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The best harvest time is determined by the number of blooming flowers. Less than half of them should remain in the budding stage. When harvesting, high-quality inflorescences are cut with scissors or torn off along with the bracts.
If the raw materials are not collected in an environmentally friendly place - in a meadow or in a forest belt away from the roadway, then it is advisable to rinse the linden tree under running water. A light shower will wash away the asphalt dust and will not cause any harm to subsequent processing.
The collected linden is laid out on paper and dried in a ventilated area at room temperature. When using a dryer, set the temperature to about 40 degrees.
Paper bags, glass jars or cloth bags are great for storing linden.Raw materials are stored in a dark, dry place for no more than 3 years. Over time, the beneficial properties of linden flowers disappear, so there is no point in harvesting it for future use.
Beneficial features
Traditional herbalists have long been accustomed to using linden to treat colds, flu and bronchitis. For coughs, high temperatures, headaches, and sore throats, drink hot tea at night.
It is good to gargle a sore throat with a warm decoction of soda (5 g of soda per glass). The same composition alleviates the patient’s condition with stomatitis, sore throat or laryngitis.
It is believed that flower-based tea is an excellent antipyretic (due to profuse sweating) and decongestant (diuretic). A decoction of fresh sticky with the addition of sage reduces the pain of cystitis.
Daily washing of oily skin with linden tincture leads to a decrease in the number of acne and inflammation of the skin. The same effect will come from wiping youthful acne with a cotton swab dipped in linden infusion.
Most often, this aromatic tea is drunk to normalize and balance the nervous system, relieve stress, and in an attempt to get rid of insomnia. It seems that even the air itself, saturated with the smells of small inflorescences, has a calming effect.
Herbalists generally recommend drying raw materials in the bedroom, enjoying the effect of aromatherapy.
Methods for brewing linden
The easiest option is to pour boiling water over a tablespoon of dried flowers, cover and let it brew for 1/2 - 2 hours. The longer the linden is brewed, the more the color of the tea will change. At first it may be yellow or slightly pink, and over time it will darken significantly.
Fresh linden in its pure form will give virtually no color when brewed. The tea will remain the same white, but very aromatic.
To make the decoction look at least a little like traditional tea, you need to dip a tea bag into it or add chicory. The result is a beautiful, fragrant and healthy linden tea.
By the way, in practice this medicinal plant is brewed in its pure form very rarely. The following combinations “linden +” are much more common:
- mint
- melissa
- thyme
- other medicinal herbs.
Warning
Official medicine warns that, despite its numerous beneficial properties, linden can cause allergic reactions, so it must be used wisely!
