Have you discovered Lemon Verbena?
Joe held the cup to her lips, and she drank the tea in little sips, breathing in over it to cool it. That’s enough, she said when the cup was only half empty. How was the night?
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
Inspiration
Have you discovered lemon verbena? It’s an easy to grow herb that has the scent and flavor of lemon. It’s sweeter than a regular lemon, even sweeter and milder than a Meyer lemon. The older leaves are tougher and best for tea. The newer, more tender leaves are easier to chop finely to use in baking. If combined with lemon zest, the whole lemony thing gains intensity. It can be used in place of lemon zest in most recipes. Classic shortbread cookies flecked with lemon verbena and lemon zest are a lemon lovers dream. I’ve infused milk with the leaves and then made a mildly herbaceous and lemony cake. Pound cake or shortcake destined for soaking up summer berries and their juice sing with it’s assistance. For more lemon verbena joy Bon Appetit has several recipes and so does The Kitchn.
Lemon verbena flourishes in our coastal climate with mild winters. My old plant still produces more leaves than I can use. You won’t find fresh it at the grocery store, it’s not popular enough to sell commercially and its’ shelf life is short. Sometimes it will appear at a farmers’ market. My plant had gotten woody and scraggly and in need of a good trimming. Perfect timing for this month’s Food in Jar Mastery Challenge. It was time to dry the overabundance of summer leaves to make lemon verbena tea for the winter. This was an easy and rewarding end-of-summer project. More importantly, when you dry your own herbs they will always be fresher and have more vibrant flavor than store bought. You will know exactly where your tea came from, knowledge that is often elusive in the grocery store isles.
Essentials
There are several ways to dry lemon verbena leaves, even in a microwave. I opted for low tech, cutting back the plant, trimming the stems into more-or-less even lengths and wrapping several stalks together. The bunches were hung upside down to dry, encouraging all the lemon verbena oil to flow down into the leaves. Find a place to dry the stalks out of direct sunshine, but where air can circulate around the leaves. The drying process is complete when the lemon verbena leaves have lost all their moisture and easily crumble when rubbed together. If the leaves are not completely dry they will mold when stored.
Do you have a preference, herbal tea or tisane? It’s confusing, both terms can mean the same thing. What we commonly call herbal tea is really a tisane of herbs or spices. Technically a tea must contain some type of tea, black, green or white. To make Lemon verbena tea or a tisane, the leaves can be either fresh or dried. Lemon verbena combined with mint makes a very soothing drink. Mixed with green tea, lemon verbena becomes the accent flavor. In addition to all the lemony goodness, lemon verbena is said to have many health benefits.
| Lemon Verbena Tea or Tisane | |
| 1/4C | fresh lemon verbena leaves or 1T dried and crumbled leaves |
| 1C | Hot water, not boiling |
- Make lemon verbena tea or tisane with either fresh or dried leaves. When making tea or a tisane with fresh lemon verbena bruise or tear apart the leaves to release more flavor. Then add the hot, near boiling, water to the cup or tea pot. Let steep 10 minutes, or longer if you like. Strain out the leaves and enjoy. For iced tea, just pour over ice.
I love herbal tea and I’m in love with anything lemon, so this is calling my name!
Thank you Laura! I am a lemon lover too.
As far as I know, I’ve never had lemon verbena but I’m sure I would enjoy it because of my love of lemons.
Thank you Karen! Lemon verbena is worth finding if you are a lemon lover.
Thank you for this educational post. I will do my best to get it and grow on my balcony. Do you think it would survive in a pot ?
Thank you 2pots! Lemon verbena would well in a planter as long as it gets lots of sunshine and doesn’t freeze during the winter.
I know lemon verbena, but it’s one of the herbs I never use. I never see it in markets (not even in farmer’s markets), and I doubt if it’d grow here (I should ask Mrs KR — she’s the garden maven in our household). I’m jealous! Really fun post, though — thanks.
Thank you John! If you like lemons, lemon verbena is worth the time and effort of growing.
I am a great fan of lemon verbena and always grow a few plants just for tea. Sadly I can’t get them through the winter here, but I dry enough each year so that I can drink it daily and give some to my niece too! I love the scent and flavour. It is also delicious for sorbet. 🙂
Thank you Cathy! Lemon verbena sounds wonderful!
I would love to try this tea especially in these cold temps.
Thank you Denise! Fall has arrived!
I don’t have too much in my herb garden, but I DO have lemon verbena! I initially planted it because it’s my favorite scent on the planet. I’ve used it fresh in a couple recipes, but I hadn’t thought about drying it. Now that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Thank you. 😀
Thank you for the tasty comment! I’m motivated to dry a few more herbs. My mint and oregano are still going strong.
I cannot go to sleep at night without a cup of herbal tea, my favorite being fennel tea that I bring from Germany. I have made fresh lemon verbena and mint tea and it is delicious. Your photos are stunning and I enjoyed the lesson on tisane.
Thank you for the generous comment Gerlinde, much appreciated!
Sure wish I could grow this here! I love lemon verbena, but you can’t find it here. And I think our winters are too cold to grow it. I can smell that tea you have steeping. Such a relaxing but yet energizing aroma with the lemon. Gorgeous photos!
I do prefer herbal teas in the sense of making tea from leaves of plants rather than a mix of spices.
Thank you MJ! I know I am blessed to live in an area with mild winters.