Getting the best from plants

The active substances in plants that earn them their reputation lie at the heart of the herb tea tradition. To make use of all their beneficial properties, it is important to prepare leaves, flowers and bark carefully. A delicious beverage, herb tea can also be used to good effect in rinses, compresses and inhalations,… There are various methods for making the most of each of these plants according to our requirements including infusion, maceration, decoction and, a less well known method, digestion.

Infusion:
• Herbal teas, just like their ‘conventional’ variants, also have a ritual which should be upheld for anyone wanting to enjoy a beverage with a thousand benefits in the highest state of the art.
  Pour boiling water into the infusion and thus release the plants’ active substances (essential oils) and brew for approximately five minutes for a sachet or ten minutes for loose leaf (20 grams for four cups).

In all cases, for health reasons, any herbal preparation should not be used more than 12 hours after preparation to avoid excessive microbial growth.

Loose-leaf plants

For loose-leaf teas there are other ways of preparation depending on the plant used:

• When macerated
  This process entails leaving the plant in room temperature water (20-25°C) for a varying length of time (30 minutes to four hours).
• When decocted:
  Ideal for barks and peels such as liquorice for example. Soak 5-20 grams of plants in a litre of cold water and bring to the boil for 15-30 minutes.
• For digestion:
  The plant in question is kept in hot, but not boiling water, for one to five hours.