How To Dry Yarrow For Tea- Harvest, Dry and Store

Yarrow is a beneficial flowering herb that grows in many different places throughout the world. All varieties of yarrow can be grown and dried for tea. Learn how to dry yarrow for tea, and preserve your harvest to use throughout the year.

a bouquet of yarrow to dry for tea — yarrow is a beneficial herb which can be dried for tea

Yarrow, also known by the genus name Achillea, is a member of the Asteraceae (Compositae) Family. There are approximately 130 species of Achillea distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America.

When I first discovered yarrow, it was wild yarrow growing as a wildflower in my own backyard.

Since then I have also grown yarrow in the garden, including cultivated varieties to use as cut flowers. These varieties are often larger and fuller than the wildflower yarrow, with large disc shaped flower heads with muted romantic colors.

Not only can yarrow be dried for tea and herbal use, you can also dry yarrow for flower arrangements.

There are many different varieties of yarrow. All varieties can be grown for herbal use.

Both the leaves and the flowers of yarrow can be used, and can be consumed fresh or dry.

Yarrow is easy to dry and preserve. The great thing about preserving these plants is that once dried, you have them on hand to use throughout the year.

dried yarrow on a wooden box — dried yarrow flowers- yarrow is easy to dry and preserve for tea

In This Article: hide

Why Dry Yarrow For Tea?

How To Dry Yarrow For Tea

How To Make Yarrow Tea

What Does Yarrow Tea Taste Like?

Conclusion

Why Dry Yarrow For Tea?

Although yarrow can be used in both the fresh and dried form for tea, drying the herb for tea will allow you to use the plant for tea throughout all the seasons.

The Benefits Of Yarrow Tea

Since ancient times yarrow has been used traditionally as a medicinal herb with beneficial properties.

For a more in-depth review of yarrow's phytochemistry and medicinal properties, have a look at this article from the National Library Of Medicine and PubMed Central: A review on phytochemistry and medicinal properties of the genus Achillea.

This useful herb has been used readily in folk medicine to treat wounds, inflammation, pain, spasmodic conditions, as well as certain gastric disorders.

The scientific study of various Achillea species has revealed the presence of active metabolites such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, different terpenoids, coumarins, and sterols. The plants can also have estrogenic effects.

Yarrow tea has been reported to help fight bacteria and viruses, reduce pain, and aide in digestion. It has also been reported to stimulate diaphoresis or sweating, which can help with fevers.

common yarrow on a metal pan — yarrow has a long history of use as a medicinal herb

Who Should Not Use Yarrow Tea

As with any herbal teas, these beverages should be used with discretion.

Anyone who has had an allergic reaction to plants in the Asteraceae family should avoid yarrow tea.

Due to possible estrogenic effects, yarrow tea should also be avoided by breast feeding and pregnant women.

Always check with your doctor if you are on prescription medication before consuming medicinal plants and herbal teas, due to possible drug interactions.

a butterfly on a yarrow flower — not everyone should consume yarrow tea- be aware of precautions before drinking

How To Dry Yarrow For Tea

Identifying Yarrow

Yarrow is also known as achillea millefolium, meaning a thousand leaves. Recognizing the leaves is key to easily identifying these wild plants.

Similar plants to look out for and differentiate from include Queen Anne's Lace, and Poison Hemlock. These plants do not have the same feather-like leaves.

Once you learn to identify the yarrow plant, you will likely always be able to find it.

a bouquet of fresh yarrow- common yarrow is easy to identify once you can recognize the plant

The Leaves

If you look closely at the leaves of the plant, you will see fern-like leaves with a serrated shape, with many protrusions giving the illusion of many tiny leaves.

The leaves grow from the flower stalks or stems, and are arranged in a spiral pattern along the stems. Leaves at the bottom of the plant are larger, and gradually become smaller towards the top of the plant.

This leaf shape helps to easily identify the plant, when it first starts to grow, and throughout the growing season.

When the plant first starts to grow at the beginning of the season, it is easily identified for its feathery leaves. Even before the plant begins to put up a stem and flower, the young leaves can be found because of their distinctive shape.

Yarrow is therefore easy to forage, once you can identify the leaf.

yarrow leaves are free-like and serrated — yarrow leaves are fern-like and serrated

the yarrow leaves are positioned spirally along the stem

The Flowers

The flowers of yarrow are disc shaped, with multiple tiny flowers on the flowerhead. The wild flower or common yarrow generally has white, cream, or light pink flowers.

The small flowers on the yarrow flower head do not open until the yarrow is in full bloom. Prior to this the flowers present as small closed buds.

The best time to pick the fresh flowers for tea is when they are in full bloom.

yarrow flower buds not yet in full bloom

yarrow flower heads in full bloom- each flower head has multiple tiny flowers

the flower heads of yarrow are disc shaped

Harvesting Yarrow

Foraging

If you are foraging your yarrow, make sure to only take a few leaves from each plant, and leave the remaining leaves on the plant for survival.

The plant is a short lived herbaceous perennial herb, and often returns to the garden or location where it has been growing, year after year.

In our garden yarrow tends to be biennial, producing lots of leaves and a few flowers the first year, then many large flowers the next.

Yarrow does easily self seed, which perpetuates the flower's growth in the garden.

Where To Harvest

Whenever harvesting plants that you plan to consume, make sure that you choose a location that is free from pesticides and road runoff. An organic location is ideal.

If you have yarrow growing on your lawn, take note of your neighbour's yard and possible use of herbicides which may drain into your yard.

I have lots of beautiful yarrow growing on my lawn in town, yet am unable to use it due to my neighbour's herbicide use. We are downhill from the property.

Luckily we also have lots of yarrow growing at the farm as well.

When To Harvest

Harvest yarrow on a dry day, and after the morning dew has evaporated from the plants.

A morning harvest is best if possible, as this is the time of the day when the plants will be the most hydrated.

Harvest the fresh yarrow leaves from yarrow plants at any time during the growth cycle. The flower tops are best harvested when they are in full bloom.

yarrow harvested and in a pail — harvest early in the morning and when flowers are in full bloom

What To Harvest

You can make an herbal tea from the yarrow flowers, leaves, or both combined.

Make sure to gather the leaves and flowers when they are in their best condition, regardless of whether you are planning to use them fresh or dried.

Leave any brown leaves or spent flowers in place on the plant.

a hand removing yarrow leaves from the stem — yarrow leaves can be harvested at any time

yarrow flowers heads with many tiny white flowers with yellow centres — harvest yarrow flowers when they are in full bloom

How To Harvest

Harvest the leaves and flowers of the yarrow plant by cutting them from the stem with a pair of sharp clean scissors or pruners. You can also strip the leaves from the stem with your fingers.

Again, if you are foraging yarrow leaves for tea, it's important to take care not to strip all the leaves off the plant. Rather, take a few leaves off a number of plants, while leaving the rest of the leaves in place for the plant to grow and use for energy production.

This also applies to foraging the flowers. Allow some of the flowers to remain in place so that they can set seed and produce new plants.

If you have grown yarrow in your garden for harvesting, you can harvest the whole plant, or just pick some leaves and flowers, it's totally up to you.

If you do harvest the whole plant, it can be dried whole and intact by the air drying method.

harvest yarrow flowers and leaves by cutting them from the stem

a hand stripping yarrow leaves from the stem, showing how to dry yarrow for tea — stripping yarrow leaves

Drying Yarrow

Yarrow is easy to dry using a number of different methods.

Each method works very well, although some are faster than others.

yarrow flowers against a green background — yarrow is very easy to dry for tea

Air Drying

Air drying yarrow can be done in a number of ways.

Placing In A Paper Bag

You can air dry the leaves by placing the harvested leaves and flowers directly into a paper bag.

Leave the plant pieces in the bag until completely dried out.

yarrow dried in a paper bag, showing how to dry yarrow for tea — yarrow dried in a paper bag

Drying Horizontal

Alternatively place the leaves and flowers on a surface, such as a plate or baking sheet, and spread the pieces in a single layer.

Place in a warm and dry location.

Allow to dry for several weeks, until completely dry.

yarrow dried horizontal in a tray, showing how to dry yarrow for tea — yarrow dried horizontal in a tray

Hanging To Dry

I also like to air dry the yarrow plants whole, by hanging the plants upside down. Bundle some stems together with an elastic band, and hang in a dry location on a drying line or hook, for several weeks.

I often hang herbs to dry in my kitchen, on a knob on my hutch. Just make sure that the plants are out of the sunlight, for best results.

The plant parts will be dry and crispy when completely dry.

Before storing, strip the leaves from the stems, and place into an airtight container, such as a mason jar.

yarrow hanging to dry, showing how to dry yarrow for tea — hanging yarrow to dry is a great way to dry lots of yarrow at the same time

air dried yarrow flowers on a wooden railing, showing how to dry yarrow for tea — air dried yarrow flowers

Drying In the Food Dehydrator

Remove the leaves from the yarrow stem and place on the dehydrator racks of the food dehydrator.

Dry at the 135°F for several hours, until dry.

Once dry, the leaves will become crispy.

Gauge the plant dryness by feeling the crispy leaves. If they need a bit more time in the dehydrator, allow some more drying time.

Drying time is dependent on individual appliances used, and size of the leaves and flowers.

When dry, remove from the dehydrator and allow to cool to room temperature.

Store in an airtight container, until ready to use.

dried yarrow flowers and leaves, showing how to dry yarrow for tea — yarrow is easy to dry in the food dehydrator

Drying In The Oven

Drying yarrow in the oven is fast and easy, however make sure that the oven is at it's lowest temperature for drying. You do not want to cook the flowers and leaves.

Set your oven at it's lowest temperature setting. The lowest setting on my own oven is 170°F

Arrange the yarrow leaves and flowers on a baking sheet in a single layer, to allow for good air flow.

Place in the oven for approximately one hour until the plant parts are crispy and dry.

Once dry remove from the oven and allow the dried yarrow to cool to room temperature.

Pick out any yarrow stems, then store in an airtight container.

yarrow on a metal rack to be dried in the oven, showing how to dry yarrow for tea — dry yarrow in the oven at the lowest temperature setting

Storing Dried Yarrow

If you still have a lot of dried stems amongst your dried yarrow, removing the stems will help with the storage space.

Remove the stems by holding the stem and attached leaves over a container. Grasp the stem between your thumb and forefinger, and pull along the length of the stem.

dried yarrow leaves removed from the stems, showing how to dry yarrow for tea — remove the dried yarrow leaves from the stems for easier storage

The leaves are easily removed and will fall into your container.

Flowers and leaves can be stored together.

Dried yarrow can be stored in an airtight container and used throughout the year.

Place the container in a cool dark place for best results.

Label the jar with the storage date.

Dried yarrow will store for up to a year with proper drying and storage.

a mason jar filled with dried yarrow flowers and leaves for storage

How To Make Yarrow Tea

Yarrow tea can be made with the dried yarrow flowers or leaves. You can combine both together if you wish. The tea can also be made with the fresh plant parts when you catch them in season.