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Rose hip tea.
Submitted by Blog - Henriette on 17 January, 2005 - 10:00
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Rose hip tea is deep red and sour because of the roselle, not because of the rose hip.
I've dried rose hips (the fruits of wild roses). Sliced them into halves, removed the seeds, and dried them. And made tea out of them.
So I just read that rose hips "impart a lovely, garnet red color and a tart taste to your tea". Umm. No, that's not the rose hip, that's the roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) you'll find in all commercial rose hip teas.
Or at least, my homemade rose hip tea, with nothing but dried rose hips, didn't taste of anything and was a pale pale light red in color.
Of course, if you've had better luck, tell me what you did and I'll check things out, come autumn.
Comments
My experience largely
My experience largely matches yours -- I have never seen much color in tea made from rose hips with nothing else added. Different roses seem to vary tremendously in the amount of vitamin C they contain, btw, and some rose hip teas can be fairly tart ...but some are quite bland.
They also vary widely in flavor and aroma. I am tracking down one North American species that can have beautifully scented hips; my best current guess is that it is R. californica, but that species is ridiculously variable and difficult to identify. Only some plants seem to have the nice hip fragrance, and I think I've noticed at least 4 different foliage fragrances as well. (Always assuming that I'm identifying the plants correctly, which may not be the case.)
If it's legal, btw, I can probably send you some seeds if you want to try growing them.
MANY thanks for your site, btw -- it is a wonder and a marvel!!
jon
I've done the
I've done the slice-dry-deseed routine too, and never did get much taste out of it.Faintly tart water, more like.
This year I ground the fresh de-seeded hips with honey in my mortar. Much prettier, much tastier. Does need to be in the fridge, though.
I always thought the colour
I always thought the colour and flavour of "rose hip tea" was a bit of a horror, the kind that simultaneously attracts and repels.
Roselle, eh? I learn many things from you, Hetta.
Jon: thanks for offering,
Jon: thanks for offering, but there's no space for more roses in my garden.
Persimmon: good idea! I'll try that, this fall.
JIM: HTH, HAND.
Tastes and smells like the
Tastes and smells like the 'Parma Violet' sweets, just made some from a handful of fresh flowers from the garden (btw i am on the isle of lewis, scotland), not too bad actually
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