Fresh Meadow Tea

Multiple varieties of tea grow in meadows, gardens, and flower beds in eastern Pennsylvania. The leaves can be used fresh, dried, or frozen. Many cooks keep a gallon jar of fresh tea in the refrigerator from May through September. They also see to it that tea leaves and stems are laid out on paper to dry in a little-used corner of the house. (It’s a way to insure a supply of meadow tea for hot drinks in the wintertime.) Those with access to a freezer have discovered the convenience of mixing up a tea concentrate and freezing it for some future occasions when time or the season does not allow making it with fresh leaves.