Drying Herbs to Make Tea

As my Calendula officinalis plants on the allotment are producing so many gorgeous flowers at the moment I've decided to harvest them for drying to make tea. The recent improvement in the weather has helped with this considerably because flowers are best harvested when they are dry, ideally on a sunny day. I'm usually able to fill a bag with flowers whenever I go to up there as picking the flowers encourages the plants to produce more in their efforts to reproduce and set seed for the next generation.

On a small scale, I find the best way to dry herbs (flowers and leaves) for making tea is to lay the plant material out on paper in a cardboard box and keep the box somewhere dry but away from direct sunlight. I've been turning the Calendula flowers over from time to time to help them dry evenly, usually once or twice a day when I remember to. Gradually the petals will darken in colour and curl up, starting to fall away from the flower base as they dry out. Once the petals are completely dry I'll gather them all up and store them in a container somewhere dry and dark. Hopefully I'll have enough Calendula tea to be able to give some away as Christmas presents.

Calendula is an anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal herb and can be used externally (as a lotion, poultice or balm) to treat skin infection or injury, or internally. Drunk as a tea it helps with indigestion and menstrual problems and it has a lymphatic action which can help clear up skin problems. The tea is simply made by pouring just-boiled water onto one or two teaspoons of flowers and infusing for ten minutes or so. The infusion takes on a delicate, sunshine colour which is very warming and brightening when made from dried flowers in the darkness of winter.

I've also been harvesting peppermint for drying. Before the plants start to show signs of flowering I cut them back to the base and lay out the stems in boxes as with the Calendula above. As the leaves dry out they become crumbly and come away from the stems easily, ready to store for winter use when completely dry. The mint plants will carry on growing and should give me another crop or two before the cold weather comes.