Is it any wonder that the words “tea” and “ceremony” are nearly synonymous in some cultures around the globe?

In Japan, the green tea capital of the world, Tea Ceremony has been enjoyed since the 9th century, surviving centuries of change and expansion; preserved as a merciful respite in time and space. Japanese Tea Ceremony involves a series of rituals for preparing and serving matcha green tea. The effect is a therapeutic dance of fragrant steam which can last up to four hours! And the enjoyability of this ancient tradition is a mere perk. Health benefits associated with both drinking tea (any kind of tea) as well as intentionally slowing down to hold, sniff, and sip at it have long been studied. Results show marked effects on the mind, body, and spirit, even boasting years added to a life steeped in tradition! (I couldn’t help myself.)

But what might happen if one’s Tea Ceremony lasted much longer than four hours?

What if our interaction with our tea began long before preparing the ceremony room?

What if it extended beyond the walls of the house and out into the garden?

What if our Tea Ceremony began in early spring with the pouring out of seeds into one’s palm?

What if it continued with months of daily rituals; watering, weeding, harvesting, and preserving?

What if its end was only a continuing, yearlong ceremony; steeping three seasons’ worth of intentional preparation?

Welcome to my favorite spring-to-harvest ritual on the homestead! We may not be able to grow the technical “tea plant” up here in mountainous Montana (darn it), but we can grow loads of the herbal kinds! As promised in 🛒CHECKING OUT🚜 First 14 Grocery Items We’ve Cut from Our List, today I am sharing with you everything me and “Goldilocks” (our budding little herbalist) do to prepare a year’s worth of herbal tea!

Let the ceremony begin.

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~BUD TO BREW HERBAL TEA TUTORIAL~

Nothing warms a cold winter’s evening quite like a pot of native summer!

Here’s everything we do, bud to brew, in review! 😀

#1. Start seedlings.

*Most of our herbs are perennial, but a few require that we start from seed early each spring.

Here’s everything we grow (and forage) for our herbal tea blends:

• Basil (annual)
• Borage flowers (perennial)
• Calendula (annual)
• Chamomile (reseeding)
• Huckleberries (wild, foraged, perennial)
• Hyssop (perennial)
• Lavender (perennial)
• Lemon Balm (annual here in zone 4, perennial in zones 6 and up)
• Mulberries & Mulberry leaves (perennial)
• Peonies (perennial)
• Peppermint (perennial)
• Raspberries & Raspberry leaves (perennial)
• Ricola mint (perennial)
• Rose hips (wild, foraged, perennial),
• Spearmint (perennial)
• Strawberries & Strawberry leaves (perennial)

Other things you can grow if you live in a warmer zone than us mountain folk, or if you have a greenhouse:

• Ginger Root (annual)
• Hibiscus (perennial or can grow as an annual)
• Lemongrass (perennial or can grow as an annual)
• Lemon Verbena (perennial or can grow as an annual)
• Rose petals & hips (perennial)

Strong-flavored herbs we grow for medicinal teas but limit or keep out of our everyday blends:

• Basil (annual)
• Bee Balm (perennial)
• Echinacea (perennial)
• Fennel (perennial or can grow as an annual)
• Oregano (perennial or can grow as an annual)
• Rosemary (perennial in warmer zones or can grow as an annual)
• Yarrow (perennial)

#2. Pot on!

February through June, we “pot on” or move our herb seedlings to larger containers every month or so as required.

#3. Transplant out.

Very hardy herbs such as mint and yarrow we plant out in earlier spring months, while the more tender Mediterranean herbs such as rosemary and even lavender, we don’t plant out until June in the Great North.

#4. Water, weed, or neglect.

Most of our herbs we water regularly. Lavender, rosemary, thyme, yarrow, echinacea, and chamomile we neglect a bit.

#5. Harvest.

Here’s how we harvest our herbs for tea by type:

• Flowers (chamomile, echinacea, calendula): pluck the tops off and discard the stems or cut the lot, stems, leaves, and all for a less stunning, but bulkier brew.
• Stalk herbs (mint, lavender, yarrow, etc.): cut the whole stalk just above new leaves for additional harvests later in the season.
• Blooms (roses, peonies): pull off the entire head of petals and snip the rose hips.
• Leaves (mulberry, raspberry, strawberry): snip off fresh, excess leaves.

Harvest tips:

• Collect at peak bloom and freshness, not harvesting too early or too late.
• Harvest in late morning to early afternoon for buds and blossoms to be fully open.

#6. Wash (if needed).

Since we don’t spray on our homestead, washing our produce is only necessary when things get dusty, buggy, or for anything that grows where Yeti sometimes marks his territory. No secrets here.

#7. Hang dry, or just lay out!

I used to sit for hours in the summer months, tying up bundle after bundle of herbs and hanging them all over the house like an apothecary of yore. Then, one day I got lazy and just decided to lay an entire pile of mint flat on a towel and see what happened. To my delight, it dried beautifully. My herbal tea making is so quick and easy now! I lay flat everything on clean towels and only hang the following: lavender and yarrow. Hurray!

#8. Strip it!

Once fully dry, you can strip your herbs to store in separate jars. This is a great mindless task to tackle while listening to an audiobook or watching a movie. I especially love getting the kids involved and doing this as a skill school! Little fingers are great for plucking off chamomile heads or pinching off a column of lavender pods. And skill school never smelled so heavenly! We love to do this while listening to Adventures in Odyssey!

#9. Make your blends.

Our personal favorites:

• MOUNTAIN MINT: a blend of spearmint, peppermint, Ricola mint, or any other varieties you have in whatever amounts are available.
• BLOOMIN’ BREW (a blend of all the tea flowers): 3 cups calendula, 2 cups peony petals, 1/2 cup chamomile, 1/8 cup lavender, *optional up to 1/8 cup of either borage blooms, pansies, or bee balm.
• BLACK BEAR’S BREW: 2 cups berry leaves (strawberry, raspberry, or mulberry) and 1/2 cup dehydrated or freeze-dried berries (strawberry, raspberry, mulberry, huckleberry, blackberry, or cherry).
• SUMMER STORM (our best blend): mix the mint blend and bloomin’ brew above in equal amounts, or two parts of the mint blend to one part of the floral. You can also do a three-way blend with the berry brew!

*Variation: add a cup of lemon balm to any of the above blends for a fresh twist

*Don’t hesitate to experiment and create your own blends! Just start with at least double the amount of the mild BASE HERBS (mint, calendula, lemon balm, peony petals) and then accent with the stronger flavors (chamomile, lavender, bee balm, dried berries). Mix and match. Use what grows. Tinker. Have fun!

Herbs to make into medicinal teas: oregano, rosemary, basil, yarrow, hyssop, bee balm

#10. Contain, but don’t put a lid on it!

We have found that our tea stays the freshest in jars or containers lined in a closed cupboard but WITHOUT tight lids. Simply leave the lids off or rest the lids ajar on top so that the herbs can still breathe. If you keep the jar closed for some months, the herbs have a tendency to get a little musty, particularly chamomile which continues to dry for a long time.

*To preserve flavor even longer: DO NOT BLEND AHEAD. Keep each herb in separate jars and make up fresh blends every few weeks. The herbs tend to hold flavor longer when not fraternizing with stronger or weaker personalities.

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. . . all that’s left to do is sip pretty!

Thank you so much for reading today. Happy steeping!

Love, ~Candace Arden~