Name: How to Brew Loose Herbal Infusions
Total time: 8 min
Yield: Serves 1
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1 heaped tablespoon of any quality dried loose herbal infusion (camomile, peppermint, rooibos, hibiscus); 300ml freshly drawn water, brought to a true rolling boil; 1 Pattiya Bamboo Tea Strainer; 2 warmed 300ml cups; Optional: 1 teaspoon of clear honey for the sweet build, 1 fresh lemon slice for the rim

Loose herbal infusions, whether camomile, peppermint, Rooibos or hibiscus, brew a little differently from tea. The dried flowers and leaves are bulkier, so you want a heaped tablespoon rather than a teaspoon, and they give up their flavour slowly, so they need a good six minutes (where Black Tea takes about four and green just over two).

Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for the How to Brew Loose Herbal Infusions recipe. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/recipes/fruit tea/how to brew loose herbal infusions/

A bamboo strainer is ideal here: it catches the fine bits a metal mesh lets through and adds no metallic note to delicate florals. Makes one cup.

⏱ 8 min 🍽 Serves 1 📊 Easy 📚 Fruit Tea Recipes

You'll need

1 heaped tablespoon of any quality dried loose herbal infusion (camomile, peppermint, rooibos, hibiscus)
300ml freshly drawn water, brought to a true rolling boil
1 Pattiya Bamboo Tea Strainer
2 warmed 300ml cups
Optional: 1 teaspoon of clear honey for the sweet build, 1 fresh lemon slice for the rim

Method

Warm two cups with hot water and tip it away.
Put a heaped tablespoon of your dried herb into the first cup; herbals are bulkier than tea leaves, so a teaspoon would under do it.
Pour over 300ml of freshly boiled water and cover with a saucer, which keeps in the aromatic oils that would otherwise drift off with the steam.
Leave it to steep for a full six minutes, as dried flowers and leaves release their character slowly.
Set a bamboo strainer over the second cup and pour the infusion through it, leaving a clear brew with no floating bits.
Sweeten with a little honey if you like, and add a slice of lemon for camomile or hibiscus, which suit it better than peppermint or rooibos.
Rinse the bamboo strainer under cold water straight after use and stand it to air dry rather than soaking it.

What you'll end up with: A clear, clean cup of herbal infusion with no stray leaves or petals, properly brewed and full of flavour. Honey and lemon optional, depending on the herb.

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🛒 Made with this tea

Pattiya Bamboo Tea Strainer, Handmade in Thailand£12.00