Growing your own tea

As a Brit I’m expected to drink tea all the time and I try not to disappoint. Though I no longer drink the hard (caffeinated) stuff, I do drink a variety of herbal teas regularly. It’s a deeply ingrained habit and my books would probably never have been finished without their soothing companionship. I discovered the value of growing my own tea by happy accident, when I suddenly had an abundance of peppermint in the garden. Rather than lose it all I dried it and left in a tin in the kitchen. The following winter when I ran out of tea bags (and money to buy them) I started using the dried stuff and found it actually tasted much better than the stuff I was buying. This also led me to realize that growing your own tea can save you a surprising amount of money (at $4.00 for 20 bags the savings can add up quickly). It also reduces your ecological footprint in that you are no longer paying to have your beverage shipped half way around the world.

Like most home grown foods, the herbs you grow yourself tend to be better than the stuff you buy (mostly because they are so much fresher, but also because you can use superior cultivars). After I ran out of my dried Peppermint I tried to go back to buying commercial tea bags and found they were almost undrinkable, with only a faint and not very pleasant flavor. I had become accustomed to a far superior product and found it hard to go back. Fortunately most tea herbs are pretty easy to grow (and useful as groundcover) and if you have the space there is no reason to not plant them. In many cases they grow so well you may have to worry about controlling them.

The most obvious place to put your tea herbs is close by the kitchen door, so that getting enough for a cup of tea doesn’t take more than a few seconds. The nice thing about using it fresh (apart from its freshness) is that you can just use a whole sprig of plant, you don’t need to mess with teapots, strainers or teabags. Use a glass cup and the amber liquid and floating green leaves look very elegant.

If you drink 3 or 4 cups of tea a day you will need quite a lot to get you through the whole year and will have to grow more than just a few plants by the kitchen door. Fortunately most tea plants are very vigorous and perfectly happy to grow out in the wilder parts of the garden, where there is plenty of room for them to spread freely (they do well at the edge of the forest garden). The more independent types will thrive without any help, though I do water them as it improves their flavor (moisture loving herbs like mint taste inferior when growing in dry conditions).

You might also think about creating a tea garden somewhere in a suitably pretty spot. Pick a place with a view (maybe near water), provide comfortable chairs (or cushions) and a table and grow a selection of your favorite tea plants. You can then prepare and drink your own tea out in the garden, maybe invite people over for an adult tea party. To enhance the whole thing bake some of your own cakes (using your own fruit) to drink with your own tea.

If you want to have tea for the winter you will have to dry it. The best time to harvest the leaves for drying is just as the flower buds are starting to appear, as the plant is highest in aromatic oils at this time. The books say that morning is the best time to harvest, after any dew has dried off the leaves. Most teas are easy to dry, just pick whole stems and put them in paper grocery bag. Leave this in a warm dry place until the leaves are totally crisp. I then remove the hard stems and store the leaves in a glass jar or metal can. It is absolutely essential that they be fully dry, otherwise the whole thing will eventually mold (watch for any condensation inside the jar, which indicates that the leaves still contain too much moisture).

When you are using your own herbs you can tailor your tea to personal preference. If you dislike watery tea then you can make industrial strength brews. If you find one growing tip isn’t strong enough then try two tips next time, and three the time after until you find the right amount (watch for unexpected medicinal effects though). You can also get creative and blend different herbs together, just as commercial producers do. Add a little Stevia if you prefer sweetened tea (not too much, it is pretty sweet).

Many tea plants are so easy to grow and taste so good there is no reason to not grow them. The most obvious are the Mints (I much prefer peppermint), Lemon Verbena (a tender shrub), Lemon Balm, Chamomile (a self sowing annual), Fennel and Catnip. You might also try growing real Tea, which is a fairly nice looking evergreen shrub. We think of tea as being a tropical plant, but it only grows in mountains in the tropics and actually prefers cooler weather. If you can grow Camelias you can grow tea. You only use the tender new growth for tea (it contains caffeine of course). Stevia has become another essential in my garden as its leaves provide a sweetener that enhances the flavor of many other teas (you would be surprised at how many so-so herbs come alive with a leaf or two). It is also very easy to grow, and is actually a deciduous perennial in my garden (in cooler areas you can grow it as an annual or keep it in a pot over the winter). I divide it in spring when it first appears, and usually get 4 or 5 vigorous new plants from each one.


It is surprising how easily you can train yourself to like a flavor, you just need an open mind. For years I didn’t use any of the Lemon Verbena in my garden, even though it grows very well here (I planted it for my wife and didn't really like it)  However when I ran low on peppermint I decided to give it another try and before long I was really enjoying it.