My Herbal Wellbeing - Herbal Tea Database - New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)

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New Jersey Tea
Common Name	New Jersey Tea
Scientific Name	Ceanothus americanus
Also called Liberty Tea, Redroot, Jersey Tea, Mountainsweet, Walpole Tea, and Wild Snowball, this plant is the source of a good caffeine-free tea that tastes like Thea sinensis. New Jersey tea is commonly found in dry, sandy, or gravelly soil in woods and thickets ranging from Maine southward to Florida and Texas. After the Boston Tea Party and during the American Revolution, it was one of the teas favoured by settlers and soldiers who were boycotting China teas because of the prohibitive taxes the British had placed on them. The tea is believed to relieve chest problems -bronchitis, whooping cough, consumption, and asthma. It is also used as a gargle to alleviate throat and mouth irritations.
Plant	Hardy perennial; a deciduous shrub. The large root is covered with brownish or reddish bark, and it is red inside Several upright stems rise from the root cluster. They have alternate, egg-shaped, finely serrated leaves that are dull green on top and finely hairy underneath. On about the first of June, dense groups of small white flowers appear on the ends of the branches. From then until August, this beautiful blooming shrub attracts a wide variety of bees and butterflies.
Height	To 3 feet.
Soil	Poor, dry, well-drained.
Exposure	Sun.
Propagation	By cuttings taken in summer and placed in moist, sandy soil in a cold-frame propagating bed. Also by seeds planted during the third lunar phase, layering, or root division (from side shoots).
Care	Place plants 4 feet apart. Prune in late winter or early spring, cutting branches back severely, close to the base, and removing unwanted shoots from the previous year's growth.
Part used for Tea	Leaves.
Taste	Similar to Oriental teas made from Thea sinensis.
How to Brew	BY INFUSION: Steep 1 teaspoon of dried leaves, or 1 tablespoon of crushed fresh leaves, in 1 cup of boiling water. The dried leaves give more of the Oriental tea flavour. Cream and sugar improve the taste.