If you’ve decided to grow bee balm, calendula, and yarrow, I recommend harvesting and drying some during the height of their flowering season so you can continue to use them once you have put your gardens to bed for the year. All three of these plants are easily stored once dry, and will make useful additions to your spice cabinet and tea drawer. The sunny tea blend below is one of my favorites to mix up for friends, and is certain to bring a smile to your face and warmth to your spirit even on the coldest and grayest days in winter. Bonus points for the widely appreciated medicinal qualities of these three plants, and for the rich flavor profile and beautiful aesthetic that is created when they are brought together.
Ingredients
- bee balm leaves
- bee balm flowers
- yarrow leaves
- yarrow flowers
- calendula flowers
Preparation
Harvest flowering stems of each plant when they are in full bloom, and tie them in small bunches with twine. Hang the bunches upside-down in a dry location out of direct sunlight, checking after one week and then every few days after that until they are completely dry. The dense centers of the calendula and bee balm flowers will take longer to dry, and can be checked by crumbling one or two of them apart. If there is any moisture remaining in the center, continue to let the bunches hang to dry.
Once the plant material is completely brittle, remove the yarrow and bee balm flowers and leaves from their stems. Pull the calendula flowers off of their stems without their leaves, as you only want the flowerheads.
Alternatively, plant material can be dried on low in a dehydrator, in which case pull the flowers and leaves from their stems ahead of time and place in single layers on your dehydrator trays.
Place the dried material in airtight containers like glass jars either separately or together as a tea blend. I generally store bee balm flowers and leaves separately from one another, since the leaves are considerably stronger tasting than the flowers, but keep yarrow leaves and flowers stored together. Your dried herbs can be stored for up to one year out of direct sunlight.
To make Sunshine in Winter tea, combine equal parts dried calendula flowers, dried bee balm flowers, and dried yarrow leaves and flowers, with a slightly smaller amount of dried bee balm leaves. Place approximately one teaspoon of your tea mixture in a tea ball infuser for each individual mug of tea. Pour just-boiled water over the infuser and let steep for at least five minutes before enjoying. Remove the infuser whenever you have reached your desired strength, or just leave it in your mug as you drink. Add honey to taste to bring a bit of extra sunshine to your day.
