what tea plant would make tea like lipton tea????

[freemotion]

My favorite tea recipe....I have not found a commercial herbal or flavored tea that I really like, so if you don't either, you might like this one. I only really like black tea.

This is more like a chai tea. I grind up fresh ginger in the food processor until it is the texture of damp sawdust, skin and all. I just scrub it and inspect for mold on the cut ends, especially here in winter.

I simmer an amount about the size of an apple in 2 quarts of water, light simmer, for half hour. Then I turn off the heat and leave it to steep, covered, for a while, sometimes several hours. I also add a piece of cinnamon bark, about 3-4", and about 6-8 whole allspice seeds, and half a nutmeg. Plain ginger tea works well, too. This amount lasts us a week or two.

Then I strain it, with a funnel and a tea strainer, into two quart swing-top bottles and store it in the fridge. This is a concentrate that I add to make other drinks. Every batch has a slightly different flavor and strength, as is the way with whole foods, variety from batch to batch. I like it best to make my black tea with, I use 1/4 ginger tea with 3/4 water to make my tea. Or it stands alone (diluted with water). I sweeten it with stevia extract. This also makes a wonderful iced tea.

A favorite version for a refreshing cold drink for kombucha fans is a tall glass with 1/3 to 1/2 kombucha, 1/8 to 1/4 ginger tea, a half-dropper of pure stevia extract, and fill with water. Oh, that is SOOO good and refreshing! I bottle that in Grolsh (sp?) bottles and bring it with me on my long days of massaging horses in the summer. I can go through 4 bottles easily. But I cover them with one of those insulated water bottle holders so a passing cop won't think I am guzzling beer while driving! (*hic* )

I grind the ginger in large batches when it is on sale and freeze it in appropriate portions in containers in the freezer. It goes directly into boiling water from the freezer. So it is really no work at all. I even make it when we travel on business, if we are staying in a suite with a kitchenette. I just buy a bit of ginger and slice it as thin as I can, simmer it, and leave the whole pan in the fridge. That's how much I love it!

 

[Helena]

Freemotion, you make fancy teas. Those sound scrumptious.

I've used the following: boil one stick cinnamon, two cardamom pods, a few black peppercorns in one quart water for ca. 20 minutes. Strain: steep four teaspoons good black tea in this water. Vary the ingredients and amounts to suit your taste.

Strain.

Add milk and honey, or milk and maple syrup, or milk and organic sugar.

You can also add vanilla, or use nutmeg and allspice. There are lots of variations.

It's much less expensive than the gourmet brands. You can also make it to your taste. And it doesn't have the mysterious ingredient "natural flavor(s)".


Edited to add: Vary the ingredients and amounts to suit your taste.

 

[freemotion]

Oooh, is that a more traditional chai? I'll have to get some cardamom pods next time I make a pilgrimage to Whole Foods....if they have any whole foods left....

 

[Helena]

Freemotion, I learned the basic idea from a man from India, about thirty years ago. I don't remember the exact spices or how long he "cooked" it. I've used many variations over the years.

If there is an Indian restaurant near you, you could ask. There are probably many recipes.

 

[StrayDog]

I buy bulk dried hybiscus. This is the prime ingredient in all those expensive Celestial Seasoning's type teas.

I also grow my own mint. Mint comes in many varieties and is VERY easy to grow. The variety I have is chocolate mint and it makes a very nice tea.

I've seen and smelled chocolate mint (yummy!) I thought we bought some but I haven't seen it in the garden... hmmm wonder if the goats got in and ate it? At the time I just loved the way it looked and smell, never thought about making tea with it but I bet it is lovely. Okay, I'm on a mission now to grow some!

 

[sylvie]

I drink nothing but herbal tea.
I absolutely detest hibiscus and it annoys me to no end that the companies are cutting costs by saturating the teas with it. I won't buy those. To each his own.
I grow Lemon Verbena and dry the leaves for winter use. This is the gold standard or El Dorado of lemon. I do not sweeten it. It isn't sour like real lemons, but a delicate floral taste. It also makes such a wonderful iced sun tea.
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) leaves remind me of Murphy's Oil Soap I don't grow that.

If I buy I prefer Good Earth Original sweet and spicy herb tea. I haven't been able to duplicate it... yet.

 

[freemotion]

I've used the following: boil one stick cinnamon, two cardamom pods, a few black peppercorns in one quart water for ca. 20 minutes. Strain: steep four teaspoons good black tea in this water.

I just re-read your post, can you please define "a few" as in peppercorns? Few can mean a lot of different things!!! Thanks!

 

[freemotion]

Question for you tea-makers: Is hibiscus the big pink flowering shrubby thing I have in my sunny perrenial bed the type you use, if so, which part of the plant and when is it harvested?

Is bee-balm used for tea the same as the pink one, also in my perrenial sun garden? Harvested when, and what part of the plant?

I plan to grow some teas for my mother for next year, she likes more items than I do, so I want to expand my garden to include some plants. I put on the list, so far, a variety of mints and lemon verbena.

What else is easy to grow and will grow in Zone 4-5?

 

[farmerlor]

Another option: Try some loose teas from a tea company like Upton. They send you big foil bags of the stuff for 6 or 7 bucks each and they last a long time. The advantage to loose teas is that you can make the tea as strong or weak as you like. I'm addicted to the Chai and breakfast blends. Oh, and they have the most wonderful fruited teas for iced teas in summer!

 

[sylvie]

Question for you tea-makers: Is hibiscus the big pink flowering shrubby thing I have in my sunny perrenial bed the type you use, if so, which part of the plant and when is it harvested?

Is bee-balm used for tea the same as the pink one, also in my perrenial sun garden? Harvested when, and what part of the plant?

I plan to grow some teas for my mother for next year, she likes more items than I do, so I want to expand my garden to include some plants. I put on the list, so far, a variety of mints and lemon verbena.

What else is easy to grow and will grow in Zone 4-5?

Try Pineapple Sage, Honey Melon Sage ( these 2 won't over winter for you but produce so much it is worth it to buy plants each year). Very pretty in flower, too. Use both leaves and flowers.

Lemon Thyme which you can pick fresh all winter in zone 4-5. Pineapple and Apple Mint.
Watch the peppermints and spearmints because they will become invasive in one season.
Lavender is tricky because too much tastes like camphor!

I pick All Heal ( Prunella vulgaris) from my weedy meadow lawn, which makes a very pleasant tea.

Each variety of Bee Balm (Monarda) gives a different flavor, so have fun. I grow purple and deep red. Purple is spicier. Harvest flowers and leaves before they fade or get mildew. If you cut them back after flowering they will regrow the fresh leaves and occasionally reflower giving you a second chance if you missed the first time.

edited to add: Bergamot used in Earl Grey tea is not Monarda/ Bee Balm despite some using the same name for Bee Balm. It comes from an exotic tree somewhere. Bee Balm was known as Oswego Tea in early America and citrusy in it's own right.