Nettle Tea Leaves

Stinging nettle is one of spring’s great gifts to your body. Nettle is a dynamic accumulator which means it soaks up minerals and other nutrients from the soil and collects them in its leaves – for its neighbors and for you! If you get the chance to purchase nettle in the spring from Next Step Produce or your own local organic farm, terrific! Get enough to last you for the year, dry it, store it in glass jars and you are all set. If not, read on …

Tea made from organic nettle leaves can supply you with:

• calcium
• magnesium
• manganese
• iron
• potassium
• selenium
• zinc
• phosphorus
• plus other trace minerals like copper, chromium, cobalt, sulphur, silicon, tin, boron
• beta-carotene
• several B vitamins
• vitamins C, D, and K

Nettle Infusion Instructions: In a quart jar, add 1/4-1 cup of nettle leaves and fill with almost but not quite boiling water (like when making coffee). Cover with a lid and let sit between 4 hours and overnight. Strain leaves for the delicious green liquid – for yourself. Use those leaves to make another batch of nettle tea for your garden or plants as fertilizer (or a more dilute tea for yourself). Then compost the twice used leaves for a better world.

Use this infusion in your smoothies, add sparkling water for a delightful green fizzy drink, take a shot, or drink throughout the day diluted as you wish. For an adult using nettle tea as a supplement, aim for using that quart in 2 days or less. Work up to it!

Be sure to add a dash of salt as nettle can be a diuretic (makes you pee!) and you want to keep those delicious minerals inside.

Your choice of a sample size (1 oz) or 4 ounces.