r/AmateurTeaBlends

Hi! I live on a teeny island in the Caribbean. Many people here drink all kinds of “bush” tea for the supposed health benefits. But they kind of just taste like earthy water. I want to create cups of tea that I find really tasty.

We currently have lemongrass, mint, a type of basil growing at our house as well as fruits like mango, guava, soursop, mamey and their leaves.

Any recipes or combinations that would be worth a try? Also tips on drying leaves and/or fruit for tea would be great.

I gathered some fresh crab apples today the size of small grapes they are tart and fruity like a sour grape. I plan to dry them out but I'm not sure what to blend them with. Anyone have thoughts?

My major source for tea blending is native foraged plants. If anyone is interested I'd be happy to share info about what I forage.

I am a biologist and work outdoors in the pacific northwest. I have been foraging as a hobby with my plant ID skills for the last few years and trying to make teas with what I harvest.

Berries, conifers, leaves of fruiting plants there is a lot out there that is palatable but the flavors are complex, bitter or faint and I am struggling to find success.

I have held off on mixing my forage with store bought tea leaves though I'm starting to think I may need to shift to this approach to build from a stable base of flavor.

I'd love to share what I gather and have tried though I don't have much success to pass on.

I'd really like to hear from others who have tried this for themselves. What do you use, where do you get it, what flavors do you like, how long do you steep, how do you prep ingredients, what proportions do you use?

In my tea journey I've eacquired some teas that I would consider part of the price of learning about tea. They're fine, not bad tea at all, but they're not what I would prefer to drink. I have a variety of these kinds of teas. For example: a bai mu dan that is kind of just okay, a light fermented shou puer cake that's pretty nice but I just don't really like shou, a greenish oolong that lacks flavor, and a pine needle green tea that is very astringent but not otherwise complex.

I have been wanting to make small blends for my own consumption to improve the experience of getting through these teas that I will probably not buy again.

Does anyone have suggestions on whether blends of these would go well together? I have heard of white tea and black tea being blended together, and ripe/raw puerh. I have a couple raw puerh tuos that aren't my favorite ones, I was thinking of blending them with some shou for a session to see how it goes.

I imagine oolong and green might be okay together, or green and white. Do y'all have experience with this kind of thing, or should I just see how it goes?