» Articles » Herbs

Using fresh herbs just picked from the garden is a pleasant way to make tea [Image: Wikimedia Commons]

Refreshing teas from the English garden

All eyes are on the UK this year because of the Jubilee celebrations and the Olympics.

So here’s two wonderful tea blends to uplift and refresh.

Lemon Balm and Rose

These two ingredients are quintessential plants found in English gardens but not many people know that they also taste very refreshing and even less are aware of their relaxing and soothing effect on our nervous system. It is essential that your rose is the old fashioned perfume rose, with heady notes that make us love this flower.

Lemon balm not only smells fresh but its lemony nature enhances the pleasure of drinking this tea.

Sweeten if you must, but best drunk as is whether as a warm or indeed a cold drink. If serving as cold garnish with lemon balm leaves and rose petals.

Ingredients

• 2-3 rose heads (Rosa Damascena or Rosa Galica)
• 2-3 springs of fresh lemon balm

Method

1 Place all the ingredients in a large teapot.

2 Cover with fresh boiling water and steep for 10-15 minutes, then serve.

Makes a pint (500 ml) pot of tea

Mint and friends tea

Don’t worry if you haven’t got all the ingredients on the list below; each on its own would make a nice refreshing summer drink.

If you have fresh mint, dill, fennel, marjoram, you can infuse them together in any combination. Play with the length of time you let them infuse, flavours develop as the time passes by. The first flush of flavour is the spirit of the plant, the body comes afterwards and you can recognise the difference on your pallet.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoonful of chopped fresh mint
• ½ tablespoonful of chopped fresh fennel
• ½ tablespoonful of chopped fresh dill
• ½ tablespoonful of chopped fresh marjoram

Method

1 Place all the ingredients in a large teapot.

2 Cover with fresh boiling water and steep for 10-15 minutes, then serve.

Makes a pint (500 ml) pot of tea