
From the loading dock/back door of my brewery/distillery I look out past the parking lot to a sea of green, yellow, and purple as well. I love the color combination of bright golden yellow and green. This time of year that usually means Sweet Goldenrod.
Sweet Goldenrod leaves make a great herbal tea, also called a tisane. The leaves, when fresh picked have a delicate anise-like aroma, mixed with a bright green herbal hints as well. the leaves can be brewed into tea, whether fresh leaves, or dried. The fresh leaves make a delicate tea with more of the anise-like flavor, but I prefer the leaves dried. When slow-dried they have a light anise and bright green/gold flavor. If you dry them in a low oven with the door ajar, watching them carefully so they don't scorch, you get a more pronounced, warm , golden, deep, anise and hay complexity; with a touch of agreeable bitterness. A bare hint of sugar or honey round it out and make for an exceptional tisane.
Besides tasting great, Sweet Goldenrod tea has some medicinal benefits. According to Peterson Field Guide of Medicinal Plants, it has been used as a digestive stimulant, for stomach cramps, coughs, colds, and more. As with all wild edibles and medicinals, one should only try a small sample for the first time. You never know if you may have an allergy or reaction of some type and Sweet Goldenrod may cause minor allergies to some people. If after trying a small sample you feel fine, you can try larger amounts.
Making Sweet Goldenrod Leaf Tea

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9-03-2008 @8:54AM Donald E. Knouse said... My family picks this tea in the wild every year between Labor Day and first frost.I only find it in poor soil, on the edges of woods (partial sun). I find it most frequently in abandoned strip mines, so I am guessing that it likes acidic soil. We love the taste and natural sweetness when brewed into iced tea. We have always referred to it as mountain tea. I live in central Pennsylvania.
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10-16-2008 @1:06PM Susie Cook said... Excuse my ignorance, but I have a ton of goldenrod around the property; do I dry the yellow part or the green leaves for the tea?
Be well,
Susie
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10-16-2008 @1:08PM jmforester said... If you take a look at the photo gallery above, you just use the leaves. They strip very easily off of the stem.
-JMF-
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