• Water
• Teapot
• Brewing
• Other essentials
• Serving

• Calming tea
• Digestive tea
• Refreshing tea
• Stimulating tea
• Detox tea
• Thinker's tea

• Wild herbs
• Other herbs 
• Spices

Supplies for gourmet teas

Harvesting

Nothing beats a cup of freshly brewed herbal tea made with herbs freshly picked from the wild.
Wild herbs which have grown in a clean, unpolluted environment without any human interference have the strongest healing properties, and generally taste better as well..
Whether wild or cultivated, timing is all important for harvesting, particularly if the herbs are to be dried for later use. Harvesting has to be done at the appropriate time of the day (on a sunny morning, after the first dew has dried up, except for roots, which should be harvested in the evening), just before flowering if harvesting leaves, and has soon as the flowers start to open if they are the part of the plant that will be used. If at all possible, the Moon should also be in the right part of the zodiac (water signs for leaves, air signs for flowers, fire signs for seeds, and earth signs for roots, see a biodynamic calendar for more details). Do not to wash the herbs or flowers after collection (this, in any case, should be unnecessary).

Growing

Growing your own supplies is the best guarantee that what you are brewing only with the highest quality organic herbs. What you will able to grow depends, however, on the climate you live in and the amount of space available in your garden, or on your balcony, and although there’s hardly any valid excuse not to grow mint and thyme in window boxes, you will have to purchase some, if not most of your ingredients. Make sure you grow your herbs from seeds, and choose organic seeds.

Drying

Herbs that are to be kept for later use, i.e. used more than a few days after picking, should be chopped (in most but not all cases) and dried. Drying should be done as naturally as possible and most importantly away for sunlight which darkens the herbs and often lessens their healing properties. Some small scale commercial growers use a solar drier, which is a very good idea, but any source of warm dry air will do. In damp climates, a dehumidifier may be a good idea. Once dried, the herbs should be frozen for a day or two (this is the only natural way of killing various bugs that might be living on the plant. Some large scale commercial operation use gas, but of course, this is not recommended).

Buying