What is herbal tea
Any herbal tea - a collection of dried or fresh parts of various plants. Drink this tea at any time of the day. In the morning he is willing, in the afternoon, in the hot season - perfectly refreshing, and in the evening helps to calm down and relax. Tea from the flowers and leaves of wild strawberry, angelica, lemongrass, lyubistika, clover, lavender and other similar plant has a tonic effect. A peppermint leaves, lemon balm, raspberry, cherry, willow-herb, St. John's wort, calming chamomile.
Summer is better to prepare tea from fresh berries and herbs in the winter and early spring will help to cope with beriberiuseful herbal teas pre-cooked and dried plants: black currant, raspberry, cherry, buckthorn, mountain ash, nettle, blackberries, carrots, barberry, rose hips. Tea has medicinal properties of them is not only useful and very tasty - it can be used as an analgesic, stimulating or relaxing agent.
Herbal tea recipes
Method of preparation of herbal tea is very simple. Flowers, seeds, leaves or roots to pour clean boiling water and infuse a few minutes under the lid closed. After this healing drink is ready for use. If the seeds and roots of plants fill with water and bring to a boil, turn the herbal decoction. Water decoction can take any: cold, warm or boiling. While boiling herbal mixture depends on the properties and the degree of density of plants. If the plant material is harder then before boiling it is recommended to crush to get by boiling out of him the maximum amount of nutrients. When making fresh fruit crush them better, and in the case where tea is taken dried berries, crushed.
Such mixtures can be added to already familiar to us all tea: green, black, yellow, red or white.
Whatuseful herbal teas and when to brew? For example, a headache helps chamomile tea. Liver diseases at her beneficial effect St. John's wort, yarrow has soothing properties. From a severe cold will help get rid Black tea with thyme.
In inflammatory diseases of the throat, stomach, eye diseases is recommended when drinking tea blackcurrant, since it contains ascorbic (vitamin C), citric and succinic acid, iron and other useful minerals. All this is contained not only in the berries, but also in young currant leaves and shoots.
Useful herbal teas from currant with the addition of mint leaves help in the regulation of metabolism and to improve the functioning of the kidneys and liver. Currant tea with sprigs of raspberries good for colds.
Before you start to cook and eat on their ownuseful herbal teasIt is necessary to learn more about plants, their constituent. Some of them have properties that cause allergies, liver damage or kidney or other organs. For example, the detrimental affects on the liver, comfrey, and poisoning of the body, similar to a strong dose of nicotine may cause Lubell.
The desired effect of useful herbal teas will be noticeable if you drink them regularly, as they contain many bioactive substances. There are no age restrictions. However, before you use these drinks, it is best to consult with your doctor and find out how and what of herbal tea can be consumed.
Another advantage of herbal tea is that it does not have caffeine, harmful to the cardiovascular and nervous system, and is contraindicated in children under two years. Herbal teas are useful for children of all ages.
Herbs for tea useful
Herbal tea is useful in many cases, and almost any unhealthy state has aided its plant. Therefore it is very important to know what the medicinal properties has one or another herb. Useful toherbal teas retained their useful properties, it is necessary to collect the grass correctly, drying, process and store. Useful plant can not uproot, should always be part of the herb leaves for renewal.
Harvesting herbs should be selected dry weather. If the collection is held in the morning, you must wait for the dew will come. The best time to collect herbs is considered the beginning or already full bloom plants.
Collecting blossoming of the few plants with flowers left on the seeds. Collecting leaves, also leave a few leaves on a branch. Do jasmine, lime, rose hip tea fit fully open flowers. When harvesting the young leaves of raspberry, black currant, blackberry, bramble, fireweed, cloudberry and other need to wait until they are fully deployed. Berries and fruits are picked ripe only.
How to store herbs
Space reserved for dried herbs, should be well ventilated. This can be done on the street under a canopy. Raw materials harvested periodically inspect and remove the beginning to rot or blackened leaves and berries.
Different herbs require a different method of drying. Herbs containing essential oils (sweet flag, marjoram, thyme, etc.) Are dried slowly at t 30-35o C.
Plants with glycosides (Adonis, St. John's wort, coltsfoot, tansy, mint adonis, St. John's wort, coltsfoot, tansy, peppermint, lemon balm, etc.), it is desirable to dry at temperatures above 50-60º C. For these plants can be use the dryer.
To save the vitamin C in black currants, rose hips, mountain ash, barberry fruit, these plants are dried at a higher temperature 80-90º C in the dryer.
Different parts of the plant - a different shelf life. No more than one or two years can be stored leaves, flowers and grass, about two or three years have kept the bark, roots and rhizomes. The longest possible to store fruits and berries - three or four years.
Each type of herbal raw materials should be stored separately. Dried fruit and leaves are preferably stored in cotton or paper bags, in glass or ceramic jars.
Be sure to all banks and bags should stick paper label, which indicate the time of collection and the name of the herb.
Observing all the rules of collection, storage, brewing and drinking herbal tea, we are able to be fed with vigor, strength and freshness of the generous gifts of nature.
Olga Kocheva