I'm Michael. I love to garden because it helps keep me busy. It’s fun to share, help and discuss with other passionate Food Growers around the World. Thank you
In my book, it says that to make tea, you need to use hard, dark green leaves that are more than a year old, dry them, then cover them with water in a pot and boil them until they turn brown.
good try, but you can drink just hot water, is not a tea in you concoction :) you need to remove fuzz from back side off leaf and simmer for 10-15min , preferably I do 20-30 min. If you ferment leaves, much more taster and nicer tea.
Dried leaves have been allowed to stay bioactive, and the natural enzymes will begin to decompose the leaf as it dries and oxidizes the compounds that become your tea as well as developing tannins for a more bitter flavor. Fresh leaves do not go through this process. If you like the fresh ones more, you can steam them and then dry them. This renders them biologically inert. This is very similar to how proper tea is processed to either yield a highly oxidized and bitter black tea, or a fresh and light green tea.
