The Benefits Of Mullein – Harvesting & Dehydrating For Mullein Tea

Mullein is not native to the United States but it has been around for thousands of years. It can now be found all over the world and now grows wildly in North America.

You can find mullein growing naturally along road banks and in pastures, meadows, and timber locations. It can even be found in empty parking lots that have been left abandoned for too long. You can even grow mullein in your garden. No matter how you come about finding mullein, it can be used as a natural home remedy to help with issues like cough and congestion.

Mullein has been used for hundreds of years to treat all sorts of different respiratory and digestive ailments.

In fact, mullein has been used for generations to help a whole host of different issues. Some of those issues include cough, congestion, asthma, constipation, inflammation, migraine, and earaches.

So it might be worth harvesting and making a nice warm cup of mullein tea to drink before you reach for the medicine cabinet the next time you feel respiratory issues or a cold coming on!

What Is Mullein And The Benefits Of Using It

Identifying Mullein

Mullein is a biennial plant that only lives for two years. In the first year, the plant produces a rosette of multiple leaves that each measure up to 12 inches long and can grow to be as wide as 5 inches.

The leaves are a bluish-green color and are covered in tiny hairs. If you were to touch one of the leaves, it would feel fuzzy and almost soft.

This is one of the dried seed heads from last year. The tall seed heads are usually easily identifiable since they usually stick around after the plant dies off.

During the plant’s second year of life, it puts out a 5 to 10-foot tall flower stalk in the spring. The end of the flower spike has multiple small yellow flowers. The flowers are perfect for attracting all sorts of different pollinators.

Each plant is capable of producing around 100,000 to 200,000 seeds. These seeds simply drop to the ground by the wind or wild animals.

The seeds can remain dormant for several years and are only able to germinate in full sun. After the rest of the plant dies, the flower stalk remains behind and is easily identifiable.

The Benefits Of Mullein

*As with any natural or herbal remedy, use at your own discretion. If you are in doubt, talk to a healthcare professional before using or ingesting. I am not a medical professional, just a semi-homestead mom. Most of the stats about using mullein are from anecdotal evidence and in vitro (in test tubes) studies.

The leaves, roots, and flowers are all edible and can be used for health purposes. Health stores even carry mullein capsules, oils, extracts, and teas already ready for use. But it is extremely easy to dehydrate and make your own dried mullein to use for tea.

The mullein plant I harvested the leaves from. This plant is in its first year of life.

Tea of any sort is known to be soothing and comforting when you have a cough or other respiratory issues. However, some of the compounds within mullein have been found to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties that can further aid illnesses.

Specifically, mullein acts like an expectorant to break up and thin mucus and make it easier to cough. It can also work to coat mucous membranes in your throat, helping to reduce inflammation.

There are even a few studies that found that making mullein oil can help to ease or even treat earaches. Some people make a cream out of mullein to help reduce pain and irritation in skin wounds. While more studies and research are required, personal experiences and passed-down remedies go a long way when it comes to more natural, herbal remedies.

How To Dry Mullein For Tea – The Benefits Of Mullein

You can make tea using fresh mullein leaves, but it is often first dehydrated. Drying out the leaves or flowers helps to preserve and prolong its use. This is useful since coughs and respiratory issues are often more of a problem during the colder months after mullein has died off.

Wash each leaf before dehydrating. This amount of mullein results in about a pint of dried crumbled leaves.

The springtime is the best time to harvest mullein leaves. Choose leaves either from a patch in your garden or in a location where you know there haven’t been any chemicals or sprays applied.

You can either harvest each leaf individually like I did or you can pull up the entire plant, roots and all. If going this route, simply hang the plant upside down in a dry location for a few weeks and allow it to dry out naturally.

For simplicity reasons, I only harvested the leaves of this particular plant. It was a first-year plant and leaving the roots behind should allow the plant to come back next year to produce the flower stalk.

After you’ve harvested the leaves, wash each one to get rid of any stole-away pests or insects that might be hitching a ride. Allow the leaves to dry or pat each one with a paper towel. This will help speed up the dehydrating process.

Break into small pieces.

Ready For Dehydrating

All dried up and ready for crushing.

Leaves should easily crack when pressed.

Break into small pieces.

Ready For Dehydrating

Ready For Dehydrating

Drying and Dehydrating

Lay each leaf in a single layer in your dehydrator. You can also dry the leaves in your oven at a low setting as well.

At 165º Fahrenheit, it took my mullein about 4 hours to dry completely in my dehydrator. If your settings are different, just be sure to check it occasionally. (Product link: COSORI dehydrator)

Once dried, allow the leaves to cool before crumbling them into a dry glass container. The leaves should crack easily once dried. Seal the container tightly with a lid to keep any moisture out.

Store the crushed mullein in a glass jar with a light lid until you need to use it the next time you have a cough or respiratory issue.

To make the tea, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried mullein into a mug and pour over 1 cup of boiling water. Allow the mullein to steep for about 10 to 15 minutes. Strain the leaves before consuming. Enjoy the soothing benefits of your own homemade mullein tea!

Until next time, thanks for stopping by!
– Chelsea