I'm Never Buying Tea Again...

After my experiment with the tea from loquat leaves, I decided to try a few other recommended brews.

In the Garden District yesterday I came across a couple mulberry trees. Mulberries look like slightly elongated blackberries, and they taste delectable - almost like a sweeter version of a blackberry. The trees can grow pretty tall, though, and my friend Elizabeth and I could only reach one or two of the ripe fruits (which we ate).

Instead, I took some of the leaves home, washed and dried them, and brewed a tea. The dried leaves are very crumbly and easy to pulverize. My partner and I tried it last night and found it similar to green tea in taste.

The health benefits of mulberry leaves and tea are numerous, even more so than loquat leaves. According to http://www.mulberrytea.org/, the leaves have 10 times as much iron as spinach and 25 times more calcium than milk. They are rich in fiber, antioxidants, potassium, vitamins A, B, and C, and other nutrients.

Mulberry tea can help with weight loss. It reduces unhealthy cholesterol, balances blood sugar, and can help fight cold symptoms. And it tastes delicious.

(Interesting bit of trivia: mulberry leaves are the sole fruit of silk worms.)

During my walks around uptown and the Garden District, I've found a lot of fig trees (on public property). The figs aren't quite ripe enough for harvesting, but you can eat the leaves and use them to make a wonderful tea - one that tastes a little fruitier than other herbal teas.

Some health benefits of fig leaf tea include treating bronchitis and diabetes, lowering blood pressure, and beautifying the skin. You can learn more on the natural health sites here or here.

Figs are starting to grow on this tree in the Uptown/Riverbend area of New Orleans.

Mulberry and fig tea or capsules cost $6 and up at the grocery or natural food stores. Why not forage for free?

The Amazing Loquat Tree

I first noticed loquats (also known as Japanese plums) when I was walking from my car to Jazz Fest this year. There is a large loquat tree at the corner of Esplanade and Crete in Mid City. I saw the small pale orange fruits on the ground and wondered if they were kumquats. I looked up and saw the large tree with its glossy dark leaves - not a kumquat tree.

A few days later, I saw one just off of Maple Street. I stepped on one of the fallen fruits with my shoe and a couple large, slimy seeds popped out. I saw a man tending his yard and asked if he knew what kind of tree it was; he said it was a Japanese plum.

These trees grow all over New Orleans. I see them along the River Road (Leake), but also all over the Uptown, Garden District, and Mid-City neighborhoods. They have some low-hanging fruit, though much of it is too high for me to reach.

After reading a little about loquats, I plucked one from a tree and tried it, first peeling off the skin since I hadn't washed it (you should always wash your fruit!). It tasted like something between a peach and an apple, with a little citrus thrown in.

That next weekend my friend Patrick and I picked some loquats as well as some wild blackberries, and we made a fruit cobbler - which turned out delicious (and very pretty!). I will provide the recipe at the end of this post.

When reading about loquats, I discovered that they are very nutritious, and that the leaves also have medicinal properties. The fruit is rich in Vitamin A, fiber, and potassium, among other nutrients. The leaves can be used in a tea that can beautify skin, treat a sore throat, combat diabetes, and release antioxidants.

Recently, I dried some loquat leaves (used my dehydrator to expedite the process), and my partner and I made tea. It was delicious and soothing.

To put this into perspective: you can order loquat leaves for over $40 per pound, or you can pick them for free.

Recipes:

Dried loquat leaves and crumbled leaves for "tea."

Loquat tea:

1) Pick several leaves and wash them thoroughly.
2) Dry them.
3) Crumble the dried leaves and put a pinch in a teacup (maybe a teaspoon's worth).
4) Pour boiling water over the leaves and steep until the leaves sink.

Loquat and blackberry cobbler:
*The size of the pan really depends on how much fruit you get. For a 9x13 pan, you should have about 3-4 cups of fruit. I like to use half loquats and half blackberries, but it's fine if you get more of one than the other. If you have less than 3 cups, adjust the pan and lessen the other ingredients.

Ingredients:
Loquats and blackberries*
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup of milk (I use 1%)


1) Half, peel, and de-seed loquats. Mix with blackberries and sugar.
2) Melt butter in pan.
3) Mix other ingredients and pour into pan.
4) Pour fruit/sugar mixture into pan.
5) Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes (check after 30 - cobbler is ready when the batter has risen and started to brown).

Serve warm - maybe add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!