DIY: Make Your Own Tea With Summer Herbs

This fun tutorial will show you how to create your very own herbal tea blends right at home.

There’s something about these long, warm summer days that makes me crave fresh, flowery herbal tea. Flowers and young leaves are at their most delectable right now, with all that gorgeous sunlight just eking those essential oils to a plants' surface. Your farmers market should be teeming with fresh herbs like sage, basil, lemon balm, lavender, wild roses, and mints, just to name a few.

So follow your nose to the market or test out your green thumb in your garden, and combine any of these herbs into creative tea blends that can either prepare you for a long, hot day, or even wind you down after soaking up all the sun and adventure of high summer.

Below is one of my favorite combinations — but get creative! Try mixing and matching these blends and keeping 'em fresh in mason jars, and then strain and store in the fridge for instant iced tea.

My Favorite Summer Floral Tea Blend:

Fills one, 8 oz. jar with dried or fresh herbs — yields approx 24 cups of tea.

Ingredients

Preparation

Use fresh herbs if you have them. If not, dried herbs will work. Just use half the amount.

Mix all the herbs together and store in a tightly-fitted eight ounce container.

Brewing Directions

I use about two teaspoons of the mix per cup of boiling water.

Allow to steep 15 minutes, then strain through a sieve and pour. Serve warm or store in the fridge and serve over ice.

Tip: this tea makes an amazing ice cube.

You could even make an amazing pseudo-cocktail by adding a splash of juice and some fizzy water for an extra kick. Of course, turning this into an official adult beverage with your favorite spirits is a great option, too.