How to Dry Lemon Balm (for Tea and More!)
Lemon balm is a delicious, fragrant herb that makes a wonderful tea! Learn how to dry lemon balm with this easy tutorial and enjoy it all year long.
I love fresh herbs, but they aren’t always an option. When winter rolls around and the garden is resting, I turn to my homemade dried herbs.
Each year, when the herb garden is producing heavily, I get hard at work oven-drying sage, air-drying bay leaves, drying oregano, and so much more.
Lemon balm is a delightful addition to my tea garden that I am always sure to preserve plenty of! Its bright, citrusy flavor makes a delicious addition to a variety of dishes and teas.
Drying lemon balm is very easy and an absolute essential for harvest season!
Why Dry Lemon Balm?
Homegrown tea: Lemon balm tea has a bright and lemony flavor that blends well with so many other herbs! There’s nothing like enjoying herbal tea that you grew in your own tea garden.
Preserve the harvest: It’s so satisfying to preserve your garden harvests when they are abundant. You’ll be able to enjoy homegrown lemon balm all year long!
Save money: Skip the store-bought tea and pricey tea bags, and instead grow your own tea in your backyard herb garden. Lemon balm is a perennial plant, so buy it once, and you’ll enjoy it for years to come!
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What You’ll Need
- Fresh lemon balm: It’s best to get it drying soon after harvest.
- Scissors
- Hemp string: You can use any string that isn’t stretchy. Twine, yarn, or thread will work.
- Somewhere to hang it: I hang my herbs off of a foldable clothes drying rack. You can also hang them from a curtain rod, a shelf, a closet rod, or anything else you can come up with. You can also purchase an herb-drying rack, which works wonderfully and looks nice.
- Dehydrator (optional): Rather than air drying, you can dry lemon balm in a dehydrator in about 12 hours. Dehydrators can range from very affordable to higher-end dehydrators with greater capacity. They are frequently for sale secondhand, too!
- A storage jar: Once the lemon balm is dry, you’ll need an airtight container to store it in. I use glass mason jars.
How to Dry Lemon Balm
Air Dry
Step 1. Rinse the lemon balm under cold water and spin it in a salad spinner or shake it well to get excess water off.
Step 2. Make small bundles of 3-6 stems, keeping a nice section of stem at the top without any leaves (this is where the string will go).
Step 3. Tie the bundles together with a piece of string. You’ll want to tie them very tight, as the stems shrink when they dry out.
Step 4. Hang the lemon balm bundles in a dry place with good air circulation. How long it takes to dry the herb will depend on how dry your air is and how much airflow they get. I usually leave mine for a couple of weeks.
Step 5. Once the lemon balm is completely dry, grab the bundle with the palm of your hand and squeeze to break the leaves off of the stems.
Step 6. Crunch the dried leaves up until they are your ideal size, then store in an airtight container out of direct sunlight.
Dehydrator
Step 1. Rinse the lemon balm under cool water and spin it in a salad spinner. Allow it to air dry for a couple of hours to ensure all excess water is dried up.
Step 2. Spread the lemon balm leaves out in a single layer on dehydrator trays.
Step 3. Set the dehydrator to a low setting (around 100°F) and run it until the lemon balm is completely dry and crispy, around 12 hours. Check regularly around the 12-hour mark.
Step 4. Turn off the dehydrator and allow the leaves to cool to room temperature. Crunch the leaves up and store the lemon balm in a glass container.
Uses for Dried Lemon Balm
My primary use for dry lemon balm is to make tea out of it. Lemon balm blends deliciously with a variety of other herbs and makes a fantastic tea you can enjoy year round, hot or iced.
Other than tea, lemon balm can be made into a simple syrup and brewed for cocktails or ginger bug sodas.
Dry lemon balm is also a lovely addition to homemade soaps, bath salts, and other bath and beauty products.
Finally, you can make homemade nesting box herb mix for your chickens! I love sprinkling homegrown and dried herbs in my nesting boxes to help soothe the birds and make the coop smell nice.
Helpful Tips
- I don’t recommend drying lemon balm in the oven. I tried it, and the tender leaves just burn too quickly.
- Lemon balm is best harvested in late spring or early summer, before it has flowered. Only harvest up to ⅓ of the lemon balm plant at a time.
- Learn how to properly harvest lemon balm in my tutorial about how to harvest mint.
- Don’t leave your dry lemon balm hanging for too long. It can start gathering dust.
- If you live in an extremely humid area, you might find that your lemon balm molds before it’s able to dry out. If that’s the case, I would recommend investing in a dehydrator.
- Dried lemon balm is at its best for up to a year. It’s still edible after that, but the color and flavor will start to fade.
- Dried herbs should be stored in a dark place to preserve their color and flavor for as long as possible.
FAQs
What is lemon balm?
Lemon balm (Melissa Officinalis) is a leafy herb that is a member of the mint family. It’s a perennial plant that grows upright stems with fragrant, lemony foliage. Lemon balm is a delicious edible plant that makes wonderful teas and more!
Can you freeze lemon balm?
You sure can! Just follow the instructions in my post on how to freeze mint — it will be the same process.
Is lemon balm better dried or fresh?
Fresh lemon balm has a better flavor; drying herbs reduces some of their flavor. But if you’re in a climate with chilly winters, fresh lemon balm isn’t always an option! Dried lemon balm is a delicious way to enjoy this garden herb year-round.
More Drying Tutorials
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How to Dry Lemon Balm
Equipment
- Scissors
- Hemp twine
- Herb drying rack optional
- Dehydrator optional
- Glass storage jar
Ingredients
- Fresh lemon balm
Instructions
Air Drying
- Rinse the lemon balm under cold water and spin it in a salad spinner or shake it well to get excess water off.
- Make small bundles of 3-6 stems, keeping a nice section of stem at the top without any leaves (this is where the string will go)..
- Tie the bundles together with a piece of string. You’ll want to tie them very tight, as the stems shrink when they dry out.
- Hang the lemon balm bundles in a dry place with good air circulation. How long it takes to dry the herb will depend on how dry your air is and how much airflow they get. I usually leave mine for a couple of weeks.
- Once the lemon balm is completely dry, grab the bundle with the palm of your hand and squeeze to break the leaves off of the stems.
- Crunch the dried leaves up until they are your ideal size, then store in an airtight container out of direct sunlight.
Dehydrator
- Rinse the lemon balm under cool water and spin it in a salad spinner. Allow it to air dry for a couple of hours to ensure all excess water is dried up.
- Spread the lemon balm leaves out in a single layer on dehydrator trays.
- Set the dehydrator to a low setting (around 100°F) and run it until the lemon balm is completely dry and crispy, around 12 hours. Check regularly around the 12-hour mark.
- Turn off the dehydrator and allow the leaves to cool to room temperature. Crunch the leaves up and store the lemon balm in a glass container.
Notes
- I don’t recommend drying lemon balm in the oven. I tried it, and the tender leaves just burn too quickly.
- Lemon balm is best harvested in late spring or early summer, before it has flowered. Only harvest up to ⅓ of the lemon balm plant at a time.
- Learn how to properly harvest lemon balm in my tutorial about how to harvest mint.
- Don’t leave your dry lemon balm hanging for too long. It can start gathering dust.
- If you live in an extremely humid area, you might find that your lemon balm molds before it’s able to dry out. If that’s the case, I would recommend investing in a dehydrator.
- Dried lemon balm is at its best for up to a year. It’s still edible after that, but the color and flavor will start to fade.
- Dried herbs should be stored in a dark place to preserve their color and flavor for as long as possible.
