Go Herbal

I’m currently rediscovering my love for herbal teas. The palette of flavors is endlessly vast, from tangy to sweet to earthy and beyond—and that’s what I love about it. You can infuse your tea with the essence of just about any part of a plant: the roots, leaves, fruit, flowers, bark, stems, seeds, or whatever. Plus, it takes no time at all. It’s literally as easy as boiling water. Once you’ve mastered that, all you need to do is pour it over the plant bits of your choice and let it steep for a few minutes. It’s so easy to get in to—and that’s what makes it so much fun! And then when you start combining the stuff and making your own concoctions, well, that’s just plain awesome. If you want start having a blast with herbal teas like me, here’s a little list of my fave herbal tea ingredients to get you going.

Stuff Annie Likes to Steep These Days

1. Lemongrass—I use the wispy dried leaves of my potted lemon grass plant, but I’m sure slices of the stalk sold at Asian markets or specialty food stores would be amazing, too.

2. Saffron—Use just a few threads of this pricey spice to give your tea a distinct, warm flavor and yellow hue.
3. Fresh Berries—A couple raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, or blackberries gives tea an ever-so-slight touch of sweetness. Crush the berries a gently to help release their flavor.

4. Fennel Seeds—Add these to your tea for a licorice-like flavor.

5. Mint leaves—I highly recommend getting your self a mint plant and drying the leaves yourself. The leaves reconstitute in hot water beautifully. They look as fresh and bright green as they did the day you picked them—even a year later if you store them properly.

6. Chamomile—The flavor of this old relaxation stand-by meshes with other stuff really well. Combine it with lemongrass and it tastes like fruit loops… but better.

7. Red Rooibos—I recommend going to a specialty tea store to get the loose tea version of this South African tea. It’s so much better than the bags you’ll find at supermarkets. If you live around Des Moines, Gong Fu Tea is the place to go.

8. Lemon Thyme—I read thyme is good for you if you have a cold.

9. Ku-Ding Tea—This medicinal Chinese tea has an incomparable bitter flavor I have truly grown to love. It comes in the form of rolled leaves that look like sticks. Be sure to steep it for no longer than 5 minutes or the tea will become unbearably bitter.

10. Chrysanthemum Flowers—This has flavor similar to that of chamomile but a little more on the earthy side. Look for the loose tea at specialty tea stores

11. Meyer Lemon—This makes excellent hot toddies.

12. Kumquats—Thanks to extended family in Florida, we get big kumquats picked fresh from their tree. Look for these to pop up in supermarkets during the winter months.

13. Ginger Root—The longer you let this steep, the spicier your tea will get.