Allergy season is picking up here in the NorthWest. Every one of us is sniffling. Prior to this year, I was the only sufferer. It is a bummer that the rest of the family is now affected.
I am serving each of us 2 cups per day of nettle-mint tea. I mix the dried nettle leaves with equal parts dried peppermint leaves, so it tastes refreshing.
When fresh, the leaves and stems are covered with sharp, tiny hairs that poke the skin and release rash-causing and stinging compounds, resulting in a burning rash that can last for up to 24 hours. B. ran into stinging nettles when she was about 4 years old. It was painful, but thankfully didn’t last long.
I read once that Roman soldiers, in the cold, would rub their legs and hands with the fresh leaves. The resulting rash would burn and warm them.
Nettles grow all over the country. I have a friend who goes with her family to a place they know of to harvest enough to last them for a year. They dry them out and then run their hands over the stem to break off the leaves, which are then used for tea.
When dried, nettles lose their sting. Nettle leaf suppresses the immune response. I feel clear for several hours after drinking my strong brew. This website says nettles are also high in iron and therefore good for the treatment of anemia. That’s a nice surprise.
Nettle-Mint Tea for Allergies
My brew is strong because that is how we like it. Adjust to match your tastes. I make this batch in my Bodum 12-cup French press. Use a teapot if you like; strain out the leaves with a tea strainer.
Put herbs in bottom of French press. Pour boiling water over. Cover. Do not press down. Let steep 10 to 15 minutes. Press. Pour into cups and sweeten, if desired.
Store leftover tea in the refrigerator. Consume within 24 hours by reheating or drinking iced. Don’t store it in the French press or it will become bitter.
Iced Tea Variation: Put double the amount of herbs in the French press (2 cups total). Pour boiling, pure water over all of it. Fill a separate pitcher with 2 trays’ worth of ice cubes. After the tea has steeped for about 15 minutes, pour it into the pitcher. Put in the refrigerator to finish chilling or serve over ice immediately. Sweeten to taste.
Nettle-Mint Tea for Allergies
My brew is strong because that is how we like it. Adjust to match your tastes. I make this batch in my Bodum 12-cup French press. Use a teapot if you like; strain out the leaves with a tea strainer.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup dried organic nettle leaves *
- 1/4 cup dried organic peppermint or spearmint leaves*
- pure water to cover, boiling
- raw honey or xylitol (optional, for sweetening)
Instructions
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Put herbs in bottom of French press.
-
Pour boiling water over.
-
Cover.
-
Do not press down.
-
Let steep 10 to 15 minutes.
-
Press.
-
Pour into cups and sweeten, if desired.
-
Store leftover tea in the refrigerator.
-
Consume within 24 hours by reheating or drinking iced.
-
Don't store it in the French press or it will become bitter.
Recipe Notes
Iced Tea Variation
Put double the amount of herbs in the French press (2 cups total). Pour boiling, pure water over all of it. Fill a separate pitcher with 2 trays' worth of ice cubes. After the tea has steeped for about 15 minutes, pour it into the pitcher. Put in the refrigerator to finish chilling or serve over ice immediately. Sweeten to taste.
*Or use 1/2 cup nettle leaves and 1/2 cup mint leaves, depending on your taste.
© Copyright 2007 by Wardee Harmon
image courtesy of lifeinitaly.com
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I drink http://www.teacuppa.com green tea with peppermint! i love the cooling effect it makes.
Hi, Sue. It is nice to meet another mint lover!
I am learning to enjoy many new teas I would have never imagined I’d be drinking years ago. I will have to remember this one as each trip, out into the yard this month and late last, I have been overcome by sneezing attacks and itchy watery eyes.
Oh Wardee!! I am really not one to be envious usually. But, those FERNS! Oh my! I wanted to walk though the screen to sit among them. They are so beautiful. Do they die back in the winter?
I hope you are doing well today. I have been tired this week, usual monthly tiredness. But, I have been trying to get in lonnnng walks and yardwork anyway because I always feel better afterwards. 😀
Have a good rest of your Thursday!
P.S. Do you have plans to teach any language with your girls? If so, which one? 🙂
Hi, Robin! The nettle tea does not work perfectly; we do still have symptoms. In the deep, deep allergy season I haven’t found the perfect natural remedy yet. I’m working on it though.
The ferns don’t completely die back in the winter. Since the winters are more mild, they are able to stay green and keep growing. But in the spring, they reseed and start new plants and that is a wonderful thing to behold. I wish you could have come through the screen into our forest.
I hope you feel better soon and enjoy your Friday!
P.S. Language… I don’t know. Perhaps just Latin and Greek roots.
Hi Wardee;
I am a tea drinker and I am trying to find a recipe to mimic TAZO Zen which is a Green Tea with Spearmint. Would you or any of your collaborators happen to have a recipe or a good starting point of amounts for me to blend? I realize I will have to tweak it to my taste but I’m not even sure of how much or little of each to begin with.
I know to look for Organic, Fair Trade and aim for tea grown in lower Fluoride regions.
Thanks so much,
Margaret
If it suppresses the immune response then does this have implications for Covid?
Hi, John.
We cannot speak to any implications for COVID. I recommend reaching out to your natural doctor to discuss with them.
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team