Nettle tea is tasty, what else is?

[Tony]

I’ve had Nettle soup and nettle in other foods but I’d never had it as a tea (drink) until today. I rather enjoyed it and I’m not into herbal teas type drinks, but I’ll drink it more often now and I’ll make my own in the spring.

What are your favourite drinks that are made in the wilds or derived from the wilds? I know that some like rose petals, needles etc and some like coffees made from different plants…..What do you like? Hot or cold….

 

[RovingArcher]

I like wild mint tea and young dandelion tea. Sweetgrass tea is pretty good, but is more of a womans drink because of it's medicinal values to help them with their woman stuff. I've never drank or eaten nettles, but with everyone here saying how well they enjoy it, I will have to check it out and give it a try if we have the right variety here.

When I'm a bit anxious feeling, I brew up a small amount of valerian. It's a bit strong tasting, but works wonders on the nervous system and is an excellent relaxant and sleep aid.

 

[Toddy]

Oh interesting thread.....
Mint tea, feverfew if headachy,willowherb just 'cos it's there, strawberry leaves, blackcurrant leaves,.....most of the berry leaves, horsetail before flowering and use the sterile stems, dandelion roots, washed and roasted/scorched (beside the fire works fine, like making onions 'coloured' it enriches the flavour), sweet cicely seeds, yarrow, rosehips.....okay, I know, I know, I'm a tea jenny

cheers,
Toddy

 

[grumit]

i tried ribwort recently after a recommendation by a fellow bushcrafter here on bcuk and found it to be quite nice and will certainly have it again :wave:

 

[Snufkin]

Yarrow and lime flowers are nice, I usually mix them 50/50 and add just a little honey. Raspberry leaf is nice too.

 

[Ranger Bob]

Elderflower tea is nice with a drop of honey and the dried leaves of ground ivy have a pleasant taste too! :biggthump

 

[match]

Elderflower tea is nice with a drop of honey and the dried leaves of ground ivy have a pleasant taste too! :biggthump

Just in case anyone misreads that, I should point out to those who don't know that Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea) is NOT the same as common Ivy (Hedera subsp.), which is toxic! But yes, Ground Ivy does makean nice cup of tea, and is a good addition to homemade beer - similar to hops!

Oh, and an obvious one - as well as the leaves, the berries of most edible berries make nice teas - strawberry, raspberry, elderberry etc, with elderberry and blackcurrant teas being very rich in vitamin C and good for colds.

 

[arctic hobo]

Pine needle tea. Tasty and good for you. :super:

 

[spamel]

The missus has been drinking raspberry tea as the pregnancy was running over. I looked in my book of herbal remedies, and it says that raspberry tea can start contractions in pregnant women!! Seems she had had enough waiting. We had Abigail Thursday evening just gone, so it looks like the tea works!! Unfortunately, no boys, so all three of my girls will be tomboys!!

 

[Ranger Bob]

Just in case anyone misreads that, I should point out to those who don't know that Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea) is NOT the same as common Ivy (Hedera subsp.), which is toxic!

Didn't think to add that! :shock:
Cheers

 

[Dave Farrant]

The missus has been drinking raspberry tea as the pregnancy was running over. I looked in my book of herbal remedies, and it says that raspberry tea can start contractions in pregnant women!! Seems she had had enough waiting. We had Abigail Thursday evening just gone, so it looks like the tea works!! Unfortunately, no boys, so all three of my girls will be tomboys!!

Excellent remedy (Rasberry Leaf Tea) but a warning not to drink it until you are 37/38 weeks (the missus that is) It can cause miscarriage.
In the same vein, Lavender (popular as an additive in the bath) should be avoided till it was time for the baby to arrive. You can use it to help things along when you are full term.

Dr Dave :-D (consultation by appointment only)

 

[greg2935]

No one seems to have mentioned the fact that alcohol has a long history as a drink, (and I'm not talking about getting drunk!). I've read that nettle beer is almost like a ginger beer with a very low alcohol content. I also notice (and am going to try a few this year) there are a huge range of beers and wines with next to no final alcohol content that can be made from recipes gleamed from the book: Wild food by Roger Phillips.

 

[Toddy]

True enough, but brewing takes more than boiling up a kettle, and trust me on this (I blew up a neighbours kitchen (literally!)with a half full bottle of my home brew ginger beer, straight up through a 35mm worktop :yikes: took out a piece the size of a dinner plate, smashed into the ceiling and filled the kitchen with shattered, sticky glass, and left my neighbour a gibbering wreck) you don't want to be carrying either ginger, elderflower or *especially* nettle beer where it's going to get shoogled around much or warm up. Think old fashioned dynamite.
I thought plastic coke bottles would be okay....that was a *no* too.....there's a reason they wire down champagne corks.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Keith_Beef]

True enough, but brewing takes more than boiling up a kettle, and trust me on this (I blew up a neighbours kitchen (literally!)with a half full bottle of my home brew ginger beer, straight up through a 35mm worktop :yikes: took out a piece the size of a dinner plate, smashed into the ceiling and filled the kitchen with shattered, sticky glass, and left my neighbour a gibbering wreck) you don't want to be carrying either ginger, elderflower or *especially* nettle beer where it's going to get shoogled around much or warm up. Think old fashioned dynamite.
I thought plastic coke bottles would be okay....that was a *no* too.....there's a reason they wire down champagne corks.

Cheers,
Toddy

No kidding, this really can be dangerous.

In France, there are hundreds of serious eye injuries each year from flying champagne corks, mostly around Christmas and New Year.

Exploding glass bottles are very dangerous, too.

If you want to make bottled beer ang sparkling wine, you have to do it sensibly and safely.

Wiring down the corks is a bad idea, if you haven't got the fermentation to the correct point. You risk building up too much pressure in the bottle.

It is safer to ferment to dry with an airlock, then very very carefully prime each bottle with a measured amount of sugar (or unfermented must of a known sugar content) that will give just the amount of fizz you require.

This is as far as sugar fermentation goes... There's also the malo-lactic fermentation going on in sparkling wine; but I think that the amount of gas generated is very small compared to the sugar fermentation.



Keith.

 

[Beakytzw]

I like wild mint tea and young dandelion tea. Sweetgrass tea is pretty good, but is more of a womans drink because of it's medicinal values to help them with their woman stuff. I've never drank or eaten nettles, but with everyone here saying how well they enjoy it, I will have to check it out and give it a try if we have the right variety here.

When I'm a bit anxious feeling, I brew up a small amount of valerian. It's a bit strong tasting, but works wonders on the nervous system and is an excellent relaxant and sleep aid.

I assum you slice the root, then add it to hot water, how long to you leave it in the water for if I assume correctly?

 

[Rebel]

Dandelion root is a pretty good drink. Pull out the roots wash them and roast them dry. Grind them into a powder and mix with hot water. Tastes a bit like coffee and is supposed to be good for you.

The flowers make a decent wine and the leaves are okay in salad.

Don't know about the stems. I bet you can do something with them too but I haven't tried.

 

[Rebel]

If you want to make bottled beer ang sparkling wine, you have to do it sensibly and safely.

Wiring down the corks is a bad idea, if you haven't got the fermentation to the correct point. You risk building up too much pressure in the bottle.

It is safer to ferment to dry with an airlock, then very very carefully prime each bottle with a measured amount of sugar (or unfermented must of a known sugar content) that will give just the amount of fizz you require.

This is as far as sugar fermentation goes... There's also the malo-lactic fermentation going on in sparkling wine; but I think that the amount of gas generated is very small compared to the sugar fermentation.


Keith.

Very true. A friend of mine had a huge explosion when making wine. He was making a vast quantity for a home brewer, about 25litres in a huge bottle. He broke the glass valve while it was fermenting. Stupidly he bunged a cork in the top while he went to buy a new valve.

The pressure built up and had no release. I was in the house when it exploded and it was like an earthquake had hit. Shards of glass were embedded in the wall. Luckily nobody was in the room.

If you are refermenting in the bottle to get a sparkling drink, please follow a tried and trusted recipe.

 

[anthonyyy]

The missus has been drinking raspberry tea as the pregnancy was running over. I looked in my book of herbal remedies, and it says that raspberry tea can start contractions in pregnant women!! Seems she had had enough waiting. We had Abigail Thursday evening just gone, so it looks like the tea works!!

Congratulations!

 

[Beakytzw]

Originally Posted by RovingArcher When I'm a bit anxious feeling, I brew up a small amount of valerian. It's a bit strong tasting, but works wonders on the nervous system and is an excellent relaxant and sleep aid.



I assum you slice the root of valerian, then add it to hot water, how long to you leave it in the water for if I assume correctly?