Dried Rose Leaf Tea

Another good tea substitute can be made with wild rose leaves.  Being as I have made Wild Rose Petal Conserve this evening, it seemed a pity not to make use of the leaves, so it was two items for one basically. Not bad - if not good on its own may well be good blended with china tea.

To dry wild rose leaves:

Season late Spring to late Summer:

Pick the young leaves from the tips of the stems of any variety of wild rose.

Spread the leaves in layers on trays and leave in a warm place to dry.

After 3 or 4 days when the leaves are quite dry and crisp put them through a parsley mill and store in air-tight jars away from the light.

To use as a tea

Put two teaspoons of the dried leaves in a jug and pour on 1/2 pint boiling water and infuse for 10 minutes.  Strain into a cup and drink hot or warm or iced with a sprig of mint or a slice of lemon.  This is a very green tasting tea.  I am not keen on commercial bought tea, but I quite liked this.  If you find this too green you can always add loose leaf commercial tea to add to it if you want.  I also dried some very tiny wild rose buds and have added these whole to the jar with the "tea" in just to make it look aesthetically more pleasing on a visual basis. You can also add dried rose petals too it as well.

The Tea steeping in boiling water and strained through an old fashioned tea strainer