We've gotten in the habit of having a cold glass of fig leaf tea with dinner for a few weeks. I dried a bunch last night from the alma twins.







 

I'm still a little scared to try it because of the cat pee smell.

Not at all, Tami. The dried leaves and the tea have a remarkably fragrant aroma.

frank, 

how do you dry them? wash then sun dry them? or in oven?

edit: try infusing with figs? 

How are you drying them?

Our oven has a "dehydrate" setting but I'm sure you can "bake" at the lowest setting for a few hours with the same results. I haven't tried drying them in the sun yet but that should also work.

Pete, I haven't tried infusing with figs yet. You mean like vinegar or olive oil?

How do you stop the "bleeding" after removing the leaves? I know mine are bleeding terrible just from pinching.

i was thinking more in the line of tossing figs in some sugar and let it sit in the fridge for awhile.. maybe cut them in half first, then add them into boiling water and mash them. let them cool for about 15 min and strain the figs out. oh.. add the tea leaves somewhere in there too.. i should give some fig taste in the tea.

edit: bit of lime or lemon peel might add interesting note... i'm just thinking.. have to see if i'll have enough figs for this kind of thing.

Tami, I really don't bother stanching the  bleeding as I harvest from large established trees. I agree, though,  it is sad seeing the poor thing pouring out gobs of white tears and giving me that look of betrayal.

Why do you dry them? Most herbs I use make good teas from the fresh leaves. It seems like drying is if you want to store. Do fresh fig leaves not work for tea?

Given how irritating the fresh latex is I'd want to dry them, too.  :)

I still have a tub of crushed dried fig leaves.  I made a few cups when I had a cold this past winter.  Lots of honey makes for a nice treat.  I'll bet lemon is a great addition.

Tami, the Fig leaf tee has a aroma of Vanilla and coconut mixed... you'll be surprised how gentle of a green tea it is :)

Yes Aaron, they do have coconut aroma. I like it better than the mulberry tea eventhough they are from the same family.

Norhayati

Frank that looks great. Pete's idea of adding fresh figs and lemon sounds interesting. I've had the fig leaf tea a number of times and tried mulberry leaf tea once and found that the fig leaf makes a more pleasant drink. Fig leaf is suppose to have an effect of blood sugar and so is mulberry leaf. My wife is a diabetic and was having bad side effect for using Metforum (sp?). She got off of it and started taking a mulberry leaf supplement and low and behold, her blood sugar is lower and more stable on the supplement. Now she is also on other medication but they alone didn't control her sugar but with the added mulberry supplement, she right on track and amazed her Dr.
"gene"

That's just great, Gene! I did read that fig leaf tea helped control blood sugar but didn't actually know anyone who benefited from it. My wife suggested we start marketing it since there's nowhere is commercially available.
Metformin can cause gastro-intestinal symptoms in a lot of patient. Glad your wife is doing well without it.


My wife actually brews the fig leaves with some lemon grass. The combination is really tasty. We drink if without sugar.

Frank MD thanks for sharing this information.  Since I have started pinching after 5 leaves I've got all sorts of new ones coming out. 

Frank zone 7, did the fig tea just soothe the cold or do you think it had a healing effect? 

This weekend I picked a bunch of nettles, we have them everywhere, and boiled them to deactivate the stingers.  I didn't use any spices or oil just to see what they tasted like.  I did not find them tasty. 

I will go to the local drugstore and get an A1C test done and if it comes back higher than recommended I will definitely remember the post about blood sugar.  Thanks! 

Frank, I made my first batch tonight and thought it was "okay".  I was thinking maybe I'd add sugar to it but my wife doesn't care for things very sweet so maybe it's just me.  I happened to get a couple of stevia plants today and may use that in the tea.  I haven't cared very much for the powdered stevia.

Kevin, yes you can use fresh and when you pinch back a tree, plan it near meal time and garnish with the pinched tops, or toss them  in a salad. People with a sensitivity to the alkaloids should not try this, though.

i've only been harvesting at season's end, when the leaves have dried on the tree.

i find fig leaves added to hot green tea make a delightful cuppa.

I dry my fig leaves on top of the refrigerator. I only have to leave them there a couple of days and they will be dry enough to crumble into a storage container. It makes wonderful tea Frank. Guess I'll have to try it iced.

Ah now I have a use for Mr. Nasty,  my fig tree.   I love iced tea and I will just get some of his leaves,  leave him naked to the elements for punishment, and dry them in a pan on the lanai dining table.   You guys are awesome.  Joyce

I learn something new every day.  I had no idea fig leaves were edible.  With all of the discussions about the latex causing issues, I never would have thought to eat a leaf.  Searching now, I see that there is even fig leaf ice cream.

People soak the leaves and wrap fish in them for the BBQ.  Many ways to use our trees IF the critters leave something for us.........

Suzi

Tami,  you finally mentioned something that I have been wondering about.  Cat pee smell.   I spanked my cat last week because I thought he sprayed my cuttings and I kept smelling pee pee when I was out on the lanai.   Oh no   now i feel really bad.  He said he didnt don't it (Lol) but has been known to lie about munching house plants.  What makes the smell:?