Herb Class May 6th

My goodness we looked at a lot of different herbs during this class. We did not take photos but I have some I took before and after class that will help you to remember most of the plants we saw this May. I have also noticed that those of you receiving this blog by email are still getting the words rearranged and the photos are out of place. You might come direct to the blogsite to read these blogs so you get the original typeset.

Echinacea tincture in bottles

We started class by filtering our Echinacea purpurea tincture and everyone got to take some home with them. We also pressed out our vinegar extract started from the prior class and added dried ginger and nettle to it.

As soon as we were done with our inside fun, we moved outside to enjoy the sunshine and look at herbs. 

Herb Walk

Celandine flower

 We looked at Greater Celandine - Chelidonium majus which was in flower. We examined the bushy plant and noted that when you break the stem an orange colored sap oozes out. This sap has escharotic activity. This means it eats away at tissue. It is used to eat away warts. This plant is in the same family as Bloodroot that we saw last week and the Opium poppy. That family is Papaveraceae. Although it has been used historically for liver disease, we discussed the cases of cholestatic hepatitis that has taken place with this plant and the possibility that it might be more of a choleretic than cholagogue which might cause  a problem for folks if they don’t use an additional cholagogue with it. However, it is best for folks who are not a skilled practitioner to simply not use this plant internally. This plant is also an ingredient in the injectable cancer medicine called Ukraine.

Angelica archangelica spring

We collected quite a few roots. We dug up some Angelica archangelica, Geranium root, Poke root and Yerba mansa root. We also collected some Plantain.  We took our roots inside and cleaned them.

Angelica early summer

The Angelica archangelica, Geranium maculatum and Yerba mansa are all drying as well as the plantain.

Angelica - Angelica archangelica is a wonderful carminative that not only helps with gas but is also useful as an antimicrobial and antispasmodic in food poisoning formulas. It also makes a pleasant addition to cough formulas as an expectorant and antimicrobial.

Geranium late spring

Geranium - Geranium maculatum is a strong astringent. I know you all know what astringents do in detail and won’t go over that again. This is one of my favorite astringents although there are so many at our beck and call.

Yerba mansa - late spring

Yerba mansa - Anemopsis californica is so darn good smelling. I just can’t get enough of the smell of those roots.  Another astrinent but also anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal and a diuretic. It is wonderful in sore throat formulas of both viral and bacterial nature.

Plantago lanceolata

Plantain - Plantago laceolata and major is such a fantastic herb. It is healing to the skin and mucous membranes. It is my favorite herb to use as a healing spit poultice. I put it in healing salves and use it internally any time I want to heal up an irritated mouth, throat or gut. It is also soothing to the urinary tract. It is an all around wonderful vulnerary. It will decrease inflammation and has some direct antibacterial action.

Poke - spring

The Poke root - Phytolacca decandra (americana) went into olive oil to make a Poke oil and the other roots are drying on drying racks. There are photos of them drying at the end of this blog. The Plantain is also drying and will be used as part of a healing salve that we will make in another month or two. As always, we tasted the roots to get better aquainted with the plants.

Poke in oil heating slowly

Poke oil filtering

We discussed that Poke is a low dose botanical and can be toxic so only trained professionals should use this plant. Poke root oil is used externally for mastitis and over enlarged lymph nodes. The root is also used internally in small doses as a lymphogogue. Practitioners use it as a lymphagogue in cancer protocols as well as for acute and subacute infectious conditions with lymphatic stagnation and enlarged lymph nodes. We discussed specific situations it is used in such as strep throat. Poke is specific for hard enlarged lymph nodes.

We took another look at Bloodroot to see what it looks like as it is growing. 

Goldenseal flower

Goldenseal - Hydrastis canadensis was also up. It is growing in the same bed as the bloodroot as they both like to grow in 75% shade. The Goldenseal was starting to bloom. Goldenseal is bitter,  astringent, antimicrobial, laxative, styptic and adrenolytic. It contains berberine which is the same constituent we talked about for way too long when we looked at Oregon Grape.

Cramp bark flowering

The Cramp Bark - Viburnum opulus 

Cramp bark bush

was blooming. The bark of this large bush is a wonderful nervine. It is a very strong antispasmodic. Although best known for use in menstrual cramps, it is useful for all manner of spams be they of skeletal muscle tissue or smooth muscle fibers. This means it helps with stones causing gall bladder spasms and ureter spasms as well as spastic muscles when you tweak your back.  It relaxes the muscles in your arteries thereby lowering blood pressure and yes it does relax the uterus when it is spastic so it has been used in menstrual cramps and threatened miscarriage due to spasms and premature contractions. After labor its ability to act as an astringent helps restore normal tone and prevent uterine prolapse. I think the plant is under utilized. It’s fruits are antioxidant and high in vitamin C and flavonoids. They have also been shown to have gastrodudodenal protective effects. The berries have been shown to increase super oxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase.

Wild ginger flower

I just love seeing the Wild Ginger - Asarum caudatum blooming. It is gorgeous. I pointed it out to everyone as it is one flower you just do not want to miss. I warned folks that the roots contain aristolochic acid and so it should never be used except in very small amounts if at all. It does have a ginger taste to it and many have used it for its flavor as well as its medicinal effects but due to it having the possible side effect of damaging your kidneys, I suggest folks just admire its beauty.

back of leaf on Cascara

front of leaf on Cas

We examined the Cascara - Rhamnus purshiana by the creek. We discussed the use of Cascara bark the week before but did mention once again that it is a strong purgative laxative and should be dried and aged one year before using.

Istatis tinctoria

The Isatis tinctoria was blooming. This herb is used in Chinese medicine a lot. It seems to be their go to herb for both viral and bacterial sore throats and other infections of a contagious nature according to Michael and Lesley Tierra. If you are interested in Chinese herbal medicine I suggest you get their book called Chinese Traditional Herbal Medicine Volume II – Materia Medica and Herbal Resource. Both the leaf parts as well as the roots are used. I have not tried this plant myself yet but intend too soon. You can get their book directly from them at their website here.

Sterile horsetail shoot

Horsetail - Equisetum arvense was at the perfect stage for harvesting. I missed getting it this year. Darn! It is a great source of soluble silica, but you have to get the sterile shoots before they get very big. They should look like they do in this photo. Don’t bother harvesting them when they are bigger as the silica will not be soluble and useful any more. This soluble silica is helpful for growth of bones, cartilage, hair, nails, and skin.  Horsetail is also a diuretic and astringent and is used sometimes in urinary tract problems where there is passive bleeding such as gravel or inflammatory bacterial infections. Don’t take too much horsetail without taking vitamin b1 (thiamine) as it contains thiaminase and can deplete thiamine when used long term.

Caraway in bloom

Caraway - Carum carvi was also blooming. This spicy and aromatic seed is used as a carminative, antispasmodic and galactagogue.

Blueberries

Blueberry/Bilberry/Huckleberry - Vaccinium spp.

We looked at the blueberries. (Remind me I need to show you the huckleberries next class.) These plants, especially the berries are high in anthocyanins. Anthocyanins have more research on them than you can shake a stick at. Basically they are strong antioxidants and perform a great job stabilizing collagen, and maintaining elastin. This supports connective tissue which is found all through-out our body as the most abundant tissue in our bodies.

The leaves are high in chlorogenic acid. Plants with clorogenic acid  seem to be all the rage as a diet aid nowadays.

So, you won't be surprised to find out this group of plants has a wide range of uses. The leaves have a history of being used as a hypoglycemic and recently there has been research showing the berries may also be hypoglycemic. This sheds light on why so many diabetics have reported being able to eat them. They do contain sugar so I always warn diabetics to be cautious if they try eating them. Research does show that a diet rich in blueberries decreases the chance of both cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The berries are used for hyperlipidemia, protection from vascular damage, easy bruising, enhancement of cognitive abilities, hypertension, neurodegeneration, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity and the list just goes on and on. The leaves are astringent and as such can cause gastrointestinal irritation if ingested in excess. This is similar to black tea which is also astringent.

If you grow your own blueberries or you pick at a local organic farm, you can preserve them by either drying or freezing the berries. Both methods will maintain the anthocyanin content. This way you can eat these tasty treats all winter long!

I also have some photos of various things drying. Here they are:

Yerba mansa before cutting it up.

Yerba mansa on top and geranium on bottom

Geranium roots prior to cutting up

Plantain drying

It has been so long since class that I probably forgot some of the things we looked at. I know we discussed Osha but I did not take any photos and we saw quite a few additional things at the creek. Sorry, I did not get them all posted here. Wait until you see how much we have to look at next class. All the plants are delighting in the rain and warm weather and growing… well like weeds.

See you all soon. Take good notes at our summer classes and bring your camera as I will not be posting notes much the rest of the summer.

Communicating With Plants

The first time I take a new herb class on an herb walk, I like to remind them that we have many ways to learn about plants. The botanical dissection and visual observation of plants is the usual method people  use to categorize the plant. (Botanists are starting to use genetic material to categorize them.) Then there is commonly agreed upon material that one can get from lecture or books that tells us who that plant is to the human being. However, there are more intimate ways to get to know the true nature of our plant allies.

We can gain information from them by sensual methods using the senses of sight, tactile sensation, olfactory blissitudes, gustatory delights or by supersensory methods such as gut insights, heart knowing, instant knowledge, inner hearing, and plant angels/fairies to name a few.

The sensual methods:

Sight: Colors and shapes of the plant, where the plant chooses to grow in the environment are all visual cues that give us information about a plant. The location of flowers as well as size of flowers can tell us information about the plant. When they open their flowers is another message. The thickness or thinness of their leaves gives insight into their activities...

Tactile: Roughness, prickles, smoothness, velvetiness, mositure content, toughness or tenderness can all give you insight into the plant you are getting to know.

Olfactory: Your nose can lead you on remarkable plant journeys. There are scents that tantalize and cause euphoria as well as scents that smell nasty and nauseating. All scents are odiferous clues to the personality and activity of the plant. Scents will cause a reaction in your body. Pay attention to this as it is important information.

Taste: This can run from yummy to making you vomit. Tastes usually fall into categories of, sweet, sour, bitter, salty, acrid, pungent and astringent.

Supersensory methods:

To use supersensory methods be in the now:

Naturally
Open to
Wonderment

When getting to know your supersensory self there are times when you will question the information you are getting. If there is question in your heart, be careful. Always be careful with plants you don’t know.  Some poisonous plants will try to lure you into their  poisonous world and tasting them can be the death of you. Always make sure you know edibility of a plant before eating.

Gut insights: Sometimes you get gut feelings about things. You can get these about plants also. Learn to trust them, they are usually true.  When a plant is dangerous for you to ingest, you will often notice a gut insight. Do not ignore it.

Heart Knowing: This is a type of wisdom that is heart based. Think of the times you have said to your self or someone else, “I know in my heart this is true.” Your heart does not mislead you. It is our heart that guides us best. It is our heart where love resides. Love is the greatest power and is that which connects us deeply to the plants and the planet.

Instant knowledge: This type of knowing is like a computer download into your mind. Suddenly spirit gives you this tremendous amount of information. It may seem to come directly from the plants, the plant angels or Spirit. Remember, Spirit has an infinite number of messengers and speaks in mysterious ways.

Inner hearing: This type of hearing is not usually one of directly hearing voices. It is as if you heard a voice but actually just got the message. If you are walking around your house and suddenly out of the blue, remember you forgot to water your house plants, listen closely. You will usually find they are screaming at you in their own non-oral way. It is somewhere between a feeling and an audible experience. The out-door plants will also communicate with you. They have stories to tell. They will take you places that their genetic material springs from. They will let you know about their personalities, their needs. I don’t always know if it is them, plant angels or spirit coming through but it does not really matter since ultimately it is all spirit.

Dreaming: The plants will visit you in your dreams, meditations and prayers if you ask them to. Invite them to visit. 

Petting Plants: Besides talking to plants, signing to them, inviting them into your dreams, you can also pet plants. Some plants love to be petted. When you pet them, pet their energy field radiating around them, not them physically. Most of them like this and some love it.  If you can not see the energy field around them, simply pet the air within about one - two inches away from their leaves. Get close to touching them, but don’t quite physically contact them. You will notice them perk up and some may lift their leaves upward. On some plants such as boston ferns it is quire noticeable. Their fronds lift upward into the air in delight.

Marshmallow Flowers As a Medicine

I have used the root of marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) for about 25 years as a medicine. A few years ago I started experimenting with the flowers which have a slight mucilaginous characteristic to them. They are not super mucilaginous like the root is but still they seemed promising. I made a guess that they would have some anti-inflammatory and vulnerary (wound healing) ability and tried using them on wounds which proved to be beneficial.

 
I was happy to see this recent research article from Lebonon that examined a tea of marshmallow flower in relation to its effect on lipemia, gastric ulcers, inflammation and platelet aggregation(platelets are involved in blood clotting). The abstract can be viewed here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21281251

What the research found was the following: Marshmallow flowers increase serum HDL (what is called the good cholesterol), they have significant anti-inflammatory acitivity (acute and chronic inflammation) and decrease the growth of gastric ulcers. Additionally there was inhibition of platelet aggregation.

They also examined their effect on liver enzymes to see if the flowers would harm the liver in any way. None was seen.

For information on marshmallow root go to this link: 

http://www.herbaltransitions.com/materiamedica/Althea.htm

Herbal Tea Making Tips

I promised you some more herbal tea making information. If you have additional questions, let me know.

Why Make Herbal Teas

Many of us use them. We love to grow and harvest our own tea and then consume the wonderful, healthy beverages as we sit and enjoy their flavors or think about their health giving benefits.

They have important advantages

• Inexpensive

• Easy to make

• Imposes a ceremonial process and rest time for individuals.

• Allows the person to take a larger part in their healing process. 

•  It is self-empowering to be more self sufficient.

 They also have some disadvantages

• Dry herb only last for one year - roots and seeds may last a little longer.

• They are bulky.

• Takes time to make them.

• Teas have to be stored in the refrigerator and can only store for 48 hours or if you want to push it up to 3 days.

• If they taste bad, there is a lot to drink.

• Some herbs will not extract well. An example would be resinous herbs.

What To Do With A Formula That Has A Mix of Herbs Needing Decocting & Infusing

What do you do when you want to prepare a tea of many different herbs and some need to be decocted and some infused? In this situation when the formula is being prepared, put the dried herbs into two containers. One container that holds the herbs to be decocted and another container that holds the herbs to be infused.

When putting your formula together make enough to last you for the time period you expect to be drinking these herbs. If you will be ingesting them long term, make up enough to last as long as you wish. Start by making one container of herbs to decoct and one container to infuse. Put all the hard, dense plant parts such as barks, roots, and some seeds into the container that will be decocted. Then put all the delicate and less dense parts of the plant such as flowers and leaves into another container that will be infused. The herbs to be decocted are made up first. When they are finished decocting take the pot off the burner and add the herbs to be infused into the pot. In both cases make sure the lid to the pot is on tight.  Let it steep for the necessary time and strain it all.

Straining Teas

When you strain your teas, pick up the herb in your strainer and squeeze all the liquid out of the herb material. Some of the best stuff is still in the herbs and you don’t want to throw it into your compost before squeezing it out.

Using Ground Herb Vs Cut & Sift Herb

Usually "cut and sift" herb is used for teas. If you grind the herb up into a powder it will extract well but be sure to use cheese cloth or a coffee filter to filter the tea as you pour it into your cup. I also suggest squeezing the powdered herb real well as those small powder particles will want to hold onto a lot of that herbal liquid. You want to squeeze out every drop you can as it is holding the most potent part of your tea. You could designate a special thin tea towel for the task or have cheese cloth just for this use. That will allow you to reuse the material after washing it. Powdered material will cling to more water than the cut and sift herbs and you will get less final amount of liquid tea when you use powdered herb. This is the reason most people use cut and sift rather than powder to make teas.

When to Infuse Seeds and Roots (They are usually decocted)

Delicate seeds or roots as well as seeds or roots with volatile oils need to be infused. If you are making a root or seed decoction and it does not work as you expect it should, make sure it does not have volatile oils in it that require you to infuse it rather than decoct it. Examples of where this might be important is with archangelica root, dong quai root and elecampane root.

If infusing hard seeds and roots you  may need to pulverize them a bit with a mortar and pestle to break them up into small enough particles to extract all their goodness from within. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can put them in a bag and roll over them with a rolling pin. If they are too hard to break that way, double bag them and get out a rubber mallet or even a hammer. Put the bag on your cutting board and break them up by banging on them. I often save old bags that are not good for other things for this very purpose. I break up nuts and all sorts of things this way. Even a pot with a real thick bottom can be used to break up seeds or roots. Just be careful not to hurt your cookware.

Tight Lids & Volatile Oils

When making a tea by decocting it in a pot, make sure the lid to the pot fits well. When infusing herbs in a container such as a canning jar, make sure the jar lid is on tight enough not to loose vapors into the air. This is especially important when you are making tea from  a plant with a lot of volatile oils. Those oils are important and you don't want to loose them into the air. If you open the jar or pot before it has cooled slightly you will loose all your precious essential oils as they volatilize into the air. So even if the tea has steeped long enough, you may need to wait to open the jar lid until the tea changes from hot to the touch to warm to the touch.

How to Make An Herbal Tea Taste Good

What if the tea tastes bad? You have other choices than using it as a tea. However, if you want to use the herb as a tea, try adding other flavors to it that taste good. 

•Adding lemon and honey is a solution that makes many teas taste better.  

•Using additional herbs in the mixture that are added only for flavor is another choice. 

• Infusing dried berries such as raspberry, apple, blueberry or even raisins with the herbs while making the tea lends to some wonderful flavors.  

•Essential oils are an additional alternative. You probably have some herbal essential oils in your kitchen that you use in cooking. Look in the pantry. Try anise or peppermint or whatever is there that you think might work for you. It is good to add an essential oil that will have an additive effect to the health benefits of the other herbs in the cup of tea. When adding essential oils, don’t add more than 1-2 drops to a cup or you will be overwhelmed. Put one drop at a time in, stir well and taste. Don’t taste without stirring as the essential oil will still be on the top of the cup and you will get it all in one sip.  
If you can't find essential oils in your area, Floracopia Products has a 25% discount available for my readers. It is for new customers only at the above link if you use the code "wiseacres".

•With kids I have had parents use the fruit infusions mentioned above or mix the tea with a non-sweetened fruit juice. Most kids will take it with dark grape juice if nothing else works as it often hides other flavors.

Making Herbal Tea

Herbal teas are inexpensive, easy to make and they impose a ceremonial process during their preparation as well as a rest time while drinking them.

Tools To Make Teas

If you have something to cook water in and a canning jar, you have all the tools you need. Some other useful items are a Kettle, Teapot, French Press, and Mug. Be sure your tools are glass, stainless steel or enamel. You don’t want to use a container that might react with the herbs. 

Safety
Only make teas with herbs that are safe to drink.

Types of Tea Preparations

Teas are divided into two basic types of tea preparations. The infusion and decoction. Depending on what you want to extract from the herb and how dense the herb is will depend on which type of preparation you use.

When To Choose An Infusion 

Infusions are used for extraction of labile constituents such as vitamins, enzymes and volatile oils. They are also used for delicate and less dense parts of the plant such as flowers and leaves. Some seeds are also infused as well as roots with volatile oils such as elecampane or valerian.

When To Choose A Decoction

Decoctions are used for plant constituents that require more time and heat for extraction, such as mineral salts, bitter constituents and hard, dense plant parts such as barks, roots, and some seeds.

Infusions

How to Make An Infusion

An infusion is a gentle method to extract constituents from the herb. When making an infusion, the plant material is cut small, torn up or bruised to release its essence. The idea is to get as many parts of the plant in contact with the water as possible. If you have bought "cut & sift" herb from someone else, it is probably already cut up for use in an infusion.

Example of timing and how it changes the ultimate preparation

If you infuse an herb like chamomile the essential oil will be released quickly and taste and smell divine if drank within a few minutes. However, if you want the bitter constituents in chamomile which often we do if using it medicinally, you want to infuse it longer. The longer you infuse it the more bitter it will get.

Directions for one cup of infusion

Three recommended methods:

(a)     Add one cup of boiling water to one heaping tablespoon of dry herb or three heaping tablespoons of fresh herb in an air-tight container like a canning jar. Let it steep for 10-25 minutes.

(b)   Bring one cup of water to boil in a stainless steel or glass kettle. Remove the kettle from the burner and add one heaping tablespoon of the dry herb or three heaping tablespoons of fresh herb to the water. Cover the kettle with a tight fitting lid.  Steep for 10-25 minutes. Remove the lid, strain and drink the liquid. 

(c)  Put one heaping tablespoon of dry herb or three heaping tablespoons of fresh herb in a pint canning jar. Pour one cup of boiling water over the herb and put the lid on the canning jar. Let it sit overnight and drink the next morning. This method is often used for extracting minerals. When I am attempting to extract minerals I put extra herb in my jar. I often put a handful in and fill the quart jar with water. Most mineral rich herbs are food herbs such as oats and drinking strong teas is okay. If you use herbs in large amounts, make sure they are safe herbs to consume in quantities.
 
(d)  Put one heaping tablespoon of dry herb or three heaping   tablespoons of fresh herb in a pint canning jar. Pour one cup of room temp or cool water over the herb and put the lid on the canning jar. Let it sit overnight and drink the next morning. This will make a very mild infusion and picks up small amounts of volatile oils and energetic essences of the plant. Often this method is used for full moon infusions.

These infusions can be consumed hot or cold, depending on the specific usage. Large quantities can be made and stored in the refrigerator. Do not store tea for longer than 3 days because it may grow mold.

Solar Infusion

This type of infusion relies on the sun to provide heat to draw out constituents.  You put your herb into a canning jar. Then add clean spring water, well water or filtered water using the same amounts as listed above. (1 T per cup water if dry or 3 T per cup water if fresh.) Simply multiple the herb and water depending on how much tea you want to end up with.  You put the herb in the jar. Pour cold water over the herb, tighten the lid on the jar and put the jar in the direct sun. I often make sun tea in gallon canning jars when I have friends visit.

Lunar Infusion

Lunar infusions are wonderful for certain herbs. I place the herb in the jar and pour cold rather than hot water over the herb and place it under the moon at night. Usually I do this when the moon is full. It is especially nice for herbs with volatile oils. I do notice quite a difference when it is hot at night as compared to when it cools down. The heat of course does much of the extraction. When cool out at night, I get just the bare essence of the plant. I have to be sure to retrieve it before the sun is up. It is lovely and somewhat magical with certain plants. I suggest you try this with something like peppermint. Although I have used them medicinally for people, I usually don’t as I generally want the full range of constituents I can get from a hot extraction when I am using a tea medicinally.

Decoctions

How to Make A Decoction

In a kettle, bring one cup of water and one tablespoon of dry herb or three heaping tablespoons of fresh herb to a boil. Cover the kettle with a tight fitting lid, and simmer the ingredients for 15 - 25 minutes. Remove the kettle from the burner and steep ten minutes. Strain and drink.

Examples of when to choose an infusion or decoction

 If you are trying to extract minerals from an herb like nettles you can either use a hot water infusion overnight or you can decoct it for 25 minutes. They will both give you a similar amount of minerals. (I have made both up and sent it to a lab for testing.The decoction gave a tad bit more but not enough to matter.) However, the overnight infused one in my opinion usually tastes better. I am more likely to drink something that tastes good, so guess which one I will make. Usually, leafy herbs like nettles are not decocted and the only time I would decoct them is if I want to extract something like minerals and don't have the time for a 12 hour infusion.

Roots are generally decocted as they are dense and hard. However, if you are decocting a root with volatile oils such as valerian or elecampane you will want to infuse the root so you do not loose the essential oils. To make sure you extract it completely, you can cut up or pulverize the root into small pieces so the water can get into more parts of the root for a better extraction. You don't want a powder, you just want it mashed up or cut small.

Drinking the Tea

Ahhhh, now for the relaxing part.

The amount of tea you ingest will depend on if you are ingesting it for pleasure,  or health. It will also make a difference if using it for health reasons,  why you are using it. It is impossible to give a specific amount to drink, but since I know you want a guideline, I would tell you that  ½ - 1 cup three to five times a day will usually be the range. Some herbs need to be taken in very small amounts to work. For instance if you are using a bitter to stimulate digestion, you only need a few sips of a strong tea for it to help. Acute conditions usually require more of a tea and it is usually taken more often than chronic conditions. Some herbs should only be taken in small amounts as they are can be irritating if taken in large amounts of too often. It is important to always know what you are ingesting before ingesting it.

More On Teas In The Next Blog

There is so much to tell you about teas. What do you do when you want to prepare a formula of 6 different herbs and some need to be decocted and some infused?  How do you make bad tasting teas taste better? What are the advantages and disadvantages of herbal teas. This and more will be awaiting us in a soon to come blog. If you have a question about teas, let me know so you can see the answer in the next tea blog. In fact, if you have any questions about herbs, please speak up so you can get an answer in a future herb blog.