Oat Straw
The dried stems and leaves of the common oat plant, cut before the grain forms. It looks like hay, but cooks and herbalists have been steeping it into tea for centuries.
What It Is
Oat straw is harvested from the same plant that gives you oatmeal, but it comes from the green, leafy part above the soil rather than the grain itself. It is cut while the plant is still young, before the seed head matures, then dried.
The flavor is mild and grassy with a faint sweetness, nothing sharp or medicinal. It has a long history in European folk tradition as a daily tea, the kind of thing a grandmother kept in a tin by the kettle. It blends easily with other herbs without taking over.
What To Do
Oat straw makes a gentle, light-colored tea. Use about one tablespoon of dried straw per cup of hot water, steep for ten to fifteen minutes, then strain. The longer it steeps, the more flavor it draws out. Sweeten with honey if you like.
Beyond tea, it can go into an herbal bath blend or a simple infusion for soups and broths, where it adds a faint earthy note. Store it in a sealed container away from light and heat, and it will keep well for a year.
