Strawberry Leaf Tea

From: [link to www.strawberry-recipes.com]


Drink Strawberry Leaf Tea For A Pleasant Surprise

When thinking of Strawberry Leaf Tea, I always remember cozy winter evenings, sitting in the warmly scented kitchen, watching the snow fall and clinging to a steaming hot cup of tea that brings back your spirits after a cold day outside.

Off course you can drink the brew hot, iced, or, even frozen into popsicles for youngsters seeking a treat. If sweetened with honey instead of sugar, you don't even have to feel guilty, but enjoy the added health benefits of the honey.

Strawberry tea tastes almost as delicious as the berry itself, with a mild and fruity flavor. The infusion offers many health benefits and is widely available in winter time, when the fresh fruit is long gone.

Actually it's not correct to call this drink herbal tea, since it's not made from the leaf of the tea plant. Instead the correct name would be herbal infusion, tisane or simply herbal.


Health Benefits of Strawberry Leaves
Plenty of trace minerals, iron in abundance as well as one of the highest naturally occurring sources of vitamin C, should be more than enough reasons to drink strawberry infusions.

But it becomes even better: due to the high contents of calcium it boosts milk production and therefore is especially beneficial to pregnant and nursing women and to young children.

Strawberry leaf tea has been used to treat a multitude of symptoms from eczema to stomach issues. The tannins in the leaves are a gentle remedy for diarrhea.

Just one word of caution: Avoid if you're allergic to strawberries!

If you want to enjoy the health benefits and the matchless flavor of strawberry herbal, you have three options:

Make your own herbs
Definitely the most time-consuming, but also the most rewarding way :-)

Harvest young leaves, in good condition, throughout the spring and summer, but particularly during blossoming for the finest flavor. Always be careful to use only sane leaves. Blight or spots found on strawberry leaf, can be a sign of a pernicious form of mold or fungus. To stay on the safe side, use only immaculate leaves.

You can harvest from either wild strawberries (if you're lucky enough to live where these plants still exist in our modern world) or domestic plants. Just make sure, no chemicals including fertilizers, herbicides, or insecticides have been used during the growth of the plant, because residues can still be present in the plant and then in your tisane...

Use the leaves for tea either fresh or completely dry. Strawberry leaves experience a toxic chemical change while drying that makes them poisonous when partially dry or wilted. This is not lethal but will cause uncomfortable nausea and vomiting. No need to worry though when the leaf is entirely dry or fresh but not between the two.

Drop a handful of fresh or dried herb into a warmed teapot and pour boiling water over to fill. Steep for about five minutes. Sweeten with honey if needed. Always take good care not to crush the dried herb as the flavor is much finer from the intact leaf.