Using Your Fresh Herbs In Infusions, Herbal Teas, or Decoctions As An Herbal Medicine.

Recently it has been shown that high herbal tea and quality teas have many health benefits, especially Black and Green Tea. With all the news on Black and Green Tea lately, you may be considering adding it to your daily diet regime. If that is so, only use the best quality and freshest tea available for the maximum health benefits. Also consider the health benefits of herbal teas using fresh herbs. Think of these as herbal medicine.

Millions of people all of the world have been drinking tea and infusions for centuries specifically for herbal medicine. In America, it has been considered a cheap convenient drink for soothing the soul and stimulating the senses. Yet there is a far more important reason that people drink tea more than any other beverage: the tea leaf has potent health-enhancing powers. The Japanese have known this for thousands of years and the modern West is just catching up to the remarkable health benefits of drinking tea.

To make a tea or infusion you must steep the fresh herb in boiling water. Many think of teas and infusions as the same, but there is a slight difference.

When making teas or herbal teas you are brewing it and you don’t leave it steeping for very long. An easy way to brew it is to place the tea bag or fresh herbs into a measuring cup with 8 ounces of water. Microwave for two minutes and you have a cup of tea. Fresh herbs make a marvelous cup of tea and are considered essential in herbal medicine.

Infusions on the other hand stay in the boiling water longer, anywhere from 10 – 20 minutes. Obviously the longer the fresh herbs steep the stronger the brew will become and it will become a more potent herbal medicine. Infusions should be used immediately after brewing to reap the most out of this herbal medicine, especially when using fresh herbs. Rule of thumb is to use 1-2 teaspoons of dried, crushed, or powdered herbs. If you want to get the most out of this herbal medicine use fresh herbs and double the amount to steep. After the steeping time your infusion will be at room temperature. It is okay to warm it back up if you prefer it hot.

Infusions can be therapeutic as well as being considered herbal medicine. While your infusion is steeping bend over the container and breathe in the steam. This will act as a decongestion when you are suffering from colds or allergies. Close your eyes, try to envision this herbal medicine as attacking the germs in your system. Visualizing the fresh herb infusions attacking the malady will help to fight illnesses quite well, according to some published studies. It is like the grounding technique used in yoga. Here again, fresh herbs make the best infusions in herbal medicine.

There is a problem with infusions as they tend to be quite bitter. And of course, if you can’t drink the infusion then it will not be an advantageous herbal medicine. To make it taste better try adding honey or sugar. If you still can’t get it down, try a different infusion. There are many different fresh herbs to try when brewing your herbal medicine.

Decoctions are a different story as they don’t use strictly fresh herbs. Here you would use the dried roots, flowers seeds and barks for their medicinal purposes, not fresh herbs. To get the most from your mixture heat will be used since it is more difficult to extract their active chemicals. Start by boiling the roots and allow them a good head start. Next add the bark, the seeds, the flowers and any spices in that order. Allow a few minutes of simmering after each addition. Then simmer the herbal medicine slowly for 10 to 20 minutes.

Now you have another use for your fresh herbs. This gives you yet another excuse to plant a beautiful herb garden

Happy Healthy Gardening!

Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.

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How to Make Delicious Iced Tea Using Gourmet Teas

According to the U. S. Tea Association, 85% of tea consumed in the US is iced.   Unfortunately, the bulk of the iced tea consumed is made of low quality tea, such as the iced “tea” you find in fast food establishments.   Their tea is often made of tea-flavored syrup.   Many people also use low quality tea bags to make iced tea.   However, you can make delicious, healthy, and original iced tea using whole leaf gourmet teas.

Iced tea is cold and refreshing on a hot summer day but it can also be a delicious, thirst-quenching way to enjoy your gourmet teas throughout the year.   After all, it can get old drinking your gourmet teas hot all the time.   Why not change it up on occasion by drinking your gourmet teas on ice?  Not only is preparing iced gourmet tea fun, it is also a lot more flavorful and healthy for you.

The Benefits of Using Loose Gourmet Teas Instead of Tea Bags

Tea bags are full of tiny pieces of tea leaves known as tea dust.   Tea dust goes stale a lot faster than the whole leaves found in loose gourmet teas.   Furthermore, the flavor and health benefits can’t be compared to what whole leaf loose tea offers.   To put it simply, tea bags create inferior tea.   You’ll be able to enjoy a much tastier and healthier glass of ice tea by starting with loose, whole leaf tea.

Don’t be afraid to get creative!  Blend gourmet teas of different flavors to your liking in order to create an original flavor of iced tea or simply pour your favorite ready-made tea blend over ice.   There are several ways you can create delicious and unique iced tea using  gourmet tea. .   Here are some ideas you can use to make iced teas that would serve as the perfect beverage for a tea party, weekend get-together, or picnic.

The Basics

Making iced tea is very similar to making hot tea but there are a few differences.   For one, you should double the amount of tea you use when you make hot tea.   In order to create sweet iced tea, add sugar while the tea is steeping rather than at the end when the tea is consumed.   The flavor turns out a lot better that way.   After the tea is done brewing, pour it into a glass filled with ice.   It is best to cool the tea immediately because the scent and flavor of the tea is preserved that way.   Add some lemon or mint to the glass for tea that is refreshing and delicious.

If you need to prepare iced tea for a large group, you can also make refrigerator iced tea, which can be prepared far before the party.   In fact, it takes twelve hours to brew refrigerator tea.   To make it, use one heaping teaspoon of tea per cup of water.   Place the water and tea in a glass pitcher and let it sit in the fridge overnight or for twelve hours.   Before serving, sieve out the leaves, pour the tea into glasses, and serve.

Fresh tea tastes the best so only make as much as you are going to drink.   Drink it immediately for the best flavor.   Use ice cubes instead of chips or crushed ice to prevent the tea from getting too watered down.

Use six heaping tea spoons of loose tea for each quart of tea you would like to prepare.   If you are using quality gourmet teas, you should be able to use it two more times to brew iced tea.   The water you use should also be of high quality to make the best tasting iced tea.   Don’t use tap water.   You should also make sure to use good water to make ice cubes for your iced tea.

Ice Cube Tips

To prevent your iced tea from getting watered down, consider using juice or freshly brewed tea instead of water to make ice cubes.   Orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, or any other fruit juice you enjoy can add a fruity kick to your iced tea.   You can also try adding mint leaves to the ice cube tray before you make ice cubes so when the ice cubes melt, there are mint leaves floating in your glass.

Sangria Iced Tea

To make a refreshing, fruity iced tea, pour chilled tea over chopped up fruits like strawberries, plums, mangoes, blueberries, and other fruits you enjoy.   Let the tea sit for at least thirty minutes so the flavors of the tea and fruit blend.   When serving the sangria iced tea, garnish each glass with sliced fruit.

Milky Iced Tea

To create a sweet and delicious milky ice tea, blend your favorite non-fruity black tea of choice with ice, milk, and chocolate or vanilla syrup.   You can also create simple vanilla-flavored ice tea by just adding some vanilla syrup to your usual glass of iced tea.

Insider’s Guide to Chinese Teas – Part 4 Green

Imagine a drink that is the very essence of nature, capturing the flavours and aromas of a spring mountain meadow, the morning dew combined with the smells of the earth and flowers. A drink that can restore you and keep you healthy. A drink that revives. What a drink that would be! But there is no need to dream, such a drink is available, and has indeed been available for centuries – green tea!

The most prized green tea is Dragon Well (also know as Long Jin or Lung Ching). Legend has it that the well that gives the tea its name lies not far from Hangshou. Far back in the mists of time, the well ran dry and the local peasants were on the verge of disaster, their crops would fail and they would starve. So a local monk summoned up a friendly dragon that he knew could help. He offered up a prayer and the dragon made the rains come and starvation was avoided. The well became known as the Dragon Well and the local tea was named after it.

The Chinese have always known that green tea is beneficial to health and there have been many studies that back up these claims. It seems that Green tea contains a variety of beneficial chemicals, including anti-oxidants. With just two or three cups a day you could feel a difference in your body and mind. The anti-oxidants combat the harmful chemicals called ‘free radicals’ that are a by-product of processes within the cells of your body. These free radicals are believed to contribute to a variety of ailments and diseases including cancer and heart disease. Out of all the types of tea, green is understood to be the most potent in terms of health giving properties. This is because it is the least processed of all teas. The leaves are barely oxidised and so the anti-oxidants remain intact. There are no hard and fast rules for how much to drink each day, some sources quote a figure in grams, others quote cups. As with all natural remedies, persistence is the key, you are unlikely to benefit from taking the occasional cup. Several cups every day seems to be an average figure.

In common with the other types, to gain any health benefit and to obtain the full flavour and aroma, you should use high quality loose leaf tea. The tea bags that are sold in health shops are cheap, and with good reason. They are made from the fannings (or dust) from the processing of higher grade teas. Since they are finely ground (they need to be in order to be able to brew whilst surrounded by the paper of the bag), they are more quickly and more thoroughly oxidised. The friendly anti-oxidants are destroyed and there is virtually no flavour or aroma. The same can be said of the cheap loose leaf green teas, again from the health shops. These are the inferior pickings, the finest leaves are picked in the spring and will be used in the gourmet quality brands. You get what you pay for.

There are probably as many methods of brewing this drink as there are suppliers! The common elements are to use spring water that is not boiling and not to overbrew. Good quality teas will come with instructions on how to get the best from your particular type.

So go on, treat your body and taste buds to the stuff of dreams . . .

Using Your Fresh Herbs In Infusions, Herbal Teas, or Decoctions As An Herbal Medicine

Recently it has been shown that high herbal tea and quality teas have many health benefits, especially Black and Green Tea. With all the news on Black and Green Tea lately, you may be considering adding it to your daily diet regime. If that is so, only use the best quality and freshest tea available for the maximum health benefits. Also consider the health benefits of herbal teas using fresh herbs. Think of these as herbal medicine.

Millions of people all of the world have been drinking tea and infusions for centuries specifically for herbal medicine. In America, it has been considered a cheap convenient drink for soothing the soul and stimulating the senses. Yet there is a far more important reason that people drink tea more than any other beverage: the tea leaf has potent health-enhancing powers. The Japanese have known this for thousands of years and the modern West is just catching up to the remarkable health benefits of drinking tea.

To make a tea or infusion you must steep the fresh herb in boiling water. Many think of teas and infusions as the same, but there is a slight difference.

When making teas or herbal teas you are brewing it and you don’t leave it steeping for very long. An easy way to brew it is to place the tea bag or fresh herbs into a measuring cup with 8 ounces of water. Microwave for two minutes and you have a cup of tea. Fresh herbs make a marvelous cup of tea and are considered essential in herbal medicine.

Infusions on the other hand stay in the boiling water longer, anywhere from 10 – 20 minutes. Obviously the longer the fresh herbs steep the stronger the brew will become and it will become a more potent herbal medicine. Infusions should be used immediately after brewing to reap the most out of this herbal medicine, especially when using fresh herbs. Rule of thumb is to use 1-2 teaspoons of dried, crushed, or powdered herbs. If you want to get the most out of this herbal medicine use fresh herbs and double the amount to steep. After the steeping time your infusion will be at room temperature. It is okay to warm it back up if you prefer it hot.

Infusions can be therapeutic as well as being considered herbal medicine. While your infusion is steeping bend over the container and breathe in the steam. This will act as a decongestion when you are suffering from colds or allergies. Close your eyes, try to envision this herbal medicine as attacking the germs in your system. Visualizing the fresh herb infusions attacking the malady will help to fight illnesses quite well, according to some published studies. It is like the grounding technique used in yoga. Here again, fresh herbs make the best infusions in herbal medicine.

There is a problem with infusions as they tend to be quite bitter. And of course, if you can’t drink the infusion then it will not be an advantageous herbal medicine. To make it taste better try adding honey or sugar. If you still can’t get it down, try a different infusion. There are many different fresh herbs to try when brewing your herbal medicine.

Decoctions are a different story as they don’t use strictly fresh herbs. Here you would use the dried roots, flowers seeds and barks for their medicinal purposes, not fresh herbs. To get the most from your mixture heat will be used since it is more difficult to extract their active chemicals. Start by boiling the roots and allow them a good head start. Next add the bark, the seeds, the flowers and any spices in that order. Allow a few minutes of simmering after each addition. Then simmer the herbal medicine slowly for 10 to 20 minutes.

Now you have another use for your fresh herbs. This gives you yet another excuse to plant a beautiful herb garden

Happy Healthy Gardening!

Speciality Chinese Teas

Green tea is graded depending on the quality and the parts of the plant used. There are large variations in both price and quality within these broad categories, and there are many specialty green teas that fall outside this spectrum.
There is archaeological evidence that suggests that green tea has been drunk for almost 5000 years, with India and China being two of the first countries to cultivate it. Green tea has been used in traditional medicine in India, China, Japan and Thailand to aid in everything from controlling bleeding and helping heal wounds to regulating body temperature, blood sugar and promoting digestion. What is Oolong Tea
Oolong tea (Wu long tea) is a traditional semi-oxidized Chinese tea, occupying the middle ground between green and black teas, ranging from 10% to 70% oxidation. Combining the best qualities of green tea and black tea, the best oolong has a nuanced flavor profile. Oolong tea is clear and fragrant like green tea but as fresh and strong as black tea, with the bitterness leaving a sweet and pleasant aftertaste. Well known oolong teas include those produced in the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian Province and in the Central Mountains of Taiwan.
The Chinese have long been aware of the health benefits of oolong tea. For thousands of years, tea has been used to treat everything from headaches to depression. Oolong tea has proven anti-aging properties. In addition oolong tea contains powerful anti-oxidants, known to inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Anti-oxidants may also lower cholesterol and help control blood pressure, and over time, the risk of heart disease. They even help protect the liver against toxins in alcohol and cigarettes. Oolong Tea can also aid in food digestion and make you feel refreshed and vitalised. What is White Tea
White tea is tea made from new growth buds and young leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis.
The leaves are steamed or fried to inactivate oxidation, and then dried. White tea therefore retains the high concentrations of catechins which are present in fresh tea leaves. As white teas contain buds and leaves, whereas other teas are mainly leaves, the dried tea does not look green and has a pale appearance. Buds and young tea leaves have been found to contain higher levels of caffeine than older leaves, suggesting that the caffeine content of some white teas may be slightly higher than that of green teas.
White tea is a specialty of the Chinese province Fujian. The leaves come from a number of varieties of tea cultivars. The most popular are Da Bai (Large White), Xiao Bai (Small White), Narcissus and Chaicha bushes. According to the different standards of picking and selecting, white teas can be classified into a number of grades, further described in the varieties section.
In hard times, very poor Chinese people would serve guests boiled water if they could not afford tea. Host and guest would refer to the water as ‘white tea’ and act as if the tradition of serving guests tea had been carried out as usual. This usage is related to plain boiled water being called ‘white boiled water’ in Chinese.