The Summer Solstice is this Thursday, June 20th. While we are skipping the traditional Summer solstice bonfire celebration here in Northern California (where we are of course concerned about wild fires) there are many Summer solstice traditions we embrace on this longest day of the year … include welcoming the sunrise and basking in the morning sun, welcoming the day with sun salutations, creating sun catchers and flower crowns - and our favorite - capturing the power of the longest day of the year with a garden grown sun tea.
Tea plants are some of the most fragrant plants in the garden! Many plants provide the classic flavors we love in a cup of tea. If you like a citrus blend, try: Lemon grass, lemon verbena or ‘Lemon Meringue’ scented geranium. A classic mint tea is derived from mints, which should be planted in a container and not let loose unless you want an entire garden filled with mint! Other plants that give a minty flavor include Calamint (the non-invasive cousin to mint), Yerba Buena and bee balm. The Earl Grey flavor is found with Lemon bergamot and a refreshing licorice flavor from Anise hyssop. A floral tea blend would not be complete without chamomile, rose or lavender.
Please note that before you start brewing plants in your garden (or eating them for that matter) make sure that you are following organic gardening principles and not applying pesticides to your plants —after all, you don’t want harsh chemical pesticides and fertilizers to end up in your tea.
The world of tea plants is quite vast, but if I had to chose five favorites to get started with, it would have to be these:
Lemon Verbena (Aloysia triphylla)
in the Garden: While it’s an annual in some zones, it’s certainly worth it to grow it, and it’s relatively easy and adaptable. We grow it about the same way we would grow a rose bush, but generally with less water.
Harvest tips: It gets rangy if it’s not pinched back regularly, so the more frequently you harvest, the better. Utilize the foliage in your tea blends for a wonderful citrus brew.
Brew: Perhaps one of our favorite and one of the most universally adored tea garden plants, it’s serves as the basis for many of our tea blends. If you’re only going to grow one plant for tea, this is it! You can’t make it bitter by steeping it for too long, and you can even just add it to room-temperature water and drink it all day long. It’s foolproof.
Tulsi Basil (Ocimum tenuifolium)
in the Garden: Rama, Vishnu, Krishna varieties, are all named after Hindu gods, and all are good options for your garden (but we do like Rama for its versatility). Tulsi basil cannot get enough heat and thrives in full sun and adequate water. In most growing zones , tulsi should not be planted until June. It’s a beautiful addition to an herb or cut flower garden, so plant it widely throughout your space.
Harvest tips: Tulsi needs ample heat for leaf growth, so harvest begins mid summer, and should continue throughout the heat of summer for the best medicinal quality.
Brew: A true superfood of the herb world, we incorporate Tulsi basil into our tea blends to settle the mood, regulate the central nervous system, reduce stress, and alleviate fatigue.
Chamomile (Matricaria recutita)
in the Garden: The annual German variety is at home in both the cut flower and herb garden alike. While the perennial Roman variety is a shade-loving ground cover found in the landscape. Both chamomile varieties are known for their beloved flavor and can be used for tea. Please note that you should not harvest the ground cover Roman variety for consumption if it is planted where that plant interacts with your pets and/or your shoes in terms of food safety.
Harvest tips: Pick both flowers and foliage for tea blends.
Brew: Fresh garden grown chamomile is a lot stronger than what you buy in a tea bag. Start your first brew with 5-8 flowers with some foliage, odds are that this will be enough to help you relax and fall asleep.
Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum, Agastache sp.)
in the Garden: Anise hyssop is a fantastic plant for a dry garden - but it is a rare dry plant in that it can also happily handle lots of water. Anise hyssop is constantly covered in hummingbirds, little finches, and bees; the pollinators can’t get enough of this plant! And the plant’s flowering stems are sturdy enough to hold up to the constant visits from little finches who perch on agastache and consume their flowers and seeds! A must for every garden.
Harvest tips: Use every part of the plant, including flowers, stem, and foliage. You can even save the seeds! It dries beautifully and holds up well in a tea/culinary wreath.
Brew: Don’t let its licorice moniker scare you; it’s really just a delicate hue of licorice, more anise than black licorice. Anise hyssop can act as a delicious sweetener in your tea blend, without being overly sweet. We make a thirst-quenching Anise hyssop ice tea in the summer, brewing it in a French press to ensure that we capture all of the oils. In colder months and allergy season, we drink Anise hyssop hot to soothe throats and suppress coughs.
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
in the Garden: Rosemary holds a special place in our hearts, as it is the fragrance of our Northen California gardens. It’s not a plant people generally associate with tea, as it grows so abundantly that we sometimes delegate it to weed status. We’d like to challenge that notion, because it’s delicious and beneficial!
Harvest tips: Where perennial, harvest throughout the year for fresh teas. Cut back where it is grown annually in the fall before the first frost and preserve for future blends.
Brew: Rosemary is the herb of remembrance, and during the wintertime we carve out time for quiet, introspective moments to sip a cup of rosemary tea while looking back at the past year. With some lemon, it’s a hydrating digestive tea. In a time before Tums, people relied on rosemary tea to break down heavy meals.
How to make Sun Tea
Sun tea takes an entire day to brew, so get started early.
1. Harvest tea plants in the morning, including stems, foliage, and flowers. You can’t really go wrong with sun tea but you can keep herbal flavors in mind (floral, minty, fruity) while choosing which plants to brew with. A tea made up with primarily one plant will obviously taste more like it - so pick and mix liberally as you discover which flavor combination you prefer.
2. Before adding the plant to the container, gently wash off any dirt or bugs, immerse your herb cuttings in a bowl of water and gently brush off any unwanted debris.
3. Fill a large glass jar with your tea ingredients, then add room temperature water to the brim, and cover with a lid or cloth.
4. Place your sun tea outside in a sunny spot for 8 hours.
5. At the end of the day (or when you can wait no longer), strain the tea through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher and then pour into ice-filled glasses or refrigerate to chill for later use. Garnish your glass with additional tea plant leaves or edible flower petals.
Upcoming Events
June 22 Monkeypod Jam/ Cooking Kauai, Poipu, Kauai. The Fragrant Flower Garden Workshops
June 27 Mrs. Dalloway’s Literary and Garden Arts, Berkeley, Ca. Sowing Fragrance: Exploring The Fragrant & Medicinal Garden with Penny Barthel, author of The Cannabis Gardener (Ten Speed Press)
July 13 Morningsun Herb Farm - Vacaville, Ca. Garden Ice cream from the Fragrant Garden
July 20 Flowerland Nursery - Albany, Ca. The Fragrant Flower Garden Talk & Book Signing
July 27 Morningsun Herb Farm - Vacaville, Ca. A Celebration of the Summer Garden: How to Design, Grow, Arrange & Enjoy the Fruits and Flowers of the Summer Garden.
However you celebrate, I wish you all a Happy Solstice and hope to see you all at some of these events. Later this week I will be in Kauai for some special book events with Aletha Thomas of Cooking Kauai. I am excited to return to the island I once called home and continue my pursuit of the perfect mai tai. I’ll write to you all again soon with more garden tips and recipes!
- Stefani
Excited to make sun tea this week! The sun is finally coming out in Seattle and it will be a perfect time to play with flavors.