@gene, you are right, this is a good time to harvest tender, fresh leaves. I think the reason they encourage to shred them thin is to get the most nutrients out of them without boiling too long, just pour boiling water on them and let them sit for about 5 min... (Infusion). As we boil things they tend to lose some of their nutritional values.

@Greg, I have a potted fig, not sure what variety it is, i forgot, and the leaves do smell bad...I mean Skunk bad... this is a 3-4 foot tall branch that has about 6-8 leaves on it and regardless which one , they all smell awful (maybe it is VdB, as Suzi mentioned above, but, isn't VdB a Vista?)

@Costas, Caffein issue is not mentioned in any research I found on the net, but it would be very interesting to find out. What concerns to smelly leaves, I would just leave them alone, there are so many more varieties to take leaves from. Also, harvesting leaves shouldn't mean to strip the tree or the branch off of it's leaves entirely. Although , I have seen some YouTubes about Texan Everbearing being completely stripped off it's leaves in order to get plenty of sun to ripen the fruits at the end of the harvest season.

@Tom, although this smell resembles cat pee, it has NOTHING to do with cats or Skunks. LOL

@Pete, that recipe sounds very soothing, great for cold days... maybe even consumed chilled in hot seasons...I love Jujube. Ginger ir great for joint pains and arthritis, it is anti inflammatory. Cinnamon is good for diabetics and regulates body's glycemic index.

http://www.natures-health-foods.com/fig-leaves.html

Vista is a large tree and synonymous to Black Mission.  VDB is a smaller tree.  They are not the same.

Suzi

ok good, I was wandering why my leaves didn't smell like Cat Pee...LOL

Thanks for the tasty recipe Aaron and nice photos!
I just bought some Chinese dates and fig leaf tea sounds like a nice combination.
Any reason why you can't dry a bunch of fresh leaves and store them in jars to enjoy over the cold winter?

thanks Joe, I'm glad you like this thread, I was so impressed by the taste of the leaf tea I had to let everyone know, LOL

The Tea leaves are shredded after drying and stored in air tight container... (according most sites I read...)so, yes, There is NO reason why you can't dry them for later consumption.

Chinese dates are actually Jujube they are not real dates, not the dates that grown in Middle east , Mediterranean  or California. I love Jujube but the date is a different animal ;)

I like fig leaf tea. However, I have never used fresh leaves.

I like to collect the leaves from my trees in the fall after the tree has drawn all the green from them and they fall off on their own or at the slightest touch. I put them in a wicker basket to finish drying and strore them there as well. I crush them and put them in a infuser. The tea is lovely golden, I like to add a bit of honey. The taste and aroma are slightly of dried fig and coconut.

I use all types of different varieties, but I smell the leaves before I decide to keep them. If they smell good (like dried figs and coconut, or anything else pleasant) I keep them, if they smell like grass clippings they go to the garbage. By the way, VdB leaves lose the cat pee smell when the tree withdraws everything from the leaf and it is yellow and falls off. The flip side to this though, if the leaves frost or fall off before all the green is gone..even a hint of green, I think the tea is inferior and tastes too vegetal like you brewed your tea from grass clippings.

Aaron, when I first read the title to this post, I thought you were saying you had a date with a cup of fig tea. Romancing the tea.  :)

@Calvin, LOL

Re:Aaron, when I first read the title to this post, I thought you were saying you had a date with a cup of fig tea. Romancing the tea.  :) 
I meant it to sound that way, I thought it would make people smirk.

When I dried the Green leaves I really liked the dry fruity smell combined with typical fig smells... I have never had dry (brown, or Fall) leaves to compare the teas... would be interesting little experiment.

Last night, my 4 year old daughter was struggling with breathing do to a light cold she got from her school. She , out of nowhere decided to try my Fig Leaf tea that I had brewed and was enjoying. She finished the entire mug. She slept like a baby and today her nose is dry... Could it be the tea? :)

Abebereria leaf tea tastes like...asperagus. It may be the way I prepared it, leaves were picked two days ago and left to dry on the counter. They were semi-dry when I chopped them into little tiny pieces. I boiled the water, turned off the fire and threw the leaves in to steep a couple min. Not too happy with the flavor.

On to the next variety...

The Mrs is the tea drinker here i should trick her 1 day just to see her face - then run.

Today I tried a new tea. I was checking out some trees and notice how nice the mulberry leaves were. Since figs and mulberries are related I thought why not make a tea. Before I brewed it, I checked the internet for mulberry tea and found loads of info. So I brewed it with green leaves and it made a lovely tea but it tasted too green. Perhaps the dried leaves will be better. I will pick some tomorrow and dry them, then try again.
"gene"

don't run Martin, if you do she'll never reach you for a kiss .

@Gene, nice take on different relative of figs...I wander of the beneficial factors of it... any idea?

Aaron  -  lol could tell some stories !

Sue, I'll have to try making tea with mine. It's still a small plant but I think I can safely harvest a few leaves. Then as you said, off to the next variety just to see if I can detect any differences.
"gene"

I grew up with fig leaf tea.  

there were always reports of some idiots using it on the skin to get a 'beautiful sun tan' _ REALLY bad idea, serious 3rd degree burns can occur.

Please drink it, and don't use it for suntanning.

i'm a tea drinker. coffee can be to acidic for me sometimes. i stick to english black tea. occasional chinese teas are good such as oolong, but i drink at work and loose teas are too much bother. a bag of pg tips is what i need in the morning.

Pete, I found this very thin nicely made clay chinese tea mug, with a cover... it has it's own lose leaf compartment inside to keep the leaves separate,so, when drinking the tea the leaves won't get in your mouth. Love it, And from what I hear, more tea stains on the clay more valuable it becomes? LOL same with Tea Pots.

 

Aaron, do a google search for the medicinal properties of mulberry tea. It's pretty potent.
"gene"

Gene,
I have a big bottle of mulberry tea that I made myself. It is said to lower the blood cholesterol. It tastes like green tea. I am a tea drinker and have all sorts of tea at home. Haven't tried fig tea yet since my plants are still very small.

Norhayati

Drink the tea, I'll stick to eat figs !
Seriously, if you take now the leaves off, the tree can't grow properly.
Here, I could give it a try in July when the trees have 5+ leaves per stem, or in the fall, but for now ... I just have buds :) and tiny leaves .

Aroon4usa, which ones makes the better tea, males (caprifig) or females :) ?

I just did that Gene, thanks... 

we don't have to harvest the leaves right away... it can be done even when the figs are harvested, the trees always put fresh leaves...

jdfrance, you need to try the tea, you'll be surprised. I really don't know much about the leaf differences yet,,, I am experimenting... as to weather Capri or female fig leaves.... I can try the capri leaves later and post it... but when I rub the capri leaves sometime in past I din't get much aroma  while sniffing the leaf, yet it was just one variety of Capri... i'll try others

Well I tried the Abebereria leaf tea and I somewhat agree with Sue that it tastes like asperagus, well maybe a hint of asperagus. It it definitely not as good as the tea made with my Cajun Gold which had a coconut flavor. I will do a cup this afternoon or tomorrow and see if I get the same taste I remembered from last year.
"gene"

The Green Ischia leaves have a very delicious taste and amazing aroma, has anyone else tried this?

drying the leaves in warm, shade helps them stay nice  green while they are drying.

 


I wish you could smell the aroma...it's amazing ...I smell Vanilla, Coconut, Chamomile and Mint.

 

Looks great Aaron but is there an active ingredient contained in fig leaves that makes it a beneficial drink?
My coffee is very jealous of me.