Monday 1 July 2013

tea time

A few weeks ago I cut some bunches of herbs and hung them up to dry in the toolshed.


Now they look like this.


Today I stripped the leaves off the stalks.


There's mint...


..and lemon balm.


I chopped them together...


..and made a caddy full of tea and a cup to try.

We have a Food Festival at work in September, so I'm trying to work up an idea for an activity based around drying herbs and making tea.  Whatever I do has to be interactive, robustly low tech and highly repeatable, (26,000 visitors over 2 days last year). I want something that kids, (and grown ups), can get their hands in for a bit of sensory experience. Maybe we can make tea bags to take home if I get some of those 'fill your own' ones. Hmmm - I feel a meeting with Miss Sian coming on...

Inspired by the success of this morning's batch of tea,
I went out and picked another wheelbarrow full of mint and lemon balm,
 and a basket of elderflowers.


They're all spread out to dry now - the shed smells like heaven.


Apparently if you drink tea made from lemon balm, you'll live to be 100.
(not sure when you have to start though....)

4 comments:

  1. as luke said to lorelai on gilmore girls:
    'I'm all in'

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  2. I used to grow loads of lemon balm when I lived in Scotland and drink it like you for tea. I so miss it. Certainly need to pick up a pot of herb and start again. I have thyme, sage, rosemary - but not lemon balm.

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    Replies
    1. I think the mint and lemon balm are a really good combo. Also cutting it back regularly helps to stop it self seeding EVERYWHERE!

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