Plant by
Plant:
Your Gateway to
Traditional Food and Healing Plants
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H
E R B A L T E A
S How to prepare herbal teas
as healing beverages for everyday use - Gena Fleming Healing
restores integrity, unites and integrates with a greater whole.
This entails not only restoring balance and harmony within the
individual, but with other people, the Divine, and with the natural
world. Medicinal plants have been used since ancient times to
anoint, nourish and heal. Their
actions extend beyond the biochemical and are best described in terms of
detailed energetics. As
dynamic, vibrant life forms, plants have the power to communicate and
transform. Even the mildest
herb infuses vital presence The following offers general
information regarding the preparation of herbal teas as beverages with
healing benefits. It is
hoped that increasing general knowledge of herbs will contribute to the
safer, widespread use of herbal
teas, and help restore our health and natural relationship with healing
plants Herbs vary greatly with respect to their properties, strength and potential for adverse effects. Please consult a physician or trained herbalist. Only gentle herbs are recommended for regular use. Water: Spring water or carbon filtered water is recommended. Storage: Dried herbs should be stored in either dark glass containers or glass containers protected from light. Cookware: Glassware such as Corningware and Visions are acceptable, if there is no non-stick coating. Another option is enamel coated metal, but make sure there are no chips in the enamel. Chinese sand pots are used for making herbal decoctions and are available in oriental markets. Sand pots can be used on a gas stove but with electric stoves, a thermal diffuser should be used. Never use aluminum or non-stick coatings. Stainless steel should also be avoided as some herbs react with metal. How much: Herbs are generally measured by weight. However, if you don’t have a scale, you can estimate by volume. As a rule, about 1 teaspoon of dried herb is used per cup of water, or one ounce per quart. The actual volume, however, will vary according to the type of herb. With light, airy plant material , you will use more volume of herb to water. With dense, heavy roots and stems, less volume is needed. When using fresh herbs instead of dried herbs, a larger volume is required. Teas vary considerably depending on
their diffusibility and solubility.
Consult an herbalist or reliable reference book for variations in
dosage recommendations for specific herbs.
Please consult a healthcare professional before taking herbs with
pregnancy or mixing with medications.
Use reduced dosage for children and the elderly.
Strong teas can always be diluted after preparation. I N F U S I O N S Infusions are prepared from the most delicate plant parts, such as flowers and leaves. Hot Infusion. Bring water to a boil and pour over herbs in a teapot or glass jar. Cover and steep for about 20 minutes. Strain. “Hot” refers to the method of infusion. After straining, hot infusions can be stored in the refrigerator and consumed either hot or cold. Cold Infusion. Pour water over dried herbs in a glass jar. Cover and leave in refrigerator overnight. Then strain. Sun tea. Place herbs and water in a large glass jar, cover and place in sun. Leave for two hours or more, depending on how much sun there is. D E C O C T I O N S
Decoctions are prepared from coarse, woody stems or roots and seeds. Large roots can be presoaked 4-8 hours. Do not pour out the water you soak the herb in. Cover gently, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes. If you are mixing coarse herbs with leaves or flowers, you can make a decoction out of all of it, except for the aromatic herbs (e.g., chamomile, mint). Cooking aromatic herbs results in the loss of important volatile essential oils. Add aromatic herbs to a decoction after cooking, while decocted herbs are still in the tea. Remove the decoction from heat, add the aromatic herbs, cover and steep. Then strain and refrigerate or drink. C O N C E N T R A T E S After herb is strained (from diffusion or
decoction), very slowly simmer and evaporate off water to level desired.
Concentrates are generally used for fomentations and compresses
for external applications. * * * |