TeaChat

Hey guys,

basically id like to know the best ways to dry rose petals and rose buds so i can use them my teas.

i figured it would be best doing this than buying them from stores?

Moderator edit: Moved topic to Herbal subforum where it will hopefully be more at home!
Chip

I haven't tried it myself, but Alton Brown (from "Good Eats" on Food Network) demonstrated how to dry herbs by placing fresh herbs, presumably rose petals work too, between two cotton-- NOT fiberglass!-- ventilation filters, using bungee cords to strap those in front of a box fan, and then running the box fan for several hours (maybe a day or two, I can't remember) until the herbs were dry.

Yes, this sounds like a lot of work, but this way your petals will dry faster and thus won't wilt/brown/rot/whatever as much as if you just hung them upside down.

have you considered just making rose water?

Yes I watched that episode of Good Eats (my favorite food network show) and it does seem a little unconventional though, I did berries in a 30 dollar dehydrator from walmart and it worked perfect. The only think you have to worry about for dehydrators is the temp., if it gets too hot it will actually cook what your trying to dehydrate.