The Honeysuckle plants this year are growing really well, So I decided to make a tea from the flowers.

Having done a little research, it seems Honeysuckle features some incredible health benefits. I wasn’t quite sure if I would like it. My worries however were unfounded. It is a delicate flowery flavour and not at all unpleasant, I was actually quite pleased.

Honeysuckle is a vigorous climber. Once established it can run wild, but as it helps with keeping the sun off one of the aviaries, we let it do its own thing. The scent from the flowers is lovely so I got to work and picked as many flowers as I needed.

It took me a about 20 minutes to collect them. I needed to crush them a little so just used my hands and then it is 1 part flowers to 2 parts water. Simple in the scheme of things!

Before I get into how I made the Honeysuckle iced tea though, lets have a look about how beneficial this easy drink can be.

What is it good for?

First off, I was amazed to find it is a natural antibiotic. How cool is that! It is also a detoxifier. It sounded good.

Honeysuckle is also a laxative and diuretic. It promotes sweating and detoxification of the body, which in turn lowers fever during illness.

And there is more! It can help with swellings, boils, itching and inflammation! And last but not least, it can help alleviate digestive orders. At this rate I will be bouncing around the garden!

How I made the tea!

First of all I collected the flowers. There are no prickles or thorns on honeysuckle, so this was an easy task.

When I was sure I had enough, I crushed the flowers a little (I just used my hands), and topped up my glass jug with water. I covered the jug with some cling film, and then sat it in the sunshine to ‘brew’.

And that was it for the next few hours. I kept checking it and giving it a swirl. I was waiting to see if the clear water would change colour. After about 4 or 5 hours, I could see it was turning a lovely gold colour.

When the sun started to go down, I brought it indoors and popped it in the fridge. The following morning I could see the colour had gone even darker. It looked amazing.

Then for the taste test. I can’t say it is delicious, but it isn’t unpleasant at all. Added to a pretty cocktail glass, along with crushed ice and a few fresh flower on the top, it looked quite posh.

So now I had another ‘healthy’ drink to add to my repertoire. You can see more about healthy smoothies, by clicking here!

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If you wish to buy a honeysuckle they are usually available at most garden centres, but you can order on-line if for any reason you are unable to get to a garden centre. You are looking for ‘Lonicera Japonica’.

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