What is your Red Raspberry leaf tea recipe?

[Dot-to-Dot]

And...can you tell me why you do it that way???

I've read sooooo many different recipes all saying different things.  Some say there is zero benefit to steeping any longer than 30 minutes...others say to steep overnight!  Why?  Some say to use a small handful of leaves...but they don't say how much water to use!  I have no idea what quantity of leaves to use and at which ratio of water. (And I have no scale to measure)  I am totally confused about how long to steep, too.  Also...the last time I made it, it was SO strong and bitter.  It was suggested that I cut it with water or juice.  I don't know if that means I'm only getting half the benefits and if I should then drink double the glasses of tea I would have if I hadn't cut it with anything.  And, I like hot tea...but, if I really want to get the benefits of drinking the tea...I'm assuming I should really steep it for at least 30 minutes at which time the tea is no longer hot!  :(  I'm not a fan of microwaving so I probably just need to get used to drinking it cold, huh?

Anybody know about this?

[noahs.mom06]

I use the loose leaves, and I fill one disposable tea bag with it (I compress the leaves pretty well and stuff the bag full). I steep that in 2 cups of hot water (I use a Pyrex measuring cup that has a cover, sort of like this), usually for at least 1/2 hour, but sometimes I do it only for 5-10 minutes and it turns pretty much the same color, so I figure it's probably good enough. I actually don't like tea, but haven't had a problem with this. Sometimes, I will use twice as much tea in the same amount of water, and then dilute it by half later on. If you wanted to steep yours longer, you could do it that way and just add the hot water to dilute when you're ready to drink it...

[Kedrosami]

As long as you are drinking it regularly you'll benefit from it, and also from what I understand it's not realistic to think you'd ever "OD" on it either, so I wouldn't worry about the dosage too much. If it tastes too strong then add water till you like it and drink however much you want to.

Here's what I do: I mix bulk herbs in a huge salad bowl then store in jars: RRL plus nettles plus mint. I don't measure but if I had to guess I'd say 2-3 parts RRL, 1 part nettles, 1 part mint. The RRL is a uterine tonic and stabilizes hormones and has lots of good nutrients too, the nettles are a great source of iron, the mint settles your tummy and tastes nice too. I like spearmint. I'll also add oatstraw or horsetail (for extra calcium) if I have some.

To brew, again I don't measure. I put about an inch of the herbs in the bottom of a quart-size mason jar, fill the jar with boiling water, and cover with a lid. Sometimes I'll steep it for as little as 15 minutes but more often strain it hours later or even the next day. It's not an exact science. I add water if it tastes too strong, and usually I'll add a bit of juice to sweeten it. I drink it cold and it's refreshing and yummy!

Right now I'm in my 2nd tri and drinking 1/2 quart to 1 quart a day. In the third tri I'll make more of an effort to drink at least a quart throughout the day, but for now I'm just trying to get into the habit. I've found it really helps to steep 1-2 quarts ahead of time so I always have some on hand in the fridge.

I did pretty much the same thing in my last pregnancy and I believe it really helped my health and contributed to an easy labor and quick healing. Hope that helps!

[FillingMyQuiver]

I mix up all my herbs ahead of time and store them in a big glass jar.  Typically, my mix is roughly:

2c RRL

1c nettles

1/2c alfalfa

1/2c oatstraw

I prefer to make infusions instead of tea b/c I think it draws out more of the benefits of the herbs.  In the morning I take a quart sized mason jar, line it w/ my tea net, add about 4Tbsp of my herb mix and 1 Tbsp hibiscus petals to the net, fill the jar w/ hot water (I boil it and let it sit for a few minutes before pouring it), loosely cap the car and let it steep for at least 6hrs.  Then I strain it and drink it throughout the afternoon.

I add the hibiscus for its vit C and b/c it has a tarty sweetness that helps cut the "barn" flavor of the other herbs.  Oh, and it makes the tea a beautiful deep reddish pink color which makes me happy drinking it

I drink a quart a day, and I'm not sure if I will increase my intake or not.  I'm currently 31 weeks.  I've drank the tea through my last 2 pregnancies and my labors have gotten progressively faster (my last was 2.5hrs from 1st contraction to baby out).

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by FillingMyQuiver 

I mix up all my herbs ahead of time and store them in a big glass jar.  Typically, my mix is roughly:

2c RRL

1c nettles

1/2c alfalfa

1/2c oatstraw

I prefer to make infusions instead of tea b/c I think it draws out more of the benefits of the herbs.  In the morning I take a quart sized mason jar, line it w/ my tea net, add about 4Tbsp of my herb mix and 1 Tbsp hibiscus petals to the net, fill the jar w/ hot water (I boil it and let it sit for a few minutes before pouring it), loosely cap the car and let it steep for at least 6hrs.  Then I strain it and drink it throughout the afternoon.

I add the hibiscus for its vit C and b/c it has a tarty sweetness that helps cut the "barn" flavor of the other herbs.  Oh, and it makes the tea a beautiful deep reddish pink color which makes me happy drinking it

I drink a quart a day, and I'm not sure if I will increase my intake or not.  I'm currently 31 weeks.  I've drank the tea through my last 2 pregnancies and my labors have gotten progressively faster (my last was 2.5hrs from 1st contraction to baby out).

I also do infusions. I put my herbs in quart mason jars approx 3T of red ras and 1T of nettles(perhaps I need more nettles tho) YOu can do it however you want then I add boiling water over them let them sit for at least 6 hours. When it's warm I like to add some raw honey to it as well and it gives a nice sweet flavor. I love hibiscus but have never tried combined with the other herbs sounds good!  I drink about a quart daily.

[Dot-to-Dot]

Thank you ladies!  This is super helpful.  I drank the tea (made my own from loose leaves, but I'm not sure how much I drank each day) last pregnancy and my labor was about 14 hours of active labor.  So I didn't really feel like it works.  But whether it works or not, the nutrition of the tea is definitely worth the effort, so I'm doing it again.
 

Originally Posted by FillingMyQuiver 

 line it w/ my tea net,  

That's so neat!  I've had tons of trouble trying different ways to strain the tea and always end up with a mess or lots of loose bits in my tea.  Where did you get it????

[Dot-to-Dot]

P.S.  Do you use whole hibiscus flowers, or just the leaves?

[sunanthem]

Thanks for the recipe, FMQ!

[FillingMyQuiver]

Originally Posted by Dot-to-Dot 

Thank you ladies!  This is super helpful.  I drank the tea (made my own from loose leaves, but I'm not sure how much I drank each day) last pregnancy and my labor was about 14 hours of active labor.  So I didn't really feel like it works.  But whether it works or not, the nutrition of the tea is definitely worth the effort, so I'm doing it again.
 

Originally Posted by FillingMyQuiver 

 line it w/ my tea net,  

That's so neat!  I've had tons of trouble trying different ways to strain the tea and always end up with a mess or lots of loose bits in my tea.  Where did you get it????

I got the tea net from Mountain Rose Herbs, it's under their tea supplies section.  I bought 2 so I can alternate them and let them fully dry between uses or I can use the other one for different tea later in the day.  I my teas

Originally Posted by Dot-to-Dot 

P.S.  Do you use whole hibiscus flowers, or just the leaves?

I use just the petals, not the whole flower, although I don't see there being a big difference, but what do I know

Originally Posted by sunanthem 

Thanks for the recipe, FMQ!

You're welcome

[IdentityCrisisMama]

My style is very similar to Radicaeel - 

I mix a big jar of RRL, spearmint, nettle and alfalfa.  Probably 50% RRL and the rest equal amounts to make another 50% if that makes sense.  I boil water, let it sit so it's not super hot when I add the herbs.  I add a handful to probably 5 cups of water.  I stir that, let it steep anywhere from a half hour to the whole day.  Then I strain it with a big mesh kitchen strainer over a pitcher. I have floaties but they don't bother me.   I drink it cold for the next day or two.  For the taste I think the spearmint makes a world of difference!  

[CookAMH]

I just make it like any other tea, though maybe I'm missing some benefit of doing it longer. Steeping longer than a couple hours will result in a bitter tea. I add honey and lemon.