I keep mentioning drying roses for tea and it probably sounds a little weird. Flowers aren’t much used for food around these parts but many are edible. Roses, all types that I know of, are safe to eat or make tea with. That doesn’t mean you want to use the ones from the florist though, those are likely to have been sprayed with pesticide. But if you have roses growing in your yard and you don’t use poison on your lawn or other plants, those are probably fine. I have a mad, rambling little rosebush/vine that is producing like crazy and it is looking like I will have more roses than I need this year. *happy dance*
Say you want to gather some roses for tea and you have access in your yard, or through a lovely friend with some in their yard, what do you do? What is the process? It’s simple!
- Pluck as many nice, full blossoms as you need. (open flowers, leave all partly open blossoms and all buds)
- Gently rise each blossom under cool water.
- Shake the water off each blossom and place in a bowl.
- Line a baking tray w/parchment paper.
- Set the oven to 170F. (or lower, that’s as low as mine goes.)
- Again, shake each blossom and place face down on the lined baking tray.
- Place tray in oven and gently dry for 20 minutes.
- Check every 15-20 minutes until they are thoroughly dried out. This can take a while depending on humidity and other factors. Mine have been taking up to 90 minutes with the humidity we’ve had lately.
- Alternatively, you can dry them on bamboo trays in the sun. (if it isn’t humid or rainy) Do everything the same but place the flowers face down directly on the bamboo trays, cover loosely and lightly with cheese cloth, and place in direct sunlight. (I dry mine on our deck when I can.) It might take a couple of days depending on your climate, bring them in at night and put them back out in the morning.
- When roses are dry, gently remove them from the paper or tray, they may stick a little, and pop the dried blossoms into dry, air-tight bags or jars.
They are now ready to use to make your own tea blends. I make a blend of roses, mint, dried apple, and a bit of dried citrus peel, usually orange or clementine. Delicious, but you can play around and try other flavors. I’m allergic, but I know a lot of people like roses with dried strawberries and a bit of black tea. You can make your hot teas into iced teas for hot weather too. I like to make an iced blend of peppermint and spearmint, (1/2 & 1/2) by making a really strong pot of it hot, steeping at least 20 minutes, and then pouring it into a 2 quart pitcher filled to the brim with ice. It is utterly refreshing on a hot day. Maybe this year I’ll add some roses.
I also crumble the petals of some of the dried blossoms and run them through my coffee grinder to make rose powder. You can use it to color and flavor breads and cookies and things. I haven’t used it yet but I plan to experiment with it as soon as I can. I am expecting great things! ^_^
Gen-Xer Remix 
Rose was the Herb of the Year a while back, so there are LOTS of recipes on the Herb Society of America’s website, and the International Herb Association published a book that is still available, I think, with lots of recipes. I make rose tea as well, and rose petal conserves. Most of my roses are orange or apricot in color, so the petals are not as dramatic as the dark red ones, but they still taste wonderful. Not all roses have a scent, and flavor though so I only use the ones that have that lovely rose smell for cooking/tea. Good post!
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Thank you, Carolee, for your kind words and wonderful information! ^_^ I am going to look into finding that book and perusing the Herb Society’s website. My roses are mostly pink and all fragrant. Thanks so much for your comment.
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