Rachel Lambert is a singing forager and author at wildwalks-southwest.co.uk
In August she likes to head up to the moors and delight in the wash of purple, pinks and yellow as the heath-land takes on its late-summer coat. And to gather ingredients for a tea to tide her through the winter months!
“Apparently 'moorland tea' was one of the poet Robert Burns' favoured tea. His version was heather tops combined with the dried leaves of bilberry, blackberry, thyme and wild strawberry. It sounds like a perfect heath-land combination and I'm sure Robert Burns knew a fair few things about tea. Yet, how one likes a brew is such a personal thing. For me, my go-to combination is bell heather and gorse. Perhaps because I know these two so well, or perhaps because I haven't tasted Robert's 5-herb cuppa. I've made a mental note to try and recreate his moorland tea blend, though meanwhile I find myself returning to my own mix.
A blend of fresh gorse and heather flowers can be used to make a herbal tea, though I prefer to dry them. That way, I can make tea when I want it and use it through autumn and winter.
I dry the flowers on tea towels in a warm place. It should take two days maximum.
Then I place in clean, sterilised jars and use a teaspoon or two of each herb for a cup of tea. It is good with a spoon of honey in too.
As I sip my homemade moorland tea, I'm temporarily transported to the moors where I see, smell and nap on these late summer bushes and am flooded with good memories again.”
