Make Rosehip Tea

Rosehip tea is a great source of vitamin C and can help ease a cold or even stave it off if you drink it regularly during the colder months.[1] Rosehips are ideal for harvesting during the autumn months in readiness for storing through winter to use in tea and other preparations.

Ingredients

Pre-dried rosehip tea:

  • Boiling water
  • Handful of dried rosehips

Rosehip tea from fresh rosehips:

  • Rosehips, freshly collected (see below)
  • Boiling water

Steps

Pre-dried rosehip tea

  1. Boil a kettle of water. Make sure you boil enough water in order to make as many cups of tea as desired. Once the water has been thoroughly boiled, carefully pour the water into a heatproof bowl. The size of the bowl will depend on how much water you have boiled.
  2. Take your handful of dried rosehips. Place the rosehips into the bowl of boiled water. Make sure that the water completely covers the rosehips. If you find that it doesn't, either boil and add more hot water, or use a spoon to push the rosehips down to the bottom of the bowl.
  3. Leave the rosehips and the boiled water to steep for 10–15 minutes. Do not cover the bowl or disturb its contents.
  4. Once 10-15 minutes are up, carefully pour the tea into serving cups. Drink the tea immediately, as the water will be cool.

Rosehip tea from fresh rosehips

Drying the rosehips

  1. Pick the rosehips. Do this after the first frosts.
  2. Wash and dry the rosehips. Remove the top and tail of each rosehip.
  3. Cut each rosehip in half. Remove all of the seeds.
  4. Place the rosehip halves on a parchment covered baking sheet or tray.
  5. Place in a cool oven to bake. A temperature around 120ºC is appropriate.
  6. Remove from the oven when the rosehips have dried completely.
  7. Blend or process to a fine texture. Transfer the blended dried rosehips to an airtight storage container.

Making the rosehip tea

  1. Use 1 teaspoon of the dried rosehip mixture for each cup of tea.
  2. Add a teaspoon to a tea leaf holder. Place in the mug or cup.
  3. Fill with boiling water. Allow to steep for 5 to 7 minutes, then remove the tea leaf holder.
    • Alternatively, strain the tea out of the cup if you added it straight.
  4. Serve immediately. Add a little honey to taste, if needed.

Tips

  • Use the rosehips in a stew or soup after steeping, to extract their full vitamin benefits and to give the stew an interesting flavour.

Things You'll Need

Method 1:

  • Kettle
  • Heatproof bowl
  • Teacups or mugs

Method 2:

  • Baking sheet or tray
  • Parchment or baking paper
  • Blender or food processor
  • Airtight food container
  • Teaspoon
  • Mug or cup
  • Honey drizzle (optional)

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ Wisegeek, What are Rose Hips?, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-rose-hips.htm.
  • Method 2 adapted from: New Zealand Gardener, Homegrown Berries, ISSN 0028-8136

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