Made of the fruits of wild roses, rosehip tea is packed with vitamins and antioxidants that may strengthen our immune system and help with weight loss.
This year is very generous in rosehips so I just returned very quickly with two baskets full. Every year I wait impatiently for rosehips to ripen to make my favorite recipes.
Some people may not like them for their sticky seeds inside, thorns that prick you when you go forage them, etc. However these are just small obstacles for me to stop foraging them as their medicinal benefits, as well as taste, are fully worth it.
My favorite recipes with rose hips that I keep repeating every year are rosehip jam, smoothie or rosehip syrup.
This rosehip tea recipe is a tradition that my grandmother started. I already mentioned this cough tea I learned from her and this rosehip tea is another from her series.
Rosehip tea benefits
Let’s explore what are rose hips good for to be sure that our effort is totally worth it.
Packed with vitamin A, C and E wild rose hips are important players in the prevention of cold and flu. Antioxidant-rich rosehips help in the protection and strengthening of the immune system. (1) Similar vitamin content has also pine needle tea. Echinacea tea on the other hand is great to support your immune system.
Their high concentration of Vitamin C, as well as flavonoids, may help to protect our bodies against heart diseases and improve blood flow. (2)
There have been certain studies that suggest rose hips from Rosa canina may help with weight loss (3).
Rose hip fruits contain polyphenols and galactolipids that are important compounds when it comes to anti-inflamatory diseases such as osteoarthritis or rheumatic arthritis and may therefore help reduce joint pain (4)
Now, let’s make rosehip tea! In fact, there are three ways to make a rosehip tea
3 ways to make rosehip tea
The first method – Making 1 cup of rosehip tea using fresh rosehips
Harvesting rose hips
To prepare wild rose hip tea using this method you need to forage wild rose hips – edible fruits of various rose plants such as Dog Rose (Rosa canina), Japanese Rose (Rosa rugosa) or Sweet briars (Rosa rubiginosa) are all perfect for our healthy tea. You can also use their petals to make the uplifting rose tea.
No need to remove the seeds!
Rose hip fruit is full of seeds that are not easy to remove. Luckily when you make a tea you don’t need to bother removing them as we are going to strain the tea after brewing anyway.
That makes the process much easier.
First step
Cut hard wild rose hips in half, the soft ones can stay whole.
Second step
Place the rosehips into a blender and give them a quick spin to break them apart.
Third step
Steep the wild rose hips instead of boiling them. Pour one cup of water into a saucepan. When it starts to boil switch off the heat and place one tablespoon of mashed rosehips in.
Fourth step
Close the lid and keep it there for a minimum of 20 minutes. I usually keep it there overnight as longer steeping makes the tea darker as well as tastier.
Fifth step
Strain the pulp through a strainer or a clean coffee filter to remove any small hairs that are present in the mashed rosehips.
Use honey or lemon to adjust the taste
The second method – making a concentrate
When you have two baskets of rosehips like me you want to make a large batch that you can keep in the fridge and use later. The concentrate is darker in a color and more intense in taste.
First step
Boil the water in a casserole, once boiled, turn off the heat and place three cups of mashed rosehips in the casserole with boiled water.
Second step
Close the lid and keep it overnight to steep
Third step
The next day turn the heat on and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes
Fourth step
When cooled down, strain the pulp and pour the orange-colored liquid into a glass jar.
When making a tea, just dilute it with water in a 1:1 ratio. You can keep it in the fridge for months but it usually doesn’t last longer than a week.
The ratio for a larger batch is 4 cups of mashed rosehips for 2 l of water
Another way to keep the mashed rosehips for later use is to freeze them. Just simply place the mashed rosehips into an ice cube tray and place it in the freezer. Every time you want to make a rosehip tea just simply remove one cube and place it in boiling water. Switch of the heat, let it steep for 20 minutes and your tea is ready.
The third method – making a cup of rosehip tea from dried rosehips
Using rosehip powder
The third method is to use rosehip powder instead of fresh rosehips. You can either buy one or make one and use it as a fresh rosehip substitute. Making the rosehip powder has so many advantages, one of them is an instant pot of hot rosehip tea. Just simply pour 1 cup of boiling water over one teaspoon of rosehip powder.
Rose hip tea from dried rosehips
Lastly, you can prepare a rosehip tea from dried rosehips. Either buy them online or simply dry your fresh rosehips to preserve and use them later to make your rosehip tea.
Drying rosehips
Dry them using a dehydrator – set the temperature to 105 F (50 C) for 48 hours or just simply place them on parchment paper and let them sit in a dry place for about a week.
Place them into a blender and pulverize them. Store them in an airtight container for up to 1 year. Use the ratio of one teaspoon of dried rosehips to one cup of water.
Rosehip tea tastes delicious however you can always adjust its flavor with honey or lemon. It is delicious warm as well as cold as an ice tea.
It depends where you live, but in Europe from the beginning of September right through to December.
Vitamin C is water-soluble so if you make a tea with water, it leeches into it, meaning you don’t lose most of the vitamin C. However some degradation appears with the heat, so longer cooking in higher temperature means less vitamin C. That is the reason I prefer to steep the rosehips rather than to boil them.
When you make rose hip tea from dried rosehips use one teaspoon for one cup of water, when using fresh rosehips use one tablespoon for one cup of tea.
Rosehip tea is often combined with, hibiscus that has been used to treat an upset stomach, anxiety and fevers. Their combination has many health benefits
Follow the steps in the recipe, just add a few ice cubes and add honey or lemon to taste
Tea made of fresh or dried rose hips is naturally caffeine-free. Thus you can have a cup of rose hip tea any time of day without worrying about any caffeine side effects. Rose Hip tea makes an excellent replacement for green tea or black tea in the afternoon and evening.
3 ways to make rosehip tea
Made of fruits of wild roses rosehip tea is packed with vitamins and antioxidants that may strengthen our immune system and help with weight loss.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons fresh rose hips
- or 1 tablespoon dried rose hips
- or 1 tablespoon rose hip powder
Instructions
THE FIRST METHOD – MAKING 1 CUP OF ROSEHIP TEA USING FRESH ROSEHIPS
- Cut hard rosehips in half, the soft ones can stay whole.
- Place the rosehips into a blender and give them a quick spin to break them apart.
- Steep the fresh rosehips instead of boiling them. Pour one cup of water into a saucepan. When it starts to boil switch off the heat and place one tablespoon of mashed rosehips in.
- Close the lid and keep it there for a minimum of 20 minutes. I usually keep it there overnight as longer steeping makes the tea darker as well as tastier.
- Strain the pulp through a strainer or a clean coffee filter to remove any small hairs that are present in the mashed rosehips.
THE SECOND METHOD – MAKING A CONCENTRATE
- Boil the water in a casserole, once boiled, turn off the heat and place 3 cups of mashed rosehips in the casserole with boiled water.
- Close the lid and keep it overnight to steep
- Next day turn the heat on and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes
- When cooled down, strain the pulp and pour the orange-coloured liquid into a glass jar.
- When making a tea, just dilute it with water in a 1:1 ratio. You can keep it in the fridge for months but it usually doesn’t last longer than a week.
THE THIRD METHOD – MAKING A CUP OF ROSEHIP TEA FROM DRIED ROSEHIPS
- Lastly, you can make a rosehip tea from dried rosehips. Either buy them online or simply dry your fresh rosehips to preserve and use them later to make your rosehip tea.
- Dry them using a dehydrator – set the temperature to 105 F (50 C) for 48 hours or just simply place them on parchment paper and let them sit in a dry place for about a week.
- Place them into a blender and pulverize them. Store them in an airtight container for up to 1 year. Use the ratio of 1 teaspoon of dried rosehips to 1 cup of water.
Notes
Use honey or lemon to adjust the taste
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
1Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 44Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 3mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 0g
What does it mean “You can keep it [the concentrate] in the fridge for months but it usually doesn’t last longer than a week.”? Why are you recommending to keep it in the fridge for months if it will go bad after one week? This made me very confused.
Hi Elise, I meant that we usually finish it in one week time since we like it very much and we are a large family. Indeed, you can keep it in the fridge for few months.
Ohh okay! Thank you for clarifying!
What a great article, thanks so much for sharing your rosehip knowledge. I love the idea of making a concentrate!
I mashed the rose hips to make a cup but what’s best way to save leftover mash rosehips?
Hi Donna,
if you have a larger quantity of rose hips, I suggest you to follow the second method and make a concentrate. Then making a tea, just dilute it with water in a 1:1 ratio. You can keep it in the fridge for several months.