Camp Herb Tea, Ginger and Mint
Loose dried herbs steeped in a pot lid, sweetened with honey. A hot drink that does something.
- calories
- 90
- weight
- 0.9 oz
- cal / oz
- 100
- protein
- 0 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 5 min
- total time
- 7 min
- water
- 350 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Drink
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Winter / snow
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Dried peppermint leaf | 1 tbsp | crumbled, not powdered |
|---|---|---|
| Dried chamomile flower | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried ginger, chopped or granulated | 1 tsp | the heat in the cup comes from this |
| Honey | 1 tbsp | carried in a small squeeze tube |
| Citric acid or powdered lemon | a pinch | optional, cuts the flat taste of treated water |
| Refillable tea bag or mesh ball | 1 |
Method
- Load the herbs into the tea bag or mesh ball at camp. If you premixed at home, one bag is one serving.
- Boil 350 ml of water and pull the pot off the flame.
- Drop the herbs in and cover with the lid. Steep five minutes. Covering matters: the volatile oils in mint leave with the steam otherwise.
- Lift the herbs out and squeeze them against the pot wall with your spoon.
- Stir in the honey and the pinch of lemon powder off the heat. Boiling honey wastes it.
This started as an herbalist’s tea preparation and it survives the trail almost unchanged, which is rare. Dried leaf and root weigh nothing, keep for a season in a sealed bag, and need only hot water. The one thing worth carrying that a home kitchen would not bother with is the refillable bag or mesh ball. Loose herbs floating in a pot become loose herbs in your teeth.
The method is the whole recipe. Steep off the heat, not at a boil, and keep the lid on. Boiling shreds mint’s oils and turns chamomile bitter; five minutes under a lid gets you the flavor and the ginger warmth without either. Honey goes in last for the same reason. Sweetener aside, this is 350 ml of hot water you will actually drink, which on a cold night is the point.
Packing
Premix the three dried herbs at home into snack bags, one per night. Herbs crush in a pack, so the bags ride inside a hard container or a spare mug. Honey goes in a tube, sealed in its own bag, because it always leaks.
Variations
- Swap the chamomile for dried rosehip if you want tart instead of soft.
- Add a cinnamon stick and steep ten minutes for a cold-night version.
- Skip the honey and the tea is vegan; the sweetness is doing nothing structural.
https://survivalsherpa.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/herbal-medicine-kit-preparations-for-internal-use