Red Raspberry Leaf Tea tribe - Page 20

[MoonWillow]

Must it be with boiled water? You know how sun tea is just made by steeping in cold? Same thing?

[sprout 1]

I heat the water to just-boiling, I guess rrl is 'fragile' and the lower temp is better... I dont know much about sun tea but it would probably work?

[boobyfeeder]

I honestly have no idea how it would work with cool/cold water. I'd imagine it may take longer to steep. I also "just" boil the water, or else I find that the tea floats and makes it difficult to strain.

[MoonWillow]

Hmm. I may try just letting it steep in cold filtered water. I'll let you know how it goes.

[sprout 1]

I guess you'll know by how dark it gets. If it doesn't get nice and amber it probably isn't going to cut it. Hopefully it works, it seems like it would be best the closest to 'raw' as possible!

[chewymama]

I ordered my tea! I ordered red raspberry leaf, nettles, alfalfa, and peppermint. Suggestions for blending it? I like the taste of the raspberry tea alone, last pregnancy I only drank that..... so the other stuff is just for extra benefit not to enhance the taste. Thanks so much...

[YogaMama04]

Okay, I read back several pages and the first page and couldn't find this answer, so I apologize if it has been asked before!

What are the benefits of adding nettle tea?

Another question, my neighbor has four children that she has nursed and she says she always "fortified" her bm with RRL/Nettle tea after the birth, and that her children slept through the night fairly early (IMO). I'm more than willing to nurse my next child at night a long time as I did with my son, but I'd be lying if I said the idea of him/her sleeping through a little earlier wasn't appealing to me! Anyone know if there is any truth to this, or what the benefits are in BM?

Lastly, where are you buying your tea?

I'm only 6 weeks along, and ready to get started. I had a great L&D the first time, went natural, it was 11 hours from first contrax. to birth, but I'd love for it to be a little more pain free if possible this time!

[Peppamint]

Originally Posted by YogaMama04

What are the benefits of adding nettle tea?

holding a squirmy babe

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...&postcount=166

[huskermommy]

I bought my tea at www.bulkherbstore.com, however there are other places online as well! This is the first time I've used fresh herbs so I went with a cheap route. But I don't think it has any effect on the herbs.. They taste great!!


Question: Here is what I am currently mixing....
Per cup
2 tsp RRL
1.5 tsp Nettle
1.25 tsp Alfalfa
1.25 tsp Spearmint
I am 20 weeks pregnant and was wondering if I should leave it as it is or make it stronger? Ideally I'd like to only drink 2 cups a day for the remainder of the pregnancy.

Thanks mamas!

[YogaMama04]

Thanks for the information! Why are you all mixing in mint, alfafa, etc.? For taste, or do these have additional benefits as well?

How much should I start with for my first order? How long to the herbs stay fresh before you need to reorder?

[MoonWillow]

I'm interested in the answers you get for that too. I just ordered a pound and a half of RRL and I would like to get some nettles. I'm interested in the amount to use (for both). I like it better hot but I'm not drinking it steeped overnight like I have seen suggested. Isn't it still good/beneficial to drink steeped like regular hot tea (for like 5 min)?

[huskermommy]

Yoga Mama- spearmint is purely for taste, however alfalfa has some benefits which I will find and post for you... I always read why I should add something and then forget why! You can really make it your own though.. No need to add alfalfa if you're not interested.

I would start with a pound of the RRL and less maybe half of the others... That's the advice that I was given anyhow! It seems to be working well! I also keep the herbs in their plastic bags in the freezer. Seems to keep them fresher and the aroma from the herbs don't take over the whole house that way! Not that it's a bad smell!

MotherWren- If I were to make it by the cup, which I have done before, here is what I mix...
2 tsp. RRL
1.50 tsp Nettle
1.25 tsp Alfalfa
1.25 tsp Spearmint
I let it steep for about 20 to 30 minutes... I love it warm and it tastes great that way too! I have heard that letting it steep overnight may be better... You might want to ask boobyfeeder... She helped me a lot with my questions. However, the tea looked pretty close to what it looks like steeped overnight... I would say its still good to drink the tea.

[boobyfeeder]

The longer you steep it the better. 20-30 minutes is good if you want to drink it hot/warm (you could always reheat it if it was too cool for you). I second putting the herbs in the freezer, keeps them fresher longer (and out of the way on the counter). Nettles are good for vitamin K, alfalfa is also a good source of vit k. Mint is purely for taste, I believe. I only use RRL and nettle, since I like the taste. Yogamama, since you have such a long way to go in the pregnancy, I would start by ordering a pound and see how far that gets you. The way I make it is by tossing a handful of the RRL into a quart mason jar (I added the nettles recently, I was just using the RRL before) and pouring boiling water over it, letting it steep overnight on the counter (covered) and then straining it into a pitcher to put in the fridge for iced tea. You could always keep it in the jars and heat it up by the cup if that's the way you like it. I've found it tastes better cold.

[CryPixie83]

Originally Posted by huskermommy

Yoga Mama- spearmint is purely for taste, however alfalfa has some benefits which I will find and post for you... I always read why I should add something and then forget why! You can really make it your own though.. No need to add alfalfa if you're not interested.

I added the alfalfa for the Vitamin K
http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/alfalfa.php

[MoonWillow]

Thanks ladies! I'm drinking iced tea right now with a bit of mint and lemon. It's great! It steeped about 20-30 min.

[sprout 1]

Another RRL success story!
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...51#post5509851

On another note, I just realized that the patch I've been harvesting my rrl from is now fruiting, and to my dismay I'm seeing both raspberries and black caps! Ah well, maybe black cap leaves have some nice health benefit, because I've probably been drinking black cap leaf tea too!

[noteworthy]

I am drinking RRL tea too, and we have a bumper crop of raspberries in our yard. So far, I have 6-7 gallons frozen!
Does eating the fresh berries have any effect like the tea?

V

[sprout 1]

Well the berries can't hurt but I don't think they have the same things as the leaves. Maybe? I wish I could put some up, they don't last a minute once ds sees them!

[jul511riv]

I got the only stevia I can find here, in a dried leave crumbled form...what can I do with it? I steeped it with RRL and it didn't need any sweetner, but can I use it any other way or do I have to grind it into a fine poweder?

[Mimi37]

Like the taste?

Just started drinking my tea in the last couple weeks, and I almost wonder if something's "wrong" after reading lots of the other posts here, because i like the taste! I am using Yogi Tea teabags (100% RRL), drinking it cold, and will be switching to bulk leaves from the local food co-op once I run out of teabags -- maybe Yogi Tea does something to make it taste different/better? I steep it for hours so I don't think it's that it's not strong enough. To me, it just doesn't have a super-strong taste, and the taste that's there just seems sort of fresh and herbal. Oh well, maybe I just have a taste for tea?