It's spring! Or at least so say the dandelions around my apartment. I decided to take advantage of the situation to make dandelion root tea. I unfortunately didn't gather many roots -- I was out for about 15 minutes when I was struck by a horrible headache and went back inside. Before I got the chance to dig up some more, the landscaper had mowed the grass and the dandelions with it. They'll be back soon, but I decided to just make a small batch while I wait.
Dandelion Root Tea
Prep time: 10 minutes (not including time needed to dig them up)
Cook time: 1 hour, 20 minutes or 1 day rest followed by 20 minutes cooking
Total time: About an hour and a half
Yield: 20 roots will yield one serving of tea
Ingredients
- Dug up dandelions, roots intact
Directions
- Remove the dandelion roots from the rest of the plant. You can use the rest if you like (the greens can be added to a salad and the flowers can be used to make cordial). Rinse the roots several times, until all the mud has been removed.
- Either spread the roots out in the sun for a day (my method) or bake at 200F for about an hour, or until dry.
- Bake the roots at 350F for 15-20 minutes, or until roasted brown.
- Either chop up the roots or grind them in a coffee grinder or food processor. I opted for the last choice and make a coarse powder the consistency of coffee grounds.
- If you chopped the roots, steep them in hot water for 10 minutes to make tea. If you ground the roots, place them in a coffee maker and use them the way you would coffee grounds.