Hey, quick question for you herbal apothecarists: could you walk me through the best method of picking, preparing & using dandelion for consumption in tea? And are one's "garden variety" dandelions in one's yard an appropriate source? I have a field guide for identifying this and many other useful herbs, but it's thin on preparation instructions & preservative advice. :/ Any pointers greatly appreciated!
Could someone school me about dandelion tea?
- Thread starter tinywife
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It's simplicity itself! Harvest clean leaves, rinse them (dust, bird poop, etc) and (if you want) dry them for storage. No reason to not use fresh for tea, though, in season. Chop up enough leaf to make about a tablespoon of chopped plant material, and put in a tea ball. Add boiling water and steep. Add honey to taste (it's bitter)
OR, dig the roots, scrub and dry. (if the root is thick, split it- like cutting a carrot in half lengthwise). Chop pieces of root- about 1/4-1/2" thick. Put in a stainless steel or glass pot (never use aluminum for preparing medicine!), cover with water, put a lid on the pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes. This makes a "decoction"- and is necessary to get the medicine out of the root.
You might want to look for the book called Handmade Medicines, by Christopher Hobbs. It's out of print, and for awhile the prices on Amazon were insane- up to $100 for a used copy (and it's a small book!). However, supplies seem to have loosened up (funny how supply and demand works!) and the price was down to reasonable levels the last I looked.
It's a great basic resource, and even has alcohol/water ratios for many herbs... not all of them should be tinctured at 100 proof, or 160 proof....
Summerthyme
OR, dig the roots, scrub and dry. (if the root is thick, split it- like cutting a carrot in half lengthwise). Chop pieces of root- about 1/4-1/2" thick. Put in a stainless steel or glass pot (never use aluminum for preparing medicine!), cover with water, put a lid on the pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes. This makes a "decoction"- and is necessary to get the medicine out of the root.
You might want to look for the book called Handmade Medicines, by Christopher Hobbs. It's out of print, and for awhile the prices on Amazon were insane- up to $100 for a used copy (and it's a small book!). However, supplies seem to have loosened up (funny how supply and demand works!) and the price was down to reasonable levels the last I looked.
It's a great basic resource, and even has alcohol/water ratios for many herbs... not all of them should be tinctured at 100 proof, or 160 proof....
Summerthyme
Summerthyme's instructions are great. If you are using the dandelion roots as a coffee sub then you can roast them first prior to storage or right before use. I am not a coffee drinker but I know a lot of people that do this and then use the chopped, roasted roots and mix it with real coffee.
This site has great pics so that may help as well:
http://rosesprodigalgarden.org/articles/how to make roasted dandelion coffee.html
This site has great pics so that may help as well:
http://rosesprodigalgarden.org/articles/how to make roasted dandelion coffee.html