Instructions

1. Locate patch of naturally growing stinging nettles, away from car traffic, pesticides or animal waste. Riverbanks and woodlands are great places to look.

2. Bring your gloves, bowl and scissors.

3. Carefully snip off the very tops of the nettles, called the tips. The tips will often be a lighter shade of green than the rest of the plant. You can use more of the plant, but the tea will be more bitter.

4. Roughly chop the nettle tips in the bowl with the scissors.

5. Bring out a cooking pot or a cafetiere (plunger-style coffee maker). Place the chopped nettles in the pot or the cafetiere. You need one cup of water per loose cupped handful of chopped nettles. You don't need exact measurements to have a good cup of tea.

6. Bring water to the boil in a kettle. When it boils, add it to the nettle-filled pot or cafetiere.

7. Let the tea steep for 10 minutes. Then either strain into a cup (if using a pot), or press the plunger down and pour into a tea cup (if using a cafetiere). Usually, you do not need sweetener.