Foraged teas

[punkrockcaveman]

Last night's fishing on the river including a wee stop for a tea break, but not just a 'dust bag' affair, it was my first time steeping and drinking mares tail which was very pleasant. I must admit I've not given foraged tea a lot of thought but it's something I want to start doing this year, hopefully trying a new tea out and about once a week. Last week I had elderflower tea, which was great.

I feel like this will bring my plant knowledge on well too.

My question is, what other tea plants are about at the moment?

 

[Wander]

Nettle tea is a good one.
Nettles are high in iron and vitamin C.
Just collect a good handful of the very top clump of leaves (ideally when they're nice and fresh) and steep in boiling water for 5 minutes. I tend to tear them up as well, to help release the 'juice'.
Best of luck to your finger tips...

 

[Woody girl]

Blackberry fruit and leaves
Wild raspberry fruit and leaves
Wild blueberry fruit and leaves
Rosehip.. important remove seeds!
Camomile
Hawthorn leaves and berries
That's just a few from the top of my head that I use regularly.

 

[punkrockcaveman]

Blackberry fruit and leaves
Wild raspberry fruit and leaves
Wild blueberry fruit and leaves
Rosehip.. important remove seeds!
Camomile
Hawthorn leaves and berries
That's just a few from the top of my head that I use regularly.

Thanks! When you say wild blueberry, as in bilberry? What is the tea like from the leaves?

 

[SaraR]

Blackberry fruit and leaves
Wild raspberry fruit and leaves
Wild blueberry fruit and leaves
Rosehip.. important remove seeds!
Camomile
Hawthorn leaves and berries
That's just a few from the top of my head that I use regularly.

Does blackcurrant leaves make for good tea, do you know? When I did a course in Russia, the host family would make tea from either blackcurrant or raspberry leaves (and a small amount of mint leaves), but I can't remember which one it was! I want to say blackcurrant, but not sure if that even makes for tea.

Bilberry leaves make for nice tea, as do birch leaves (pick them when they are "the size of mouse ears").

 

[Woody girl]

Wild mint is my favorite tea.
I like to take a squeezy runny hunny with me for sweetener.
I've never tried blackcurrant leaf tea, but I don't see why not.
Maybe try with both to see which one tastes right or you prefer.
Most wild fruit make good teas.
I made a lovely foraged fruit tea at the moot last year using blackberries , dewberry and the orange berry that abounds there, which name escapes me at the moment.( isn't that annoying when it's on the tip of your tongue and you just can't get it!? I'm sure someone will know.)
wild rose petals and honey make a delicate and fragrant sip.
Another one I enjoy is blueberry (bilberry or wortleberry ),and wild raspberry fruits togetherwith some wild strawberrys. It's one I make in advance by drying the fruits as they come into season and mixing them together untill I want to use them in the winter.
The strawbs are collected now, the bilberry late July and the raspberry a week or so later.
This combination makes the best jam aswell. I call it forest fruit jam. Using supermarket fruit is the best way to make it as the fruits are difficult to gather from the wild all at the same time. Freezing wild strawbs does not work! Though bilberry and raspberry are ok.

 

[SaraR]

Wild mint is my favorite tea.
I like to take a squeezy runny hunny with me for sweetener.
I've never tried blackcurrant leaf tea, but I don't see why not.
Maybe try with both to see which one tastes right or you prefer.
Most wild fruit make good teas.
I made a lovely foraged fruit tea at the moot last year using blackberries , dewberry and the orange berry that abounds there, which name escapes me at the moment.( isn't that annoying when it's on the tip of your tongue and you just can't get it!? I'm sure someone will know.)
wild rose petals and honey make a delicate and fragrant sip.
Another one I enjoy is blueberry (bilberry or wortleberry ),and wild raspberry fruits togetherwith some wild strawberrys. It's one I make in advance by drying the fruits as they come into season and mixing them together untill I want to use them in the winter.
The strawbs are collected now, the bilberry late July and the raspberry a week or so later.
This combination makes the best jam aswell. I call it forest fruit jam. Using supermarket fruit is the best way to make it as the fruits are difficult to gather from the wild all at the same time. Freezing wild strawbs does not work! Though bilberry and raspberry are ok.

not sea-buckthorn by any chance? not sure if that even grows in Wales though!

 

[Woody girl]

not sea-buckthorn by any chance? not sure if that even grows in Wales though!

Ah that's it! !!!!!!
Yes it does grow in Wales, and it's abundant on the dunes at the moot
Full of healthy goodness, and rather tart but a bit of honey makes all the difference.

 

[SaraR]

Ah that's it! !!!!!!
Yes it does grow in Wales, and it's abundant on the dunes at the moot
Full of healthy goodness, and rather tart but a bit of honey makes all the difference.

I must admit it was the first thing I thought of when thinking of 'orange edible thing' and 'sandy duny beaches' but then I realised I wasn't sure if I'd ever seen them here.

 

[TLM]

Birch leaves, ironwort, new growth branch tips from spruce, chaga.

 

[Oliver G]

Good timing for this tread to come up, I was planning a nice long walk this weekend with 2 goals, one to identify 5 different trees and secondly to make some pine tea. So quick question to those who have made wild tea before, what's the best way of not getting a mouth full of twigs when you drink the tea? My initial through is to pour from the cooking mug into a plastic mug using a cloth as a filter (Old triangular bandage type affair).

 

[SaraR]

Good timing for this tread to come up, I was planning a nice long walk this weekend with 2 goals, one to identify 5 different trees and secondly to make some pine tea. So quick question to those who have made wild tea before, what's the best way of not getting a mouth full of twigs when you drink the tea? My initial through is to pour from the cooking mug into a plastic mug using a cloth as a filter (Old triangular bandage type affair).

If big leaves or big tea leaves even, just let sink and drink carefully. Or use one of these Finum tea an coffee brewing basket

 

[Coldfeet]

So quick question to those who have made wild tea before, what's the best way of not getting a mouth full of twigs when you drink the tea?

I use a small steel teapot which has an internal grate before the spout, along with an external strainer to catch any of the smaller bits.

 

[Woody girl]

To be honest all the things you are making tea with are edible, nettles for instance can be incorporated into a meal rather than just throwing them away. Berries can be eatenas a quick snack or pudding. Don't waste it!

 

[Short_edc]

I like wild strawberry leaf tea, blackberry root tea, water mint, and camomile. All found local to me, also got some chaga which is rarely found down here.

 

[Short_edc]

To be honest all the things you are making tea with are edible, nettles for instance can be incorporated into a meal rather than just throwing them away. Berries can be eatenas a quick snack or pudding. Don't waste it!

I love using wild leaves and berry’s in salads, the wife gathers them and it’s a challenge for me too make a dish from only foraged foods

 

[SaraR]

Green tea buds are also very nice to eat after steeping (just be careful if you are sensitive to caffeine).

 

[punkrockcaveman]

just a quick update, I tried nettle tea the other night. It smelled very much like green beans! But the taste was lovely, very much like green tea but sweeter and less astringent. Very nice, slightly better than mare's tail I would have said, but both are pretty tasty! I tried eating the nettle greens after steeping too. Bit of a strange texture for sure, but palatable.

 

[Toddy]

Does blackcurrant leaves make for good tea, do you know? When I did a course in Russia, the host family would make tea from either blackcurrant or raspberry leaves (and a small amount of mint leaves), but I can't remember which one it was! I want to say blackcurrant, but not sure if that even makes for tea.

Bilberry leaves make for nice tea, as do birch leaves (pick them when they are "the size of mouse ears").

Blackcurrant does make nice tea, and the mint addition is a good idea
Thank you for that, it's plain blackcurrant that's in my wee teapot right now.
It actually smells of blackcurrants, even from last years' dry leaves.

Other ones that are good are
Heartsease, the wild pansy,
Selfheal,
Strawberry,
Lemon balm (melissa)
Spruce tips

 

[punkrockcaveman]

Strawberry? Any tips on trying it? I.e. young leaves / do they need drying?