You can crush them too, or grind into a finer powder. Once you removed the seeds, let hips dry. Interestingly, not everyone is removing the seeds before drying them, and although they should be safe in limited quantities, it may be better to avoid the risk. Although hip seeds may provide health benefits, the little hairs are infamous for irritating human intestines, and can actually be used for producing the itching powder. For tea, pick the rosehips that are still plump and firm, cut them in half and remove the hairy seeds.

Once you pick the hips, remove the seeds before using them as food or for making tea. If you are lucky enough to have a rose bush nearby, you can safely pick the fruits and dry them for making your own tea. Today, this tea is available in almost any grocery store, in loose form or in tea bags. Rosehips from other rose plants are edible too, such Rosa rugosa, Rosa rubiginosa or Rosa arvensis, and are also harvested for comsumption. Although the regular roses produce hips too, the wild rose is commonly used for making tea. Out of around 100 different plants in the Rosa genus, the most commonly used plant for harvesting edible rosehips is a wild Dog Rose or Rosa canina. Rosehip tea is one of the oldest natural remedies in many countries across the world. Although rosehips look like fruits, they are actually false fruits of a rose plants. With a sweet and tarty flavor, rosehip tea is somewhere between fruit and herbal tea.

Rosehips can be used for making rosehip oil, delicious jams, and the best of all – a rosehip tea. What is hiding behind the rose flowers is maybe even more interesting–a fruit called rosehip. Rose water, rose petals tea, rose perfumes and beautiful rose bouquets are not the only divine smelling and beautiful things coming from a rose bush.

Long dark rose hip tea