You know that marjoram is good against anxiety, that lavender brings serenity, that Mint is invigorating and stimulating, in short you know all the plants that are useful for overcoming insomnia problems or getting back to work. But in fact, how to prepare a herbal tea in the rules of the art? Follow the guide !
Fresh or dry plants?
Contrary to what one might think, the active ingredients are often more easily extracted from dried plants. But fresh plants just picked often give tastier herbal teas …
Infusion or decoction?
These are two different preparations.
• The infusion is made by boiling water in a saucepan, which is then poured over the plants, off the heat. Leave to infuse for 5 to 10 minutes, covered (to limit the vapor dispersion of essential oils), before filtering and drinking. This method of preparation is particularly suitable for flowers and leaves (verbena, orange blossom, mint, etc.).
• The decoction should be preferred when it comes to extracting the active ingredients from more fibrous plant parts, where water has difficulty in penetrating: roots, bark, woody stem, seeds or berries (cinnamon, angelica, rosemary , fennel, etc.).
The plant is then placed in cold water in the saucepan, then the mixture of water and plants is brought to a boil and simmered at low broth for a few minutes. The “cooking” time varies according to the species (between 1 and 15 minutes). Better to respect it because some plants lose their virtues if they are heated too long. Then, you can filter and serve or still leave to infuse off the heat, depending on the recipes.
Boiling water or not?
It is above all a question of health security. “Tap water heats up to around 60 ° C, explains Prof. Kurt Hostettmann, professor of pharmacy and author of Pain relief plants. However, below 80 ° C, there are very often bacteria lying around and which have not been destroyed. By putting the plant in contact with boiling water, we can be sure, for example, that a salmonella will not resist. “
Tap or bottled water?
Since water is boiled, there is no problem with taking that from the tap. Even if it is very hard, a good part of the limestone will remain in the pan.
Mineral water or spring water?
If we opt for bottled water, it is better to choose spring water, weakly mineralized.
Refrigerator or thermos?
It is possible to prepare a fairly large quantity of herbal tea at once and store it for 24 hours in a thermos bottle, or even up to 48 hours in the fridge. It all depends on the use you intend to make of it. On the other hand, for those who prefer their sweet herbal tea, it is better to wait until the last moment for him. add some honey.
Read also :
The guide to healthy herbal teas
SOS form: 6 herbal teas to prepare yourself this weekend
