I’ve discovered the ultimate plant for green health: lemon verbena. The leaves from this plant make some absolutely delicious tea.

Alice Waters is a big fan of lemon verbena tea, I learned upon reading her biography. I later tasted it myself for the first time from dried leaves of a plant grown at the Edible Schoolyard, Waters’ educational, middle school kitchen and gardening project. I then understood – as the name implies – lemon verbena tea has an extremely soothing citrus flavor.

I since acquired my own plant, and it’s growing like a weed in a pot on my deck garden. I lucked out because my deck gets a ton of sun and the lemon verbena plant likes a lot of direct light. Once the plant is established, remove some of the leaves, lay them out to dry and store in mason jars or an airtight container.

To make tea, steep around one teaspoon of dried herbs in one cup of hot water, or see these recipes for using fresh leaves. (Or, make your own lemon verbena ice cream!)

Lemon verbena has great health benefits. It aids with relaxation and digestion, and apparently it can also help with relieving cramps.

Now that I’ve fully embraced drinking tea from loose, dried herbs, I’ve realized how fun it is to create your own blends. Add a peppermint plant to your herb garden, and make your own mix of lemon verbena and mint. Delightful!

See a few more tips on growing your own lemon verbena plant here.

Image: Nani Kora

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