People love tea! After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world! Tea is good anytime of the day and it’s good for you! Containing antioxidants and other health benefits, it’s no wonder that tea is so popular!

And as you may already know, besides tea leaves, flowers can also be used to make teas! Floral (or herbal, as some may call it) teas are light, fragrant and delicate-tasting.  They are also easy to make from scratch. Here is one way to make teas from flowers from your garden:

1. Harvest clean, safe, edible flowers from your garden. Choose flowers that haven’t been sprayed with chemicals or pesticides.  Cut flowers, but keep a bit of the stem. Common flowers used in teas include: chrysanthemums,  jasmine, rose, hibiscus, honeysuckle and chamomile.
2. Tie the flowers together at the base of the stems with a piece of string, leaving enough string to hang it.
3. Hang the flowers upside down in a cool, dry place until they are fully dried. Time will vary depending on the size and type of flower. Petals are ready when they have a dry, crumbly texture.
4. Break off flowers from the stem. The flowers are now ready to use or they can be stored for a later use.
5. To make the tea,  add 1 cup of hot boiling water for every teaspoon of dried flowers. Use a tea strainer if you don’t want loose flowers in your tea. Steep 5-7 minutes or until the tea reaches a desirable flavour.

Tip: You can add tea leaves, other flowers or herbs (mint, lavender)  to the tea to achieve a variety of flavours.

Related articles

• What is Flowering Tea? (funflowerfacts.com)