Dandelion tea can be made from the leaves, the blossoms or the roots. All variations have their own unique flavors, attributes and variations.
Dandelion Leaf Tea
- Select young, tender leaves for the tastiest dandelion tea.
- Once you’ve harvested your dandelion greens, thoroughly wash them . If you’re not using them right away store them in a plastic bag that has air holes for circulation. Keep them in a cool moist location, such as the refrigerator. They don’t store very well or very long, so use them as soon as possible.
- Pour a cup of boiling water over a teaspoon of dried dandelion leaves and allow it to steep for about 5 minutes. Add flavor enhancements such as lavender, honey, sugars, cinnamon, lemon, mint as desired.
- To brew a whole pot of Dandelion Leaf Tea simply use slightly over 1 teaspoon of dried dandelion leaves for each cup. Same procedure as single servings, let it steep about 5 minutes.
Dandelion Flower Tea Recipe
Dandelion Flower tea taste much different from that brewed from the leaves or even the roots. When harvesting dandelion blossoms be sure to remove any of the green stems – they can ruin the whole experience.
Ingredients
- Flower petals of 10 Dandelions
- Boiling water – about 12 oz.
- honey, sugars, cinnamon, lemon, mint as desired to suit your taste.
Instruction
- Pour the boiling water over the flowers and allow it to steep for about five minutes before adding your flavor enhancements.
Dandelion Root Tea
- Root tea made from dandelion is more like coffee than tea, in fact it has been used as a coffee substitute. When you’ve harvested the dandelion roots ,naturally you’ll want to wash them thoroughly. Once you’ve scrubbed off all the earthy sediment let them soak in cool water for a few hours.
- Dice them into small pieces and roast them. I Roast them on a baking tray for about 2 hours at about 200 degrees F. Once thoroughly roasted pulverize them a tad further to get the finest particles possible. Particle size does matter.
- Boil the roasted and pulverized roots for about 5 minutes, a steady rolling boil then remove it from the heat allow it to cool and you have your basic dandelion coffee. There are many variations, fresh ginger root added to the pot gives it a little more of a kick.
- Flavor enhancers, sweeteners are usually added after boiling , honey . sugars, cinnamon and so forth.
- Dandelion root is a mild diuretic and laxative. It is believed it can help lower blood pressure, ease menstrual cramps, and a host of other folk lore attributes. It does contain levulin, which helps to reduce blood suga. Choline which acts as a liver stimulant. as well as vitamins B2, C, K and A.
- Another method of making an infusion tea is to add a cup of dried herbs to a quart jar. Pour boiling water over the herbs to the top of the jar. You should also place a metal spoon or utensil in the jar when you are pouring the hot water if you are using glass. The metal will absorb the sudden heat and prevent the glass from shattering. Remove the metal utensil and cover the jar tightly with a lid. Let the herbs steep up to 10 hours and then strain.
Medicinal Properties of Dandelion Tea
“Most scientific studies of dandelion have been in animals, not people. Traditionally, dandelion has been used a diuretic, to increase the amount of urine in order to get rid of too much fluid. It has been used for many conditions where a diuretic might help, such as liver problems and high blood pressure. However, there is no good research on using dandelion as a diuretic in people. Fresh or dried dandelion herb is also used as a mild appetite stimulant and to improve upset stomach. The root of the dandelion plant may act like a mild laxative and has been used to improve digestion. Some very preliminary research suggests dandelion may help improve liver and gallbladder function, but the study was not well designed.
Some preliminary animal studies also suggest that dandelion may help normalize blood sugar levels and lower total cholesterol and triglycerides while raising HDL, “good,” cholesterol in diabetic mice. But not all the animal studies have found a positive effect on blood sugar, and researchers need to see if dandelion would work in people.
A few animal studies also suggest that dandelion might help fight inflammation.” University of Maryland Medical Center