I love coffee, I love tea…..and just occasionally I like a little herb tea. Not just any old herb tea but Flower Power Tea! The stuff of fairies and buzzy bees. Not just good to drink but also good to look at. Tea for the soul. It is a labour of love but evokes such powerful connection to the earth energy.
Harvesting my Flower Power Tea involves me sitting on an upended bucket as a seat, cradling a container on my lap while I flick the heads of flowers off into the other hand, then dropping them into my collecting container. I love working alongside the busy bees in the cool of late afternoon, or early evening. When my container is almost full to the top, it’s time to dry the flowers. I use a selection of flowers growing in my garden, ones which have been bee- frequented and as our garden is 100% organic, I know exactly what goes into my Flower Power tea.
Ingredients for Flower Power Tea
– 3 cups chamomile flowers
– 1/2 - 1 cup assortment of rose geranium flowers, calendula petals, borage flowers, violets, hibiscus etc. (any edible flowers growing at the time of collecting)
Method
Place all collected flowers onto dehydrator trays and allow them to dry over 1-2 hrs. They dry quickly, so keep checking. My dehydrator cost $20 a few years ago, and has paid for itself a hundred times over! If you don’t have one, drying can also be achieved by placing the petals on an oven tray and drying them on very low heat in the oven.
Store the dried flowers in an airtight container.
Take a small pinch of dried flowers per cup, pour boiling water over and allow it to steep for 3-5 minutes. Flower Power Tea can be sweetened with a tiny bit of stevia or honey if required.
Flower Power Tea Properties
Chamomile :
Chamomile is purported to heal cuts and wounds, externally and internally.
Chamomile helps with diabetes and hyperglycaemia.
It’s a natural haemorrhoid treatment.
Chamomile is an antibacterial, and helps treat bacterial-type illnesses and can prevent colds and flu, calms muscle cramps, so it's great for menstrual cramps too.
Soothes stomach aches.
Promotes sleep, so it’s a great bed-time tea.
Chamomile may reduce cancer cells.
It’s a great skin conditioner, with anti-septic and anti-inflammatory properties so it’s great for eczema, skin allergies and acne.
Calendula:
Calms muscle cramps such as abdominal spasms, menstrual cramping and constipation.
Calendula has been found to have strong anti-inflammatory properties via powerful flavonoids, thus preventing free radical damage (anti-cancer).
Heals ulcers, wounds and haemorrhoids.
Calendula is great for strengthening oral health, fighting gingivitis and tooth decay
Violets (cooling, soothing, and anti-inflammatory) and borage flowers (anti-inflammatory) are usually eaten in salads but I like to add a few to the tea for a zing of colour! There are healing properties in drinking your colours too!
When placed in a lovely bottle or paper bag, Flower Power Tea also makes a lovely gift of time, beauty, healing and of course, love.
Go on, drink your flowers!!
With Aroha, Jizzy
