How To Make Lemon Balm Tea - Two Ways - Moral Fibres

Want to know how to make deliciously refreshing lemon balm tea? You’re in luck – it’s one of my favourite beverages! Here’s how to make it with fresh leaves, and how to make lemon balm tea from dried leaves. Enjoy!

Lemon balm grows in abundance in my garden. I absolutely adore the smell of lemon balm and it’s not just me. Bees blooming well love lemon balm. When the plant’s tiny white flowers bloom in August and September, you’ll find scores upon scores of bees on it collecting precious pollen.

As such, I have planted a couple of pots of it over the years. Pro-tip: plant it in pots otherwise it will spread. It’s a lot like mint, in that it needs to be contained so that it doesn’t take over.

I tell myself I’m planting lemon balm for the bees, but mostly it’s simply for the fact that I adore it as a tea. It’s a refreshing, caffeine-free tea, and one that I reach for during the day or evening when I need a non-caffeinated pick-me-up.

In summer you can make fresh lemon balm tea, or you can dry the leaves for a beverage you can enjoy all year round.

I’ll first show you how to make fresh tea in summer. Then I’ll show you how to dry lemon balm leaves to preserve them for later. And then, because I’m good like that, I’ll show you how to make lemon balm tea from the dried leaves. I promise it’s a taste of summer even in the darkest depths of winter.

Table of Contents

• What Is Lemon Balm?
• How To Pick Leaves For Tea
• How to Make Fresh Lemon Balm Tea
• How To Dry Lemon Balm Leaves
  • How To Dry Leaves In The Oven
  • How To Air Dry Lemon Balm
  • Storage
• How To Make Lemon Balm Tea From Dried Leaves

What Is Lemon Balm?

First off, you might be wondering what lemon balm is exactly. Lemon balm is an edible herbal plant known by the botanical name Melissa officinalis. The plant is also frequently called common balm and balm mint. This is because it’s closely related to the Mint family.

Lemon balm is often confused with lemon verbena, but these are two very separate plants from two very different parts of the world. Lemon balm is native to Europe and North Africa, whilst Lemon verbena is native to South America. You can, however, make tea from lemon verbena – it is perfectly edible – so if you have lemon verbena to hand then all is not lost!

Lemon balm has a long history of culinary use – working particularly well with fish and poultry dishes, alongside vegetable dishes and salads.

Meanwhile, in many regions, lemon balm has long been used as a natural herbal remedy. Some possible health benefits of lemon balm tea include reducing stress and anxiety levels, helping with insomnia, providing indigestion and nausea relief, and more.

Whether herbal remedies are your thing or not, lemon balm also makes a pretty tasty and refreshing cup of tea. So let’s get down to the tea-drinking business!

How To Pick Leaves For Tea

It’s best to pick lemon balm for tea before the plant starts to flower in late July/early August time. This is because the flavours in the leaves are at their optimum peak before flowering. So as long as your plant hasn’t flowered yet, you’re good to brew.

Picking the leaves after they’ve flowered isn’t bad for you – your tea will just have a more bitter taste to it. This is because once lemon balm flowers, the plant shifts its energy into reproduction rather than leaf production. This change affects the chemical composition of the leaves – particularly the essential oils that give lemon balm its lovely lemony scent and soothing properties.

When it comes to picking, use scissors or pruning shears, and cut the lemon balm stalk, just above the second row of leaves. Pruning like this encourages the lemon balm plant to produce new shoots and maintains a source of pollen for the bees.

And as it’s a favourite plant of the bees, do ensure that you leave plenty for our fuzzy friends to gather pollen from.

How to Make Fresh Lemon Balm Tea

The quickest, no-fuss way is to make your tea fresh. Here’s how to make one cup of tea:

• Pick a handful of fresh lemon balm leaves, giving them a shake to dislodge any bugs.
• Next, rinse the leaves under cold water, and using a tea towel, gently pat the leaves dry.
• Add two to three teaspoons of fresh lemon balm leaves to a tea infuser, and then place the infuser in your teacup or mug. I prefer to tear up the leaves before adding them to the tea infuser, as it helps release the lovely lemon balm flavour.
• In your kettle, bring the amount of water you need to a boil.
• Pour the hot water into the teacup and allow the lemon balm leaves to steep for around 5 to 10 minutes.
• Drink as it is, or add a slice of lemon for additional flavour. If you need to sweeten your tea, add sugar, honey or your usual sweetener.

How To Dry Lemon Balm Leaves

If you have a glut of lemon balm, like me, then you are going to want to dry at least some of it to tide you through the autumn and winter. There are two separate methods – in the oven, and hanging them up to dry. Let me talk you through both.

How To Dry Leaves In The Oven

Here’s the full step-by-step guide to drying lemon balm leaves in the oven:

• Preheat your oven to 80°C / 180°F
• Once you’ve gathered what leaves you need, give the stalks a shake to dislodge any bugs. Then rinse the leaves under cold water, and gently pat dry with a clean, dry tea towel.
• Once dry, lay out the stems on a baking tray and heat in the oven for around 1 to 1.5 hours. Keep a close eye on your leaves to ensure they don’t burn.
• You can tell the leaves are fully dried when the leaves become very crisp and brittle. If you are in any doubt, give the leaves a little more time in the oven, as leaves that are not fully dried out will develop mould.
• When the leaves are sufficiently dry remove the tray from the oven and leave to cool.
• Once cool, you should remove the leaves from the stalks. For best results, I find running my fingers down the stem helps remove all the leaves.
• Finally, place the lemon balm leaves in a clean and dry airtight jar, ready for future tea-drinking times. Compost the leftover stalks.

How To Air Dry Lemon Balm

If you don’t want to dry the leaves in the oven, you can dry bundles together. Here’s how:

• Gather several stems of lemon balm together, and tie them up around the stem with a piece of string.
• Hang your bunches of lemon balm up in a cool dry spot in your house. Leave them for around 2-3 weeks to fully dry out.
• Once fully dry, remove the leaves from the stalks.
• Place the lemon balm leaves in a clean and dry airtight jar. Compost the leftover stalks.

Storage

Your dried lemon balm will keep for around 6 months or so. For optimum freshness, store your jar in a cool dark place. If you see any signs of mould on the dried leaves then you’ll know the leaves did not dry properly. In this instance, they should be discarded.

How To Make Lemon Balm Tea From Dried Leaves

If you have dried leaves to hand then follow this tea-making guide to make one cup of tea:

• Add a heaped teaspoon of crumbled, dried lemon balm leaves to a tea infuser.
• In your kettle, bring the amount of water you need to a boil.
• Pour the hot water into the teacup and allow the dried leaves to steep for around 5 minutes. Drink as it is, or add a slice of lemon for additional flavour. If you need to sweeten your tea, add sugar, honey or your usual sweetener.

Enjoy!

PS: If you have mint growing in your garden, then you can also make mint tea. Here’s how to dry mint leaves for tea.

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