Hello dear readers. Strawberries in general, both fruits and leaves, bring not only aesthetic pleasure, they are distinguished by their aroma, which is associated with summer walks. Each leaf consists of many microelements and vitamins. Using them as a drink, the body will receive natural protection from the effects of viruses. The plant will normalize the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Everyone knows that a person needs to take vitamins to restore strength after hard work and increase overall tone. Natural remedies, which include strawberry leaves, can cope with this task.

Benefits of strawberry leaves

For many years, a decoction of strawberry leaves, which you can collect yourself in the forest, has been taken by people who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Substances that strawberries are rich in block the absorption of glucose and are low in calories.

The use of leaf-based products benefits both the female and male body. The decoction will help the fair sex get rid of gynecological problems.

During menopause, wild strawberry leaves help cope with tachycardia. And for the male part, decoctions and infusions from this plant will bring benefits in the form of testosterone production.

It is this hormone that is responsible for the feeling of youth and maintaining male strength. Decoctions have a beneficial effect on the entire reproductive system.

Wild strawberry leaves are used not only as a preventive measure, but also for the treatment of such diseases.

What do strawberry leaves cure?

1. Urolithiasis (help remove sand);
2. Bladder diseases.
3. Arthrosis, arthritis, gout (relieve joint pain).
4. Cholelithiasis.
5. Diseases of the cardiovascular type.
6. Anemia.

When to collect and how to dry strawberry leaves

Collecting and storing strawberry leaves for future use is not at all difficult; of course, you can purchase them at the pharmacy.

But spring forest walks can be supplemented by collecting fragrant leaves, which will help you feel good throughout the fall and winter. The most important thing is to know how to properly collect and how to properly dry strawberry leaves.

Another advantage of self-harvesting is that you can prepare an unlimited amount of raw materials.

The collection of wild strawberry leaves begins during the flowering period; it is important to catch the period before the ovary of the berries appears. This time falls at the end of May, beginning of June, of course, it all depends on how warm the weather is.

The only rule that should not be neglected when collecting is to choose places away from highways, industrial organizations and factories that can pollute the place where strawberries grow.

It is necessary to choose dry weather for collection; ideally, it should rain within a few days. In this case, a lot of dirt and dust will be washed away from the leaves. The harvesting technology involves cutting with scissors.

Only leaves are taken, without petioles. If it is captured, then the acceptable size is one centimeter.

How to dry wild strawberry leaves

The raw materials collected in the forest are prepared for long-term storage in several stages.

1. After picking, rinse the strawberry leaves under running water. If their number is large enough, then this procedure can be carried out using a shower in the bathroom.
2. Allow a large volume of water to drain.
3. Lay out the clean leaves on the floor, you can use burlap, in a place that is well ventilated and protected from sunlight.
4. From time to time, the leaves are gently mixed by hand.

If you have a drying device, you can dry the leaves fairly quickly. Under this condition, they will retain their aroma and color, when rubbed in the palms, and will not crumble into dust. Using a household dryer, you will need to lay out the pre-washed leaves in one layer. Select the “herbs and greens” mode.

The medicinal properties of strawberry leaves are retained even after drying. Dried strawberry leaves must be stored in fabric bags or in tin cans.

Provided the container is properly selected, they can last up to two years without losing their medicinal properties.

Features of drying leaves for strawberry tea

You can prepare raw materials for subsequent use as tea leaves using manual fermentation.

1. Place the collected and washed leaves in a thin layer in the shade and dry them, i.e. do not wait for them to dry completely.
2. Carefully roll each sheet between your palms into a kind of tube.
3. Place them on a tray or in an electric dryer in a thin layer and leave until dry.
4. You can determine when the fermentation process is complete by the smell, it should become strawberry. After this, bake the leaves in the oven at 90 degrees for one hour.

Fermented wild strawberry leaves are stored in tin boxes.

How to make tea from wild strawberry leaves

Strawberry tea, brewed from personally collected and prepared leaves, is a natural vitamin drink.

Its use brings great benefits to the body, from enjoying the berry aroma to relieving health problems.

Like all herbal teas, strawberry tea will need to be drunk in a course, not exceeding the permissible limit. The main rule is not to forget that everything is good only in moderation.

Leaf tea can be brewed in a regular teapot, but it is better to use a thermos. It reveals a special aroma, and the drink stays hot longer, while maintaining the concentration of nutrients.

The classic recipe for wild strawberry leaf tea is very simple.

Required:

• thermos or teapot;
• boiling water;
• two tablespoons of dried leaves.

Preparation:

1. Boil drinking water.
2. Pour a small amount into a teapot or thermos to warm up the container.
3. After a few seconds, pour it out. Add leaves and pour boiling water.

Infuse tea from strawberry leaves for 10 – 15 minutes. You can drink it hot, immediately or cool it. For sweetness, you can add honey or sugar, but strawberry tea is good without additional sweeteners.

You can complement the taste by brewing wild strawberry leaves mixed with green tea. This combination will bring double the benefits of the substances that green tea contains.

It’s good to use this recipe as a summer refreshing drink by adding ice and mint leaves to a glass of strawberry tea.

Contraindications

Strawberry drink may be prohibited for people who are allergic to berries. At the first manifestations of itching, headache, redness of the body, you need to stop drinking tea.

Despite all the benefits of wild strawberry leaves, decoctions or infusions based on them are contraindicated in the presence of the following diseases:

• impaired secretion of gastric juice;
• chronic form of appendicitis;
• liver disease;
• individual intolerance.

Care should be taken when using strawberry leaves throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding. At the first feeling of malaise or an allergic reaction, stop taking this herbal remedy and, if necessary, call a doctor or go to a medical facility.

Not the only thing you can get from bushes. Therefore, today we will tell you about how raspberry leaves are used and how useful they are, and we will also figure out how to brew them.

What are the benefits of raspberry leaves?

With raspberry leaves has these beneficial features: it not only helps to cope with cold symptoms, but also has an anti-inflammatory effect, similar to aspirin; has an expectorant effect and increases the resistance of the immune system to viral diseases.

Used to treat all respiratory diseases, as well as to stop bleeding. In this case, both tea and infusion are used, which can be used to rinse the mouth. It is worth saying that raspberry tea is recommended for people whose work is associated with hazardous production, since such a remedy removes poisons and toxins from the body.

The astringent properties of raspberries help cope with loose stools just as well as tablets, and if you have a large enough amount of raw materials, you can take a bath with raspberry leaves, which will help get rid of many female diseases.

In cosmetology, crushed green plates are used to create effective masks. Raspberries help get rid of teenage acne and also remove inflammation. A decoction is also prepared on their basis, which is used to rinse hair. This product helps against hair loss and accelerates hair growth.

Important! The beneficial properties of the leaves directly depend on their condition, the presence of fungal diseases or sunburn.

Raspberry greens are used not only for making tea, so such raw materials are very valuable. Next we will talk about when to collect raspberry leaves for tea and other needs.

When, how and where to collect

To get quality material, you need to collect greens in the first 2-3 weeks of June. At this time, leaves have the greatest value, since the plant directs all its forces to the development of the green part, and not to the formation of fruits.
You should choose bright undamaged plates. It is better to give preference to leaves that are located near the top of the bush, since they receive the most light. Also pay attention to the presence of insects or fungus. We don’t need such greens, as consuming them can lead to poisoning.

It’s worth talking about when you need to collect raspberry leaves for drying for the winter. The collection period for further storage is not limited to the first weeks of summer, but it is better to collect raw materials before flowering begins. If you collect during the flowering process, then at a minimum you will harm the plant, and at maximum, you will receive products of poor quality and leave yourself without the lion’s share of the harvest.

You need to collect in the morning, when there is no dew on the bushes and the sun is not yet too hot. It is worth understanding that if a plant is already suffering from weather conditions or lack of nutrients, then the absence of several leaves can “finish off” it.

Important! Under no circumstances should you collect raw materials while your neighbors are treating their crops against pests. You will get severe poisoning.

How to dry raspberry leaves

After collecting, they need to be washed under running water and laid out on a woven material under a canopy in one layer. The canopy should be well ventilated and completely protect the leaves from sunlight.
Also do not forget that raw materials are needed turn regularly, so that it does not ban.

Did you know? Fresh raspberries help with alcohol intoxication. Eating just a few berries will help you sober up faster.

Fermentation of raspberry leaves

Before describing the fermentation of raspberry leaves, it is worth understanding what this process is and why it is needed.

So, fermentation in this case, it is the process of decomposition of organic matter under the action of enzymes. Fermentation is carried out to obtain a high-quality product from tea leaves. Simply put, fermentation is the oxidation of products under the influence of oxygen, in which enzymes participate.

We have more or less figured it out, now let’s talk about the sequence of actions that will help us make real tea.

• The first option (labor-intensive). Take clean raspberries and rub them in your palms so that they darken and curl into a “sausage”. A similar action must be carried out with all the leaves from which you want to make tea.
• The second option (“mechanized”). We take the same washed green leaves and pass them through a meat grinder. In this case, it is better to use an old mechanical machine, since an electric machine will twist everything into a homogeneous mass and no tea will be produced. It is important to use the largest grid possible so that the leaves are not crushed too much.

Of course, you can come up with a lot of other options that will also prepare the raw materials, but the ones proposed above are the most common.

If you use the first option, then after grinding you need to pour everything into a large container and put it under a press. If the second option was used, then simply pour it into a bowl and press it with your hand.

Important! You should not spread the leaves in a thin layer, otherwise the fermentation will be poor.

In order for everything to go as it should, you need to regularly check the moisture content of the fabric, and if it has dried out, re-wet it.
It is worth remembering that the optimal temperature for fermentation is 22–26 °C, no more, but no less. If the temperature decreases or increases, fermentation will stop or will not proceed as expected.

The finished mass should have a greenish-brown color and give off a fruity smell. After fermentation, the raw materials are laid out in a thin layer on a baking sheet and dried in the oven for about 2 hours. The optimal temperature is 100 °C.

Now let's talk about how strong is fermentation?:

1. Easy. If the tea is fermented for 3 to 6 hours, its taste will be soft and light, but the aroma will be too strong.
2. Average. After 10–16 hours, the taste changes: the taste becomes tart and sourness appears. The aroma becomes less “acidic”.
3. Deep. After 20–36 hours, only a faint aroma remains, while the taste becomes more tart.

How and where to store dried leaves

Dried leaves (not tea) are stored at room temperature in areas with low humidity. Completely dried leaves are crushed and placed in linen or paper bags.

If you have made tea, then you need to store it like any other tea - in a dry place, protected from light.

Best before date

When stored under suitable conditions, the product has a shelf life of 24 months.

Did you know? Unlike other berries, the usefulness of raspberries does not decrease after processing, so raspberry jam provides the same vitamins and microelements as fresh berries.

Recipes for delicious and healthy tea

It's time to talk about the variety of raspberry leaf tea options, as well as how to prepare them.
Let's start with the fact that to get a tasty and healthy drink, just take 1 tsp. brews for a standard cup of 150–200 ml.

Raspberry leaves contain a lot of tannins, they have a slight hemostatic effect, so an infusion of them treats inflammation of the oral mucosa and diarrhea. Tea and infusions from raspberry leaves have a strengthening effect on the gums, cleanse the blood, and are used for gastrointestinal diseases and skin rashes. Vitamin C, which is contained in raspberry leaves, is necessary for the treatment of colds.

Tea made from raspberry leaves is especially useful during pregnancy - it strengthens the walls of the uterus, preventing miscarriages, and has a beneficial effect on all functions of the reproductive system. They contain a lot of magnesium, potassium, iron and B vitamins; these substances have a complex effect, relieving nausea during toxicosis, pain in the legs and giving a restful and sound sleep.

Currants, their buds and leaves are also rich in vitamin C, they contain essential oils and phytoncides, giving them a unique characteristic aroma. They also contain rare vitamin P and contain potassium salts. Currant leaves in the form of infusions and teas are used as a general tonic; they also have a diuretic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect. In addition, they contain substances that protect against pneumonia.

How to properly collect and dry currant and raspberry leaves

The maximum amount of vitamins and other useful substances in raspberry currant leaves is contained during the flowering of the plant; it is best to collect and dry them at this time. But, if you don’t have time, you can pick mature leaves that have a rich green color during June, choosing leaf blades that are not affected by fungus or rust, from which black currants suffer quite often. Leaves should be collected in dry weather, after the morning dew has evaporated from them.

To enhance the healing properties of blackcurrant and raspberry leaf tea, drink it with lemon and honey or milk and honey.

In order for your herbal tea with raspberry and currant leaves to retain their natural aroma and avoid the taste of hay, the raw materials must be dried correctly so that the leaves are fermented like real black tea. Wither the leaves by laying them out for a day in a dry, shaded place, in a layer no thicker than 5 cm. Periodically turn the leaves so that they wilt not only at the edges.

Store fermented dry tea from raspberry and currant leaves in a special container with a ground-in lid.

The next day, collect the leaves in piles of 8-10 pieces and roll them into sausages, rolling them between your palms. During this procedure, juice should be released, while the leaves darken. Place these sausage-twisted leaves in layers in a deep enamel bowl, cover it with a wet, clean rag and leave in a warm place for 6-12 hours. The warmer it is, the faster the fermentation will take place. The readiness of the leaves and the end of the fermentation process are checked by the aroma released by the leaves - the smell of grass disappears, and a pronounced aroma of flowers and fruits appears. After this, the leaves need to be cut and placed on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Place them in the oven and dry at 100°C for an hour.

Yoga lovers and followers of a healthy lifestyle often switch to Vedic nutrition. So, one of the main prohibitions in this diet is black tea and coffee. According to yogis, these drinks greatly increase the body’s energy for just a couple of hours. And then it drops sharply, and we begin to feel less active.

What can replace caffeinated drinks? Herbal teas. Let's learn how to prepare them correctly. Moreover, most of us have summer cottages.

What can tea be made from?

Almost from the leaves of any garden shrubs and trees, as well as from specially planted mint, lemon balm and even pine.

You can use them separately, or you can mix them at your discretion, then each time the tea will have a special aroma or beneficial properties.

How to collect correctly

There are two periods when plant leaves are best ready to be processed into tea. This is during the flowering time of the plant (and immediately after it) and in the fall, after fruiting.

Autumn leaves are more difficult to collect: you need to choose undamaged ones, and they are tougher. But the tea they make is more aromatic. In general, leaves can be harvested throughout their growth period.

The main safety rule is that you must know exactly which plant leaves you are collecting, and under no circumstances harvest them from bushes and trees growing near industrial enterprises and roads.

It is best to go on a “quiet hunt” for aromatic tea in your own garden or forest.

Features of some teas

• Raspberries:

strengthens the gums, treats skin rashes and colds. Raspberry leaves are useful during pregnancy - it strengthens the walls of the uterus, preventing miscarriages. The leaves contain B vitamins, magnesium, iron and potassium. Thanks to this, nausea during toxicosis, pain in the legs disappears, and has a beneficial effect on sleep.

• Currant:

rich in vitamin C, contains vitamin P, potassium salts. It is a general tonic, diuretic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic. In addition, currant leaves contain substances that protect against pneumonia.

• Cherry:

vitamin tea, has a hemostatic and anti-inflammatory effect. Useful for viral diseases of the upper respiratory tract. Prevents premature aging processes, reduces the likelihood of cancer. Good for joints and improving liver and kidney function.

• Apple tree:

the leaves are rich in vitamin C - 100 grams contain 400 mg. Therefore, their infusion is useful for loss of strength, vitamin deficiency and colds.

• Chokeberry:

improves liver function and has a beneficial effect on the thyroid gland, and also helps cleanse the body of heavy metal salts. Tea can be used to treat deep cuts, purulent wounds and acne. This remedy is also perfect for treating skin diseases such as lichen, eczema, trophic ulcers and even psoriasis.