If you are blessed with access to fresh herbs, you should use them. As often as you can. A tea brewed from freshly gathered herbs tastes so much better than from ready-made tea bags – and this is not only because you put some effort into it. Be prepared for a fresh, healthy and unfamiliar mix of bright garden flavors, packed with antioxidants.
In Austria, I was spoiled with a garden, full of different herbs. Here in Boston, unfortunately I am not any more… Actually, it was not my garden– but my mum learned soon that having children means that they will claim everything to be theirs. So, in my garden ;-) I grow many herbs like basil, chamomile, chive, parsley, dill, lemon balm, marjoram, all kinds of mint, oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme.
During the summer months, my mum would always make this amazing herbal tea for breakfast. She just goes to the garden for a spin and comes back with different herbs that are in season. For the recipe below, I tweaked one of her standard herbal tea recipes. The result is an iced tea – and it tastes so delicious, refreshing and healthy that the next refill is never far away.
You have to keep one thing in mind though: If hot tea cools, it loses sweetness and taste. It actually doesn’t lose those anything, but if we are drinking cold beverages (with ice), our taste buds simply tend to freeze up a little bit. So make sure to prepare your tea stronger and sweeter if you intend to enjoy it iced (this recipe is already for moderately sweet iced tea). Also: The tea will get darker with time. You will notice it yourself if you don’t drink it right after it has cooled to room temperature (as in the picture), but a couple of hours later.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 4 cups of water
- 8 fresh, large sage leaves
- 12 fresh, large lemon balm leaves
- 5 fresh, large peppermint leaves
- 5 chamomile flowers
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- Ice cubes
- Some additional herbs and/or organic slices of lemon for serving
>> All herbs washed. If not from your own garden, only use organic herbs not treated with pesticides.
Instructions
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil.
- When the tea water is boiling, put in all herbs. Cover the pot with a lid and remove from the heat.
- Let it steep for 15 minutes, then strain the tea into a pitcher.
- Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Let the tea cool.
- Serve with ice, some additional herbs or a slice of lemon.
- The tea will get darker with time. You will notice it yourself if you don’t drink it right after it has cooled to room temperature, but a couple of hours later.
Notes
You can enjoy this tea hot or cold. If hot tea cools, it loses sweetness and taste. So make sure to prepare your tea sweeter if you intend to enjoy it iced. I used 3 tablespoons sugar for a moderately sweet iced tea. If I drink this tea hot, I do not add any sugar.
Did you follow this recipe? You could share your result here. All you need to do is take a picture with your smartphone and send it to [email protected]
