By Dr. Stacie Stephenson
Gorgeous spring weather and the earliest spring herbs and flowers mark the perfect time to gather friends and family for a delightful fresh herbal tea party. While black blends may be a staple at a traditional English tea, herbal teas have a wider variety of flavors (and nutrient profiles). It can be fun to sip and compare herbal teas you may have never considered trying before.
Inviting people to share in your herbal tea tasting, with a tea party theme, can be an enjoyable social spring activity that gives you an excuse to brew up multiple pots of different herbal teas. Create a memorable and healthful experience for your loved ones, and find some new favorites for yourself. Here is your guide to planning, setting up, brewing and serving.
Planning and Setting Up the Tea Party
Your first consideration: Where will you host your tea party? Do you have room on your property, in your yard (or garden, as the English say) or on a patio? You could also host your party at a pretty park or other outdoor area. You only need space for tables, chairs for your guests, electricity for hot water and storage for appetizers.
Next, consider your decor. You could go traditional, draping tables with lace tablecloths, vintage napkins, real silverware, small plates and fancy platters. If you have a favorite set of fine china, pretty teapots or a tea service you rarely use, this is an opportunity. If you don’t own these, many thrift stores and antique shops have vintage teapots and teacups with saucers. If you don’t have a matching set, that’s OK. A variety of vintage china cups and saucers can be charming. Or go more contemporary, with sleek, minimalist linens, basic white or Asian-styled plates and cups, and plenty of fresh spring flowers in clear or brightly colored vases.
Collect five different teapots so you can brew all your teas simultaneously. You can also make these one at a time for a series of tastings.
Also, consider food pairings for your teas. Traditional English tea choices include cucumber sandwiches, smoked salmon canapes, egg salad sandwiches, and scones with clotted cream and fruit jam, or present a platter of macaroons or individual tea cakes, mini cupcakes, petit-fours or a spring-themed cake.
Why not try a healthier theme? I like choices such as rolled smoked salmon, fresh green salad, seasonal fruits with yogurt and local honey, raw almonds or walnuts, and a tray of baby vegetables with a selection of dips made with healthful ingredients like plain yogurt, hummus and minced olives.
When inviting your guests, suggest traditional tea party attire, complete with spring hats and lace gloves, or keep it casual. If any friends have herb gardens, suggest they bring along a bundle of their home-grown bounty, which you can feature as one of your teas.
Preparing the Teas
As your guests arrive, put bunches of fresh herbs in each pot while boiling water. Most garden herbs make interesting teas, even those typically used in savory dishes. You could try lavender, oregano, basil, parsley or whatever is fresh and ready in your herb garden (or from the market). Or, try any of these five teas.
For all teas, use the same brewing process: Pour boiling water over the herbs to fill the teapots. Let them steep for 10 to 20 minutes. Delicate fresh leaves only need about 10 minutes, whereas flowers and roots need closer to 20 minutes.
After steeping, pour the tea into individual cups. Serve with cream (or almond or oat milk) and honey; don’t forget spoons for stirring.
As your guests try each tea, encourage discussion. Which does each guest prefer? Which ones aren’t popular? What would guests like to make at home? Do guests have ideas for other herbs or herbal combinations? Another interesting topic of conversation (and an important feature of herbal teas) are the nutritional benefits. You might make a card to place in front of each teapot, noting the health advantages of that type of tea. Or, tell people as you serve each tea “course” what benefits they will be getting. I’ll include this information in the following list of six herbal teas to consider for your event.
Are you ready to brew some tea?
Dandelion Root Tea
Few plants characterize spring like dandelions. You may not like dandelions coming up on your lawn, but if you don’t spray them with pesticides, you can make the dandelion flowers into a delicious tea that is also healthful and full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. Pluck the flowers from the stems, rinse them well, and add to your teapot.
Tea from dandelion roots is also known for helping to cleanse the liver, so it’s perfect if you are doing a spring cleanse. Dig up the roots, clean them well, and roast them in the oven at 350 degrees until they turn golden brown, before steeping them in hot water for 20 minutes. Sip and enjoy their coffee-like flavor. (You can also use the fresh young dandelion leaves before they produce a flower as a spicy addition to your salad.)
Blue Violet Tea
Like dandelions, violets are often considered weeds in lawns, but they make a beautiful blue tea rich in vitamin C that gently helps to flush the lymphatic system and reduce puffiness. Violet tea can also relax and calm the mind, and clear the respiratory system if you are trying to shake a cough or congestion from spring allergies. To make your tea, add bunches of flowers and leaves plucked from the stems of violet plants. If you don’t spray your lawn, use the ones that pop up alongside the dandelions. Use about equal amounts of petals and leaves plucked from the stems.
Mint Tea
Mint can take over an herb garden, but the benefit is the potential for a lot of delicious mint tea! Whether you grow it in your backyard or buy a bunch of fresh mint leaves at your local market, rub a few sprigs between your palms to release their aroma and flavor before adding them to your teapot. Enjoy the refreshing, energizing flavor. Mint tea can calm an upset stomach because it contains compounds that relax the digestive tract and relieve bloating and nausea.
Rosemary Tea
Rosemary is an herb often associated with savory dishes like roasted chicken or potatoes, but it makes a subtle and enjoyable tea. Rosemary is easy to grow in the garden, and is also typically available fresh in grocery stores. Rub the spiky sprigs between your palms to release their aromatic compounds before adding to a teapot. Like most herbs, rosemary contains potent antioxidants that protect cells from oxidative stress and can help protect you from inflammation.
Cilantro Tea
Not everyone loves cilantro, but if you are one of those people who don’t think it tastes like soap, you might enjoy fresh cilantro tea. Cilantro spoils quickly, so if you’ve purchased a bunch for a recipe and didn’t use it all, tea is a good way to prevent your cilantro from going to waste. It’s also a good way to use up a big garden harvest. Gently crush a handful of sprigs before adding to a teapot. Cilantro is full of antioxidants and vitamins A, C and K, as well as the minerals potassium and manganese, and folate, an essential nutrient, so it’s a nutritional powerhouse.
Spring Green Tea
While it’s not herbal, spring green tea, called guo lu in China, comes from the tea plant’s first harvest of spring buds. It has a delicate, fresh flavor and lots of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, so while it does have a small amount of caffeine, its health benefits can protect you from inflammation and potentially ward off chronic diseases.
One final benefit of a spring tea party is the de-stressing effect and mood boost you will get from seeing friends in person after a long winter, during which many of us did not have the opportunity to socialize very often. There is a lot of research on the mental and physical health benefits of social contact, friendship and support.
However, if you are not quite up for that, I get it. You can still brew fresh herbal teas simply for your own quiet enjoyment. Try sipping your tea outdoors on a beautiful spring morning or evening, and let the warming weather and the emerging flowers and leaves lighten your mood and inspire you to turn over a new (herbal) leaf this season. drstaciestephenson.com