Bountiful Figs Forum

There is a new and really nice place for fig lovers to gather, learn, show & tell all about figs.  You will find the link over there on the right.  Bountiful Figs!  Come join us and bring your fig pictures!

So here is a reply to one of my postings in Bountiful Figs by Susie.  Will have to try her recipe...

"charlie , nice tea blog. which varieties smell like cat pee? i've never smelled that on figs.
i'll try your recipe, but i think you probably make it too strong if you need a sweetener.
for myself, i add some leaves to cold water n bring it to a bare simmer. then i remove immediately from the heat. i find this pleasant with no sweetening.
it's even better with a little green tea, added for 30 seconds at the end."

Now about some of my fig leaves having a cat pee odor.  Others like Susie who lives in a dry, hot climate do not notice any cat pee odor.  Others have written about the odor.  Perhaps it is a humidity issue?  I may never know.

When I first was considering getting fig trees, my brother-in-law told me that his brother dug up a whole fig tree because it smelled like cat pee.  I just figured some wild cat had been using it for a marking post.  Seriously have doubts any cat could get close enough to my trees to do such a thing with Vader the wonder dog on watch...

Enough about cat pee fig leaf odors.  Once they dry there is only a wonderful scent of vanilla-cinnamon like, best as I can describe them.

Oh I have to show my first ever ripe Hardy Chicago fig!  This delicious little jewel was hiding under a leaf and I was very fortunate to have found it just in time...

   

Best fig ever!  Well it was my very first ripe fig and I am most surely looking forward to coming years and many varieties.  

This blog will also be about figs in case anyone thought it was only going to be about fig leaves for tea.  That's all for now, fig-nite. :)

Fig Tea Leaf Intro

Hi and welcome to Fig Tea Leaf

I'm Charlie Little from Mansfield, Arkansas.  The fig tree in the above photo is, as of yet an unknown variety that was recently discovered in a local backyard.  Its dry leaves are very aromatic in a pleasant way and make an incredibly tasty tea, hot or cold.  Unknown Lake Spur is its name until a positive ID can be determined.

About the beginning of July, 2014, I became interested in fig leaves for tea, having been doing research on persimmon leaves for tea, it came up in a Google search.  I love persimmon leaf tea and so the quest began for a few fig trees from which to harvest my own leaf.  Really not much available.

As innocent as that may seem, the small quest has turned into a full blown fig fascination and growing collection of now over 40 fig varieties and adding more all the time.  Not only do I want to have variety in ripe figs, a commodity not available much if at all locally, but also to have many different varieties to harvest tea leaf from.

Of my fig varieties, some have a distinct "cat pee" odor.  This seems to be fairly common while some have no odor whatsoever.  I have discovered though, the more they smell like cat pee while green, the better they smell when the leaves either fall off on their own or are removed and dried.  

So far my limited experience with Fig Tea Leaf is with the above Unk Lake Spur but eventually my dream is to have as many varieties as I can fit into whatever area and to determine if there are even subtle differences in tea flavors from different varieties.  Soon I will get to try some of my own leaf as the trees begin to go dormant.  It is said by some that the leaves which fall naturally are void of sap in the Autumn, making for a smoother tea. 

There is some info available on the possible health benefits of Fig Tea Leaf.  I won't get into that in this post but perhaps in future postings.  Right now I'm simply enjoying growing figs and enlarging my collection.

My Fig Leaf Tea recipe:  

About 3 fig leaves, dried and crumbled to small particles.  Add to water in a small pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes.  Strain through a handkerchief into bowl.  Add about 1/8 cup raw honey, stir to dissolve.  Add water to get a "green tea" look.

   

I love it cold or hot.  Also great as a blend with Persimmon Leaf  Tea, made the same way.

Stay tuned for future Fig Tea Leaf postings.  Right now I have very limited samples available so feel free to email figtealeaf@gmail.com to inquire.