Carrot Top Tea

"Waste not, want not", Grandma Ruth would tell me this when I was a small child. My mom has influenced my thinking on these matters as well. Each year as I harvested carrots, the tops went into the compost pile out back and I never gave another thought to it. This year, the tops were so fragrant and lovely, I couldn't bear to toss them out. Turns out Carrot Top Tea is pretty darned good for the body. I know, who takes the time to make tea out of stuff most people throw away. Well, if you are lucky enough to find carrots in the store, with fresh lovely tops still attached, then by all means make some tea. Or better yet, grow some carrots. Stop wasting carrot tops people. The tea is pretty decent, and the health benefits appear to be decent too.

*Disclaimer please read this fine print, I'm not an herbalist or anything of the sort.Good grief you have a mind of your own and I'm not promising miracle cures here.

I'm not a huge tea drinker. Mister likes his sun tea, and almost always orders iced tea at restaurants. "Is your tea fresh brewed?" I hear him say this every time we go to dinner. I will drink chamomile, or an apple tea from time to time. Again, none of this qualifies me as a tea aficionado. I'm just a frugal lady who grew some carrots.

Carrot Top Tea

2 cups of fresh carrot top leaves washed well

8 cups of boiling water

Pour the boiling water over the tops and allow to steep until the water is cold. Remove the leaves (strain) and drink the tea over ice or reheat to drink warm.

Some of the health benefits of eating carrot tops.

• detoxify and strengthen kidneys
• chewing carrot leaves can heal sores in the mouth
• contains chlorophyll which is said to have positive effects on tumors
• carrot greens are high in vitamin K
• rich in protein
• high in potassium

The high potassium can make the greens taste bitter. I really didn't notice an overly bitter flavor to the tea we made. I just wanted to mention this because everything I have read about the subject makes mention of bitterness. But, hey I like those sour gummy worms (oh no corn syrup).

All I can tell you is when I harvest carrots again, I'll be making tea.