Dandelion Tea

I am getting back to my roots in this instructable! Pun intended. You can buy dandelion tea at most Asian supermarkets and other stores but dandelions are very plentiful in most lawns in North America and definitely in the nice beds of your garden. It is very simple to make some at home!

First step to making some tea is to find a nice big dandelion plant. you want to find a large plant because the roots aren't very big. pro tip do this during or just after rain it will make things much easier. Rinse the roots and bring them inside.

Take off the greens and discard (you could make a salad if you wanted they are good with a balsamic dressing) cut off the ends and scrape them.

chop it into small chunks and spread it on a tray for your oven. This is a very small batch so I used the toaster oven. Alternatively you can use a dehydrator but when baked it gives it a pleasant nutty taste.

Bake at 300 for about 10 minutes or until light brown. At this point you have two choices, you can either leave as is and steep the tea as is or powder it. When powdered it steeps much faster that if you had left it as chunks but if it is too thin it might go through your strainer and be in the actual drink. It really isn't bad to have some powder in the bottom of your drink or tea pot.

My family likes it powdered so thus is where the blender comes in. We have a very fancy blender (I highly recommend it) but any old blender will work. Now just blend until your preferred consistency.

Now you can either put it into individual tea bags or use a tea pot and strainer. Boil your water and let it steep for about 2 or 3 minutes.

Enjoy! This is my first instructable and it is for the hunter gatherer contest. Any up votes are appreciated :)