Herbs for brewing tea: what can you grow in your garden?

Cooking

Imagine a morning at your dacha: fresh air, birds chirping, and a cup of fragrant, warming herbal tea you've picked and brewed yourself. This drink is not only incredibly delicious but also full of health benefits, as you know exactly where each plant comes from.

Creating your own tea garden is easier than you think! Many aromatic and medicinal herbs can be easily grown in a regular garden plot.

Let's find out which herbal plants will be the ideal base for your homemade herbal tea.

Why choose your own tea garden? ✨

Growing herbs for tea is more than just a hobby, but a whole philosophy that offers numerous benefits:

100% natural and environmentally friendly: You control the process from sprout to cup. No pesticides, chemicals, or unknown additives.
Incredible taste and aroma: Freshly picked herbs have a much brighter and richer flavor than store-bought ones that have been stored for months.
Health benefits: Many herbs have calming, tonic, anti-inflammatory or immunomodulatory effects.
Saving: Perennial plants will delight you for years, requiring minimal investment.
Aesthetic pleasure: Most tea herbs are very decorative and will fit perfectly into the design of any area, attracting beneficial insects.

Country Tea Corner Favorites: Top 7 Plants

1. Peppermint and lemon balm

The undisputed leaders of any herbal infusion, their refreshing, distinctive aroma is familiar to everyone.

Cultivation: Unpretentious perennials. They prefer sun or partial shade and moist soil. It's important to limit their spread, as they can quickly take over territory (especially mint).
Taste and benefits: Mint provides a cooling and invigorating sensation, while lemon balm has a softer, citrusy aroma and a calming effect. It helps with digestive issues and insomnia.
Advice: Collect the leaves before flowering, as this is when the concentration of essential oils is at its highest.

2. Oregano (Oregano)

It's not just a popular spice, but also a wonderful base for tea. Its delicate purple flowers will brighten any garden.

Cultivation: A perennial, very hardy and drought-resistant. Loves the sun.
Taste and benefits: Warm, spicy, and slightly bitter, oregano tea is traditionally used to boost the immune system, treat colds and coughs, and as a sedative.
Advice: For tea, it is better to use leaves and flowers collected at the beginning of flowering.

3. Monarda (Bergamot, Wild Bergamot)

It is this plant that produces the bergamot aroma familiar from Earl Grey tea. The vibrant, shaggy flowers come in shades of red, pink, and purple.

Cultivation: A perennial that prefers sunny places with fertile soil.
Taste and benefits: A complex, citrusy, spicy aroma, monarda tea has antiseptic properties and helps relieve stress and tension.
Advice: Ideal for single tea and blends, giving them a noble taste.

4. Chamomile

A humble yet powerful flower, known for its medicinal properties since ancient times.

Cultivation: An annual plant that easily self-seeds. It grows in virtually any soil.
Taste and benefits: A sweet, slightly tart flavor with apple notes. A classic remedy for calming the nervous system, relieving inflammation and spasms.
Advice: For tea, it is the flower baskets that are collected, not the stems and leaves.

5. Thyme

A low-growing subshrub with small leaves and purple flowers. It has a strong, spicy aroma.

Cultivation: A perennial. Loves full sun and light, well-drained soil. It thrives in rock gardens.
Taste and benefits: A rich, warming, spicy flavor. An excellent remedy for colds and bronchitis, for boosting the immune system and improving digestion.
Advice: Herbal tea with thyme is a wonderful evening drink that helps you relax.

6. Common sage

A spectacular bush with silvery-green velvety leaves.

Cultivation: Perennial, but may require shelter in colder regions. Loves sun and does not tolerate overwatering.
Taste and benefits: With a tart, bitter-spicy flavor, sage is known for its powerful antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, especially beneficial for sore throats.
Advice: Due to its strong effects, don't drink liters of sage tea. One cup a day is sufficient for prevention.

7. Stevia

A natural sugar substitute! This plant is hundreds of times sweeter than sucrose.

Cultivation: A perennial, but in central Russia it is more often grown as an annual from seedlings. It loves warmth and sun.
Taste and benefits: It has no calories and doesn't raise blood sugar levels. A few fresh stevia leaves will add sweetness to your herbal tea without adding a gram of sugar.
Advice: The leaves can be added directly to the cup or dried for future use.

The art of harvesting, drying, and cooking ‍♀️

To preserve all the benefits and aroma of herbs, it is important to follow simple rules:

Collection. Carry it out in dry, sunny weather, after the dew has melted. Cut healthy, clean leaves and flowers.
Drying. Spread the herbs in a thin layer on paper in a well-ventilated, shaded area. You can also tie the herbs into small bundles and hang them. Avoid direct sunlight!
Storage. Store completely dried herbs (they should break easily) in glass jars with tight lids or in canvas bags in a dark place.
Brewing. Use a ceramic or glass teapot. Scald it with boiling water, add the herbs (1-2 teaspoons per cup), and pour in water at 90-95°C (194-205°F). Let it steep, covered, for 5-10 minutes. Strain and enjoy!

Don't be afraid to experiment and create your own unique blends! Mint + lemon balm + monarda for energy, chamomile + oregano + thyme for comfort and calm.

Your garden plot is a veritable treasure trove of health and taste. Enjoy your tea! ☕