I've only been able to get around 50% to germinate without some sort of stratification. Once you get it going though, it grows pretty fast. It is wonderful in tea or as a tisane. Its an absolutely wonderful fragrant drink. You can use the flowers, or roots. I've only grown the purpurea.

I'd stay away from kava. Its evil. Its not really a tea or tisane and I doubt you could get it outside the south pacific.

Jasmine is also a nice fragrant climbing plant that looks good, has a great perfume and works well with tea. Its quite winter hardy too.

Hibiscus flowers are great in champange.

Ginger and lemongrass seems to be popular combination. I personally prefer it in a curry but its not too bad as a drink.

My favorite is Rooibos, or 'red bush'. Its a plant thats found growing around south africa. I haven't found any where that sells seeds or plants here but you might be lucky in your part of the world. Not only is rooibos good for you, its absolutely tasty with honey and lemon or blackcurrent. Its quite good by it self and its very nice chiled too. If you cant grow it, I can certainy recommend you get it from a shop.

webeblzr

Rooibos, we recently purchased this tea for the first time, no caffein, and it's very flavorful!! Delicious.
great post porkhunt!

abcdefg123

hey...i know this post is old..but did not see a point in starting a new so...

does anybody know which tea has the most caffeine?

thank yee

Poppa Seed

Probably but chamomile grows wild and well in many areas. In my little town, I can take my dog for our usual three mile walk and there are 15 or 20 patches of it along side the road, where for some reason it likes to grow. You can gather it after it's bloomed and dried, it's tedious but free. Some roads are sprayed and it wouldn't be a good idea. Might be worth trying a transplant.

Easier to buy

Pops

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hygs

Monarda is nice if you're in an area where mints grow well. Reminds me of spearmint. Monarda is related to the mints, but has a nicer flower and is available in a good variety of types. It is invasive if the conditions are right.