A tiny bit of stem with your chamomile is fine. Too much stem or leaves can make tea taste bitter though. A great book on herb teas is: "Herbal Teas - 101 Nourishing Blends for Daily Health and Vitality" by Kathleen Brown.

I always suggest visiting a book store or library to find the herbs books that appeal to you. Many books contain the same or similar information it is just that they are formatted or written differently. As far as that goes, looking "inside books" at amazon can give you an idea of a book as well. Speaking of amazon, here is an amazon listing for a book I recently picked up on sale at a nursery I stopped at: Herbal Teas. Enjoy.

FataMorgana

ps.....used books are a great and inexpensive way to fill out your bookshelf!

There are also lots of websites with assorted recipes for herbal teas. A good one will also tell you what ailments each is used for - because you will of course remember that herbal teas are in fact herbal medicines, NOT beverages! One cup of herbal tea per day is a medicinal dosage for an adult - like taking a pill.

So what herbs you want to dry and store should be labelled with their medicinal uses, and used only for medicinal purposes. It would be awful to give, say, Lemon Balm tea to a person who suffers from thyroid problems, or a liquorice tea to someone who suffers from high blood pressure! There could be drastic consequences! Even innocent-sounding peppermint tea has its risks, and the same applies to chamomile and other herbs commonly used for teas.

It's a good thing to have a stock of herbal teas in your medicine or First Aid cabinet for treatment of minor conditions, but it's not (IMO) a good thing to be handing out medicinal remedies willy-nilly.

To my way of thinking, it might be better if you thought of giving your herbs as culinary herbs, not teas. That way the risk of overdosing (or dangerously dosing at-risk individuals!) is much reduced.

fatamorgana, that's the book I recommended. It is quite good. Daisy, do you have reports on a single cup of licorice tea producing high blood pressure? From all the reports I have seen and from own personal use as well as many, many people who have had licorice tea - it is several cups over a period of several weeks or more that might raise blood pressure. Ditto with lemon balm causing thyroid problems. I understand your caution and one never knows how someone else will react to advice (taking it to the extreme) or to an herb (you can have an allergic reaction to anything). But, you could also hand out such warning with a homemade pumpkin pie (caution - having more than one slice may make your bowels move and that's a medical effect).

herbalbetty, funny thing is our posts came in at exactly the same time for the same book. If I was the original poster I would see something cosmic in that! :)

And thanks also for your second response as well. I tried to write a post last night about the risks that could be associated with anything including simple food items but it just wasn't coming out right so I scrapped it. %^)

The one thing I would add is this, until knowing more about the individual herbs themselves, the original poster should stick to following recipes for teas out of sources like books. Especially for tea blends designed more for pleasure or very light medicinal actions like "calming teas" rather than teas with stronger medicinal actions. That way they should stay away from anything too dangerous. All homemade teas should be labeled with a complete list of ingredients so people can make their own informed choices on safety given their own medical history and concerns.

FataMorgana

Fatamorgana, Cosmic indeed! LOL. I heard a phrase on a show once, "If you are going to self-medicate, self-educate." I agree with that completely. Your advice is excellent.

I prefer that I am not misquoted, please! :-)

Liquorice is well-researched, and it is well-known that a single cup of liquorice tea will raise the blood pressure. It is therefore not recommended for people who already have hypertension. I'm sure you are able to do your own research if you care to.

Nowhere did I say that lemon balm causes thyroid problems. But it is not recommended for use by those suffering from thyroid problems - because it acts on the thyroid and can interfere with thyroid medications. (It has been used to treat Graves' Disease, but is not as reliable a treatment as more conventional medications for such a serious condition.)

As Herbalbetty said, "one never knows how someone else will react to advice (taking it to the extreme)". Unfortunately, there ARE people out there who have an immovable opinion on herbs - they believe that all herbs are safe in all situations at all times for all people. It's a wide-spread misconception, sadly. A quick read of any book or website about herbs should at least get a person thinking twice (hope springs eternal!). If only they'd read disclaimers, for starters! They are enough, surely, for most people to be startled.

I do tend to come over quite strongly about the safety of herbs and herbal teas in particular, and I make no apology for it. I present the information where I think it may be needed - individuals can dismiss it if they want to. I think it's better to err on the side of caution, and give warnings where appropriate - but if people want to self-medicate, that's entirely their own prerogative. Since I have a conscience, and also a considerable knowledge about herbs, I'd prefer to present the down-side so that they can made educated decisions.

Don't get me wrong. Herbs have their place, and I'm very glad of it. But when it comes to medicinal doses of them, I think it's wise to exercise caution - so I give the warnings when I'm in doubt as to a person's intentions. Not being psychic (just a mere mortal), I cannot always tell whether a person asking a question has a good understanding and knowledge of herbs or not. Where there is doubt, I offer the information. It would be remiss of me not too, even if that sounds presumptuous. In this case (and no offence whatever intended to anybody), I assumed that a question involving the basic preparation of herbs for teas came from a person who is fairly new to herbs and their uses - in the original question, there is no indication to the contrary.

Daisy wrote, "I'm sure you are able to do your own research if you care to."

And I have done so. I am a member of the American Herbalists' Guild, the Herb Society of America, the Northeast Herbalists' Association, etc. I have taken Dr. Tierona Lowdog's course in Herbalism. (She is an herbalist, midwife and an MD.) She was also appointed by President Clinton to head the White House Commission of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. I've grown and used herbs for more than 20 years. I've attended many herb symposium and classes. I was a certified medical assistant, taught medical terminology and transcription classes at the college level. And I'm on the contestant list for Jeopardy.

Not only have I done research through books, I have actually used the herbs as well. And caution must be used, but in balance with the threat of danger. Many times, a reductionist theory is presented through written literature to protect against those who don't or won't read thoroughly into the entire mechanisms of effect or to protect against litigation in this sue-happy world. So, rather than explain that excessive doses of licorice can have hypoaldosterogenic effect (increased retention of sodium and excretion of potassium), it's easier to say "Licorice causes high blood pressure". There is now deglycyrrhizinated licorice (in pill form), which won't cause these problems. Would I recommend licorice tea daily to someone with uncontrolled high blood pressure? No. If that same person said he had drunk a single cup of licorice tea, I would recommend no more (unless DGL) and tell him to really restrict his sodium intake for the next few days - just as if he had eaten salty French fries one day.