Nettle tea has been used for thousands of years to assist with asthmatic and skin problems, and also reduce joint problems and arthritis. Even if you are in great physical health, a glass of nettle tea can manage your hormones, calming your brain, as well as give you a boost of much needed minerals and vitamins. And the best part of all? You can easily produce it at home!
Needless to say, the first step in brewing your very own homemade mug of nettle tea is being in the position to find a nettle bush. If you do not what a nettle plant looks like, a brief google search will provide you with lots of pictures. When working with Mother Nature, always make sure you know exactly what you’re dealing with. A number of plants look quite similar but one might work well for you whilst the other may be incredibly poisonous. When in doubt, ask an expert before consuming anything.
stinging nettle tea
Once you know what you’re looking for, any woods, thickets or perhaps the side of the highway are ideal spots to find the nettle plant. It grows like a weed, since, well, it really is one! The the first rule of nettle plant harvesting is to always use gloves and long sleeves as well as use scissors, minimizing your contact with the leaves as much as possible. Nettle leaves are coated with almost undetectable hair-like stingers that leave a nasty rash on your skin. Also, make sure you gather your nettle leaves from areas not treated with herbicides or are exposed to other chemicals (for instance car exhaust right alongside a busy street).
When choosing your nettle leaves pick newer plants (around spring time) and cut off the bright green tips to take home (the leaves get bitterer with age). The nettle leaves should be washed to get rid of all dirt and insects and then they can either be dried out for future pots of tea or used right away fresh. To dry the nettle leaves, layer them over a paper towel and allow them to air dry. They could then be stored in an airtight jar for future use.
There are numerous recipes out there on-line about learning to make an excellent mug of nettle tea; even so, they are subjective as people could use different amounts of nettle leaves based on how bitter they like their tea. A standard recipe can be to take a tablespoon of dried nettles and to brew it in very hot water for not less than ten minutes. This step must be taken for the full ten minutes to be able to deactivate the stingers. Otherwise, you won’t die, however, you may get a slight stomach ache or ‘tingling’ sensation when drinking the tea (which you might get anyway, in case you have a sensitive system but this will go away as your body gathers a tolerance for the tea). The leaves can then be drained and the tea safely used.
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If you’re looking for more of a power punch from your nettle leaves, you can create a nettle infusion, which is essentially a nettle tea that has brewed a bit longer. A suggested recipe would be to take one ounce of nettle leaves then one quart of boiling water and just permit them to soak for, at least, several hours, or overnight while in the fridge. Be certain to continue to refrigerate the infusion so that it won’t spoil (in case it does, it makes an excellent fertilizer on your garden). The infusion may be warmed up to savor as an extra strong tea or poured over ice or combined with fruit juice for a cool, delicious drink.
If you love the health benefits of a mug of nettle tea, but don’t like the flavour, adding lemon, honey or simply sugar can make your cup of tea much more pleasant for you. Additionally, other herbs and plant leaves can be blended together with the nettle leaves to create your custom super tea! A popular addition for people struggling with indigestion is rosemary, which aids in the discharge of bile to help you process fats. Red raspberry leaves joined with nettle leaves can create a fantastic tonic for an pregnant woman, as both help to alleviate excessive bleeding after childbirth. Check out some marvelous combos for yourself!
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