A Quick Guide to Tea
Tea Recipes
There are a wide variety of plants that can be used to make herbal teas. Some can be gathered from the wild and others are common garden plants.
Wild Plant recipes from Drink in the Wild by Hilary Stewart.
Blackberry
To make a cordial
Simmer ripe berries with a little water until soft
Crush the berries with a potato masher
Strain through a jelly bag
Cool and store in a fridge
Serve with a squeeze of lemon or dash of rum
You can also mix cordial with tonic water or soda
To make a tea
Use dry or old fresh leaves. Mix 2 teaspoons for each cup of boiling water
Sweeten to taste.
Clover
To make a tea
Dry clover heads for 3-4 weeks at room temperature.
Pull out each flowerlet and discard stem
Use 1 tablespoon/ cup of boiling water
Juniper
You can make a tea out of either the twigs or berries.
Twig Tea
Place 1 spring of young leaves per cup of COLD water and bring to a boil.
Simmer covered for approximately 15 minutes.
Berry Tea
Dry the berries
Use 1 teaspoon of crushed dried fruit / cup of boiling water and steep for 10 minutes.
Roasted Berry Tea
Gather and dry mature fruit and roast in a slow oven until dark brown.
Grind to a fine powder.
Steep in boiling water.
Wild Mint
To make a tea
Crush and steep the fresh leaves.
Use a handful to a medium sized pot of boiling water.
Steep for five to ten minutes
Rose
Collect the rosehips in the fall. They will have more sugar after the first frost.
Note: Inside the seeds are covered with fine, silvery hairs, which can cause digestive problems.
To make a tea
Wash well and remove stems and dried sepals.
Cut the hips in half and scrape clean
Crush the fruit and steep for 15 to 20 minutes
If you choose not to remove the seeds, you can strain the tea through a fine cloth.
To store the hips, they must be halved, cleaned and dried until the flesh is hard and crisp.
Types of Teas
The thousands of tea flavours can be classified into four basic types, black, green, oolong and white teas. These types are based on how the Camellia sinensis leaf is processed. (The Fragrant Leaf [online]) Tea flavour also reflects the local growing conditions. Soil type, location, altitude, climate and time of harvest will all affect the taste of tea. (Tea Board of India [online]). Some regions are also known for specific types of tea, for example darjeelings are only grown in the Himalayas (Tea Board of India [online]).
Black Teas: Black tea is what is most often though of as ‘tea’. In making this type of tea, leaves are oxidized by exposing them to the air for varying lengths of time. When exposed, oxygen reacts with enzymes in the leaf, allowing it to ferment. (The Fragrant Leaf [online]) Some tea processors cut the leaves to create more surface area to interact with the oxygen. After fermentation, leaves are dried or fired. (The Fragrant Leaf [online]). This ensures that all moisture is evaporated and gives the leaves a dark brown or black colour. Common varieties include Earl Grey, English Breakfast and Ceylon. A subset of black teas are the flavoured teas. These are black teas mixed with oils, flowers and citrus rinds to create textured flavours.
Green Teas: To produce this type of tea, the leaf must remain intact. After picking, leaves are withered, rolled and steamed. (The Fragrant Leaf [online]). Tea bricks are often made from green tea leaves, which have been pressed into molds and allowed to dry. (Tao of Tea [online])
Oolong Teas: These teas are semi-fermented tea. Processing begins in the same way as for black teas, but they are only allowed to ferment for half the time. (The Fragrant Leaf [online]). This creates flavours that are halfway between black and green teas (Wikipedia oolong [online]). These teas tend to have stronger tastes than green teas and more delicate tastes than black teas.
China White Teas: White teas are harvested before the new buds open, withered and steamed. This process results in the buds curling up and taking on silvery appearance and gives a light, fragrant flavour. (The Fragrant Leaf [online]).
Herbal Tea or Tisanes: Tea snobs will tell you that herbal teas are not tea, as these infused drinks are made from plants other than Camellia sinensis.
References
Wikipeida Camellia Sinensis. [online] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camellia_sinensis (viewed Dec 13)
Wikipidia Oolong [online] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oolong (Dec 13)
The Frangrant Leaf. [online] http://www.thefragrantleaf.com/teaplanandte.html (viewed Dec 13)
Stewart, H. 1981. Drink in the Wild. Teas, Cordials, Jams and More. Douglas and McIntyre. Vancouver.
The Tao of Tea [online] http://www.taooftea.com/shop100-Puer__Zhuan_Cha_Brick_Tea_Selections.html (viewed Dec 13)
The Tea Board of India. [online] http://www.dtrdc.org/tfaq.htm (viewed Dec 13)