A Pot of Nettle Tea

Nettles grow everywhere in Berlin.

They like nitrogen and phosphate-rich soil. But it is not a pleasure to run into them. Their leaves release formic acid and cause stinging, round welts to appear on the skin, which is of course why they are known as "stinging nettles."

One learns to handle them with care and to enjoy their culinary benefits.

Morgan M.873, f.90r
Manuscript in the Morgan Library & Museum, New York City,
Written 1350-1375
Found in Wikimedia Commons

The nettle leaves are often used for tea, when they have not sprouted flowers. Their flavour is reminiscent of raw green beans, however, although their tea already has a pleasant green colour and vitamins (C, B₂, B₅, E, K₁).

So I've taken a leaf from the book of German herbal tea manufacturers, adding fennel seeds to the nettle tea to offer a better flavour.

For this tea recipe I foraged the nettle leaves from my uncle's garden in Brandenburg. From my perspective, almost any chemical or biological substance might be in the soil in Berlin, owing to centuries of industry, warfare, and human and animal waste. Outside of dedicated garden areas, it might be best not to eat city foliage.

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Recipe

1 big sprig of nettle (~3 tablespoons worth of leaves)

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

5 cups of water

Bring the water to a boil and pour over the nettle and fennel seeds.

Steep for 5 to 8 minutes.

"The British are encouraged to try new tea on the day"
Photograph attributed to Wikimedia Commons user Mg123$, 2017
Found on Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0

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Health Warning

After the stinging nettle enters its flowering and seed-setting stages, the leaves develop gritty particles called cystoliths, which can irritate the kidneys and urinary tract.  Cystoliths are made of calcium carbonate, and will not dissolve when boiled. Leaves harvested post-flowering must have their cystoliths broken down by acid, as in the fermentation process.
—"Urtica dioica" (Wikipedia)

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Sources:

Urtica dioica [Wikipedia]