I love the look of morels and wanted to make a ceramic mug that actually captures that forest floor feeling. Most of the work lately has been honing in on the glaze so it reads more like a real morel with earthy depth and variation. Would love to know if fellow foragers think it gets close.
Today was my first time foraging, and we found a blanket of wild garlic growing by the river!
I got a few leaves, and I’m excited to take them home and make wild garlic pesto with them!
3 years of sporing the yard, then 2 years of only a single flush of smaller mushrooms per year, and here we are on year 5 finally getting several flushes of HUGE morels that we have to walk maybe 30ft for
So my boss told me about some wild garlic growing against the fence, so I went out and just wanted to know what this specific part is used for and what it’s called?
**Linden Leaf (**Tilia spp.) In the USA, we often call the tree Basswood.
This is a series where I look back at the plants I gathered last growing season, and used as teas all winter long. This is what I think of them.
The Plant
This tea was made from linden leaves and bracts, not the blossoms. I dried them, crumbled the leaves and bracts together and stored them for winter use. The blossoms are on my list for this year, and I’m curious how they’ll compare.
The Brew
I expected to drink this one cold more often, because in warm weather this tea is my favorite cold brew, but once the weather turned, I almost always reached for it hot.
It brews into a pale, soft gold cup with a gentle aroma. The flavor is delicate but rich, smooth, and quietly satisfying. It isn’t strong, it just is good.
Blends
Sweeteners & Pairings
Linden takes sweetener well, I liked best with plain sugar or stevia because it lets the flavor stay itself. It was good with honey, but my darker honey overpowered it. It was also lovely with my homemade flavored sugars, and the lemon, orange, and quince sugars all worked beautifully
I also blended it occasionally with raspberry, mulberry, or blackberry leaves , and they tasted like soft, rounded blends. Paired with with white meadowsweet, I found it to be unexpectedly elegant, like something royalty would drink.
Flavor Strength Scale
Light and fragrant. Unexpectedly complex.
Hot vs Cold
Hot: my clear favorite. It was calming, full, and satisfying
Cold: I didn’t reach for it as much as I expected
Did I Actually Drink It?
Yes. Often. This was one I chose on purpose, not just to use it up.
Did I Run Out?
Also yes.
By February I was starting to be careful with it, brewing it less to make it last and pouring smaller cups. Saving it a little. That’s always a sign. Right now I have enough for maybe two more pots.
Was It Worth Gathering?
Absolutely. I would gather more this year, and earlier.
Would I Dry This for Winter Again?
Yes. Generously.
Final Verdict
Yes, it brewed, and it carried me cozily through the winter.
Delicate, adaptable, and quietly excellent. One of the few teas I missed when it was not able to be generous with it.
Notes:
Last summer I worried that the dried linden tea would be disappointing, because I love the fresh leaf brew so much. So I picked and froze a small bag full, thinking it might be a nice taste of summer in mid-winter. So, in early January it brewed up the frozen leaves and bracts. And while the tea tasted nice, it was slimy, and I didn’t finish it. So, feel confident that the dried leaves and bracts are very nice, and brews just fine. It doesn’t taste exactly the same as the fresh leaf brew, but I am happy to have it in season, and the dried stuff out of season.
What are we using autumn olive flowers for? Was going to make a tea out of them but wanted to confirm the edibility of them. I can’t find a ton of info on them online. I always enjoy the berries in fall though.
What are we using autumn olive flowers for? Was going to make a tea out of them but wanted to confirm the edibility of them. I can’t find a ton of info on them online. I always enjoy the berries in fall though.
Last year I tracked down a wild plum, but it was in a difficult location and the fruit was to high to reach, so I grabbed a couple rotting plums off the ground and planted them. They sprouted! Now I'm not sure what to do! Lol Does anyone here have experience growing them?