The onslaught of fresh mulberries in our garden reminds me yet again that the season is PERFECT for harvesting and making mulberry leaf tea. Here in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where silkworms are as ubiquitous as the mulberry trees that feed them, the humidity is down from 75-95% to about 50-55% and the days are long, dry & very hot. PERFECT for shade-air-drying some organic mulberry leaf tea for the long rainy & cool seasons ahead.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Mulberry Leaf is known as 桑叶 or Sāng Yè. It's TCM nature is Cold, its TCM tastes are Bitter & Sweet & the organ affinities are Liver & Lung. Me & Qi Database Mulberry
It's amazing to think that after the lusciousness of weeks and weeks of yummy fresh berries literally raining down, the humble little tree also provides natural medicine in the form of a gentle, pleasant tasting tea to last for the rest of the year. Sometimes I just have to pause and marvel at the abundance.
Harvesting the leaves is a careful job - as we don't want to use just ANY leaf. The large, very mature leaves carry a white latex-like substance in the large veins that you see under the leaves, which is very mildly toxic to humans.
We DON'T want the really big, mature leaves!!
The leaf on the lower left is about as big as you should take, and you an see the veins are whiter than on the smaller leaves.
Ideally, we harvest the healthy leaves that are on the small side.
I soak my leaves for 20 mins in a large stainless steel bowl with cold water with a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda added. Just to be sure there are no mold spores or microscopic insect eggs.
Be sure to rinse very well afterwards, so the tea doesn't carry any residual bitterness from the Bicarbonate of Soda.
Next step in to shred the leaves very finely. In true Asian style, a cleaver has become my go-to in the kitchen for most everything. 😆
And then spread in a thin layer in the special herb drying baskets. That's how we do it, Thai style.
Thai baskets are slightly curved underneath, which optimizes airflow. I simply cover with a thin muslin cloth and put them in our spare room, which gets very warm. Please don't dry herbs in direct sunlight, as you will damage many of the healing phytochemicals.
If you don't have access to dinky handmade baskets sold at the market by a lovely old Thai auntie, it's also quite easy to put your shredded mulberry leaves in an old (not to tightly woven) pillowcase or specially made muslin drying bag. Gather it closed with a piece of string and hang in a warm, dark spot. Shake it up occasionally to redistribute the contents and make sure no mold develops in the middle.
As hot as it is in Asia right now (35-40C,95-105F most days) my mulberry tea is DRY in 3 days flat. Crisp to my touch but still a LOVELY deep shade of green.
Store AWAY from direct sunlight in an airtight container.
Planning ahead for Christmas giving? Now is the PERFECT TIME to stash away some tins of homemade Mulberry Leaf Tea for festive season labeling and giving.
What are the benefits of drinking Mulberry Leaf Tea?
- It helps lower and regulate blood glucose levels - an IMPORTANT natural medicine drink for people with diabetes!
- It helps lower LDL cholesterol and therefore prevent heart disease.
- In Asia, Mulberry leaf tea is commonly used for sore throats, as it is a known antibacterial.
- Mulberry leaf tea specifically contains 2 antioxidants (astragalin and isoquercitrin) which help prevent the build up of plaque in the arteries.
- In Chinese medicine, Mulberry Leaf Tea is often prescribed for people with eye problems, as it is very high in natural Vitamin A.
- Mulberry tea also contains deoxynojirimycin, a compound that inhibits and slows down the body’s absorption of carbohydrates - aa useful tool in weight management. Source
CAUTIONS: Mulberry tea has the ability to lower your blood sugar and so must be consumed with caution by people using diabetes medications. Due to mulberry tea’s substantial levels of potassium, it is not recommended for people suffering from kidney disease. For both of these reasons, mulberry tea is also not recommended for pregnant women. Source
For the rest of us who have healthy kidneys, no diabetes and not pregnant? What a remarkable, easily available natural medicine to inclide in our day to day!
Mulberry Leaf Tea has a very mild, gentle flavor and it is not remotely bitter. I enjoy to blend it with organic green tea.
Savoring the Abundance, Naturally.
BlissednBlessed.
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This is also new to me. Mulberry!?! Hmm... recently got off coffee and drink loads of white and green tea. This seams like something i might get into.
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It's a really lovely gentle taste and sooooo nice blended with plain green tea. Making your own from the mulberry tree in the garden? Win-Win.
Much love to my fav conscious graffiti ninja. 😘
!ENGAGE 25
ENGAGEtokens.Never heard this tree tea. Leaves look like peepal tree
And now I'm gonna have to go off and consult the search engines about the Peepal tree. 😆 Nice. Learning is good.
!ENGAGE 25
ENGAGEtokens.That's fascinating @artemislives, I didn't know about mulberry leaves tea, the silkworms are very clever feeding off the leaves;) We used to have a tree in our garden but no more. I'm going to check with a friend who has one as I'd love to try this. Thank you for sharing your wisdom xx
The amazing thing is mulberries grow well in MANY climates. Totally worth planting these trees all over - apart from my Food Forest for the World ideal, they're just such darn pretty shade trees!
Not sure about "wisdom" - just sharing my day to day as it unfolds.
Hope all is well with you. !ENGAGE 25
ENGAGEtokens.Wow! I just consumed it a week ago given by my teacher. It contains fresh aroma. I am hooked of this tea 😁
The tea DOES have a lovely soft aroma, almost like a very gentle peppermint. Sounds like your teacher is a wise soul. Thanks for stopping by.
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Would love to try it, reminds me we have "red mulberry" in the USA, but I assume these trees are probably cousins. Do you know anything about the North American variety and if it has the same medicinal qualities?
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Thank you @artemislives for teaching me something new! We are blessed with several mulberry trees here on our little homestead; a few of the younger ones just started producing last year, so that was also exciting. I have always loved the fruits and I have gone out of my way to know where mulberry trees are when I have lived in different places over the past decades, but I had no idea I could harvest the leaves for tea, or what the medicinal properties were. I really appreciate how thorough this post is as well; it has all the information I need to learn by heart to add this simple yet wonderful leaf to my ever growing (and never big enough!) herbal tea collection.