Herbal tea from your own garden.

The six teas

• Fresh mint tea

  A handful of garden mint, hot water, optional honey.

  Brew: Tear 10–15 fresh mint leaves into a mug, cover with 8oz boiling water, steep covered 5 minutes. Sweeten if you like.

  Grow: Mint is the easiest perennial herb. Plant in a pot — it spreads aggressively in beds.

• Lemon balm calming tea

  Gentle and citrusy — nice after dinner.

  Brew: 1 tbsp fresh chopped leaves (or 1 tsp dried) per cup. Steep covered 7 minutes. Strain.

  Grow: Perennial, semi-shade tolerant, looks like mint but tastes citrusy. Cut hard before flowering for best leaves.

• Chamomile bedtime tea

  Dried or fresh flowers steeped for 5 minutes.

  Brew: 2 tbsp fresh flowers (or 1 tbsp dried) per cup. Cover boiling water for 5 minutes — covering keeps the volatile oils in.

  Grow: Annual; sow in spring, pick flower heads daily for a continuous harvest. Self-seeds for next year.

• Ginger-lemon immune tea

  Fresh ginger and lemon — warming on cold weeks.

  Brew: Slice 1" fresh ginger, simmer (don't boil) in 2 cups water for 10 minutes. Off heat, add juice of ½ lemon and 1 tsp honey.

  Grow: Ginger grows in pots indoors or outdoors in zones 9+. Plant a knob from the grocery store with a visible bud.

• Rose hip vitamin-C tea

  Dried rose hips, simmered. Tart, ruby-colored.

  Brew: 2 tbsp dried, deseeded rose hips per cup. Simmer 15 minutes, strain through a fine cloth (the hairs irritate).

  Grow: Let your rose bushes set hips in fall instead of deadheading. Pick after the first frost — they sweeten.

• Holy basil (tulsi) tea

  Earthy and slightly peppery, plain or with honey.

  Brew: 1 tbsp fresh leaves (or 1 tsp dried) per cup. Steep covered 6 minutes. Pairs well with a slice of fresh ginger.

  Grow: Tender annual outside zones 10+. Start indoors 6 weeks before last frost. Pinch flowers to extend leaf production.

Drying herbs for winter tea

Most of these herbs hit their peak right before they flower. Cut stems in the morning after the dew dries but before the sun's full strength bakes off the oils. Tie into small bundles (no more than a finger-thick) with string and hang upside down in a warm, dark, airy room — a closet, a pantry, the back of an attic.

They're ready when the leaves crumble easily between your fingers (usually 1–2 weeks). Strip from stems, store in glass jars away from light, and label with the date. Properly dried herbs keep their potency for about a year — after that they're still safe but the flavor fades.

Steeping rules of thumb

• • Leaves & flowers — pour boiling water over, cover, steep 5–7 minutes. Covering keeps the aromatic oils in the cup instead of in the air.
• • Roots, bark, berries — simmer, don't pour. 10–15 minutes in a covered pot, just barely bubbling.
• • Mixed blends — simmer the roots first, then turn off heat and add the leaves/flowers for the last 5 minutes.
• • Sweetener — honey after steeping, not during. Boiling honey kills the enzymes worth keeping.

A note on safety

Mild culinary herbs (mint, lemon balm, chamomile, tulsi) are generally safe for the whole family in normal tea amounts. A few common-sense exceptions: skip chamomile if anyone in the house has a ragweed allergy; check with a doctor before drinking herbal teas during pregnancy or if you're on blood thinners or thyroid medication; don't give honey to babies under 12 months. When in doubt, stick to peppermint.