The most popular part of my talk at the Bone Health Summit 2022: Osteoporosis, Osteopenia & Beyond centered around non-dairy sources of highly bioavailable calcium. And how to make it quickly, easily, and affordably! And the best part? You can get 500 mg of highly bioavailable calcium in just one cup!
The formula for making a super infusion is 1 oz herb to 32 ounces of water. To make it easier and so you don’t have to find your kitchen scale, I dialed the recipe down to a super easy Single Serve portion that you can get going before bed and wake up to this calcium rich beverage in the morning. If you have a small French press (often available for around $10), that is the easiest way to make this concoction. If not, no sweat! A pint mason jar with a lid and a tea strainer works equally well
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup organic dried nettle leaves*
- 1-1/2 cups nearly boiling water
- “Steeping Vessel” – either a small French press or a Mason jar with a lid
Directions:
- Place herb in your French press, pour over near boiling water. Put the lid on the French press, but do not push “plunger” down.
- Let sit for 4 hours to overnight. The result will be a deep green, earthy tea. Just press down the plunger to get the maximum nutrients out of the herb.
- Or if “steeping” in a jar, pour through a fine mesh tea strainer, pressing down on the herbs with the back of a spoon to release all the goodness into your cup.
- Pour off the “tea.” You can reheat, drink at room temperature and drink over ice.
If you have leftover tea, store in the refrigerator for no more than 48 hours. Another reason I like to make in small batches and use it up!
*Organic dried nettle is available online at retailers like Frontier Co-Op, Pacific Botanicals (they have a minimum purchase amount) or Starwest Botanicals.
Hi
I saw the 2023 iPivot. And the recipe was different Wasn’t it a quart to a third cup and then drink a cup a day? I just got my one pound bag today and made a quart. I was confused though because I had noted one ounce to a quart or 1/3 cup and found that 1/3 cup is .5 ounces for me. I’m wondering if some nettles have more stems or are weightier for some reason. Being in NC I got my bag from foster farms who grow it themselves organically in Vermont.
This was a wonderful four days.
Hi Annette! Thank you for your question. The ratio of nettle to water is 1:32. One ounce of dried nettles is a little over 2/3 of a cup. The recipe here is 1/2 oz. to 12-16 oz of water, not to a quart which is 32 oz. of water (usually it is more like 30-32 oz of water to allow for the herb and the water to both fit into a 32 oz quart mason jar. Hope that helps! It is a lot of the herb by volume! -Susan
If I’m traveling and would like to have nettle tea, is there a tea bag version and one you would recommend
Hi Ruth, I like Traditional Medicinals, Yogi and Stash tea brands. I primarily make my own tea bags by taking empty tea bags and filling them with herbs myself. Here’s a link with examples of what I’m referring to (and no, we are not affiliates or get commissions, they are just good examples) https://www.amazon.com/s?k=empty+tea+bags+for+loose+tea&crid=34D9VTWQ1ZU49&sprefix=empty+tea+bags%2Caps%2C194&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_14