Herbal teas

Photograph by Patrik Beranek

It’s the end of a hard day in the garden, the kettle’s on, and it’s time to make a choice – tea or coffee?

A bit boring when you consider the myriad combinations of herbs that can be blended to provide just the perfect drink to suit your mood — something uplifting and cheerful, or something to ease the pain of tired muscles?

Herbal teas go hand-in-hand with the long history of herbs — they were first used as a convenient way to take medicine — and today they are often taken as a simple refreshing drink.

Easy to make: simply add two tablespoons of fresh or one tablespoon of dried herb for each cup of water, plus a ‘bit for the pot’.

Pour in boiling water and let steep for about five minutes. Strain the tea when the desired strength and taste has been reached. Serve with honey, lemon, an orange slice, or fresh herb sprigs.

For iced teas add a little more herbs to make up for the melting ice. You can also freeze herbal teas in ice cube trays and use the cubes to chill other types of summer drinks. As you gain experience and enjoyment with herb teas, try these various tea blends:

• rosehips and a twist of lemon
• lemongrass, rosemary and thyme.
• rosehips and bay.
• basil, lemon grass, lemon verbena and lemon thyme.
• lemon verbena and borage.
• sage and rosehips.
• spearmint and lemon balm.
• marjoram and lemon verbena.
• rose petals, rose hips and raspberry leaf.
• pennyroyal, peppermint and ginger.
• chamomile and apple mint.