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​Garden Tea with Native & Commonly Grown Herbs

Recipe adapted from Meghan Steinharter for https://www.parksconservancy.org/
Fall is a perfect time to cozy up with a warm cup of tea. Rather than buying your tea at the store search for these common California native plants and other medicinal herbs in your garden to make delicious herbal tea!  You don’t need to look far to find plants that benefit your health, taste delicious, and cost virtually nothing. 

In this recipe, we will explore how to brew tea using fresh and dried leaves from several different native and common plants. 
*Please note If you are unsure of the identification of the plant, do not collect it!

Tea harvest / Brewing instructions

  • After collection, rinse and shake off excess water, or lightly wipe with a towel. Remove any leaves that look diseased or eaten by insects.
  •  Standard tea infusion: For strong tea, use 1 part herbs to 32 parts of water. For weak tea, use ½ part herbs to 32 parts of water.
  • Put the desired amount of herbs in a cup, pour boiling water over them and steep for 10 to 30 minutes. The more time you let it steep, the stronger it will be. This is important if you are drinking it for medicinal uses. If it is just for taste, steep until you get the desired taste.
  • You may strain out the leaves—or not—depending on your preference.​

types of native plantS
Coastal Strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis)
  • Collection: You can collect the leaves and stems year-round.
  • Preparation: For dry tea: Dry in a paper bag. The stems and leaves can be used. It can be kept for a year.
  • Medicinal Uses: It is high in Vitamin C, and may help relieve stomachaches.
  • Tasting notes: I prefer the tea made with fresh leaves because the flavors seem stronger. It has a slightly sweet fruity flavor, with a touch of tartness.
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Coyote Mint (Monardella villosa)
  • Collection: Collect the leaves year-round, or the flowers from May through August.
  • Preparation: For dry tea: Dry in a paper bag or bundle and hang. After drying, remove the leaves and discard the stems. It can be kept for a year. The fresh or dried aromatic leaves and flower heads are steeped in cold water to make a refreshing clear tea. Steep for 15 to 30 minutes.
  • Medicinal Uses: An infusion of the leaves has been used in the treatment of stomachaches.
  •  Tasting notes: This is very refreshing, since it’s a cold tea, and has a slightly bitter minty flavor.
Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea)
  • Collection: Collect the large, healthy-looking basal leaves (the ones at the base) from May to July.
  • Preparation: For dry tea: Dry in a paper bag, or bundle and hang. After drying, remove the leaves and discard the stems. You can keep it for up to two years, though the sweet taste may diminish. Crush the leaves when preparing to brew the tea. Optional additions: lemon mint, spearmint.
  • Medicinal Uses: Can be used as a decongestant expectorant.
  • Tasting notes: This is not my favorite tea. However, it tastes much better using dried leaves, as opposed to fresh ones. It is a light tea, with a floral taste.
Yerba Buena (Satureja douglasii)
  • Collection: Gather the runners from April through August. The long unbranching stems are the best, and it is ok to gather ones with flowers.
  • Preparation: For dry tea: Dry in a paper bag, or bundle and hang. After drying, remove the leaves and discard the stems. It is best if used within a year, but can be good for up to two years. Optional additions: chamomile, catnip, lemon mint, spearmint, hummingbird sage, or lemon balm.
  • Medicinal Uses: It can be used as a diaphoretic, but it is best used as an addition to less flavorful medicinal teas to make them taste better without minimizing their effects.
  • Tasting notes: This is wonderful, using fresh or dry leaves. It is refreshing, light, and minty.

COMMON GARDEN HERBS FOR TEA
Calendula (Calendula officinalis)
  • Collection: Cut or pinch off blossoms and stems. Dry the harvested plant parts thoroughly. Spread them out on a dishtowel or newspaper in a dry indoor place (or on a dry rack) that doesn’t get direct sun. Turn them from time to time. When the flowers are dry to the point of being crispy, remove the petals and store them away for tea.
  • Medicinal Uses: Calendula tea is high in antioxidants, has anti-inflammatory components, and is good for your skin.
Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)
  • Collection: Chamomile flowers are best harvested around midday on a sunny day when the flowers are most open and the essential oil content is at its highest. Simply harvest the flowers by cutting them off at the stem just below the flowerhead.  After harvesting, chamomile flowers should be laid out to dry straight away. 
  • Medicinal Uses: Chamomile is promoted for its calming qualities- helps with sleeplessness, anxiety, and gastrointestinal conditions such as upset stomach, gas, and diarrhea. It is also used topically for skin conditions.
Lemon Verbena (Aloysia tripyhilla)
  • Collection: Harvest the herb by snipping off branches in the morning when oils are most concentrated (versus removing individual leaves). Lemon Verbena can be used fresh or dried. 
  • Medicinal Uses: Lemon verbena is often touted for medicinal use as a digestive, antioxidant and anti-spasmodic.
Peppermint, (Mentha ×piperita)
  • Collection: Harvesting mint leaves can't get any easier. Just pluck individual leaves or cut handfuls of stems for bulk harvesting. Harvest year-round, but the optimal time is when it's at least 4 inches tall and just before the plant begins to flower.
  • Medicinal Uses: Peppermint is promoted for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), other digestive problems, the common cold, sinus infections, headaches, and other conditions.
Red Raspberry leaf (Rubus idaeus)
  • Collection: Harvesting red raspberry leaves can happen anytime, but it's best done before the plant blooms 
  • Medicinal Uses: The leaves are rich in potassium, iron, magnesium, and b-vitamins, all good for female reproductive health and for balancing hormones.
Rosehips
Rosehips are the seed-filled red-orange pods that form at the base of the rose bloom. When boiled with water, they produce tea with a tangy, tart flavor and pinkish color.  Proper cleaning before using is very important.  Learn more here:
  • Collection: Harvesting is usually done in the fall. Simply cut them as close to the stem as possible. 
  • Medicinal Uses: Rosehips are notable for its high concentration of vitamin C, the herb is valued for its immune-strengthening properties (some consider it superior to most vitamin C supplements).
Share your garden tea brews with us on social media @schoolgardens. Cheers!