What Are Natural Teas
Natural tea additionally goes by the title of tisane and may be created from the flower, seeds, leaves, stems and or roots of a wide-ranging number of crops.
Tisanes can be utilized for quite a lot of medicinal functions resembling rest, assist with abdomen/digestion points, and strengthen the immune system.
There isnt any one finest herb for tea, as every is used for various causes and has totally different flavouring. Nonetheless, you might discover a favorite inside this checklist of herbs for tea I personally love to make use of.
Harvesting Herbs Healing And How To Make The Perfect Cup Of Herbal Tea
There are few things as satisfying as the ritual of harvesting fragrant herbs, then using them to make wonderful herbal tea. Preparing a cup of tea signals your body to focus inward and heal what ails you. When you also grow the herbs in your garden, the ritual expands to a full experience. Growing herbs and enjoying their aromas, beauty, and attractiveness to pollinators, allows you to feed your body and it makes sipping tea much more savored. The careful harvest and preparation of herbs for tea becomes part of the tea ritual and ensures that you get the perfect brew.
The warmth of hot tea can warm cold bones, comfort an upset tummy, soothe a sore throat, or help you fall asleep. Iced herbal tea can quench your thirst, cool your body temperature, replace lost electrolytes, and help with digestion. The temperature of the tea doesnt matter, its the match of the herbs you include with what your body needs .
Today I will share more about harvesting herbs, drying or preserving their flavors, and how to steep the perfect cup of herbal tea.
Herbal Tea Benefits + How To Make At Home
Herbal tea is made from plants that have therapeutic properties, with impressive nutritional value and health-promoting antioxidants. This type of tea is commonly consumed in traditional medicine to help the body maintain balance and ward off illness.
Adding a daily cup of herbal tea to your diet can boost your antioxidant intake by a whole lot, help support a healthy heart and brain, and support digestive health. Its an easy way to combat oxidative stress that can cause illness, promote healthy aging and keep your body in balance.
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How To Make Herbal Iced Tea
Some people find a glass of herbal iced tea a refreshing change from hot tea. To make your own herbal iced tea, add your sweetener to the warm tea and allow it to cool. Serve it over a glass of ice. Try a slice of lemon or a few mint leaves to give the iced tea a splash of color and to enhance its flavor and aroma.
Dont be afraid to experiment with herbs to come up with your own private blend. You may be surprised with how the flavors of your herbs blend together to create a unique flavor.
What Are Herbal Teas
Herbal tea also goes by the name of tisane and can be made from the flower, seeds, leaves, stems and or roots of a wide-ranging selection of plants.
Tisanes can be used for a variety of medicinal purposes such as relaxation, aid with stomach/digestion issues, and strengthen the immune system.
There is no one best herb for tea, as each is used for different reasons and has different flavouring. However, you may find a favourite within this list of herbs for tea I personally love to use.
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How To Make Herbal Tea
January 25, 2021 By Abagail Leepin
When I learned how to make herbal tea, I realized I didnt need warm drinks with caffeine anymore. I found that I enjoyed it so much, I now make herbal tea year-round. It is great to drink at night when you are trying to wind down and relax.
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How To Harvest Herbs For Tea
If you feel inclined, take a moment before harvesting the appreciate your plants. They have worked hard to offer so much goodness to the world and gratitude is good therapy.
Cut herbs for tea with clean, sharp pruners first thing in the morning, before the day heats up. This will maintain the most freshness in the leaves as well as cause less stress to the plant. If you are using leaves for tea, cut the stem off the plant and then remove the leaves from the stem .
Some herbs, like mint, lemon balm, and basil, can handle having one third of the plant removed. Cut the stems down to one third of the full height, just above a set of leaves. The plant will send out new shoots from the cut branch making a fuller, bushier plant.
When using flowering herbs for tea, wait until the flowers are fully formed and remove all of the flower heads that are mature. Avoid harvesting the buds for chamomile and calendula , but harvest the buds before they bloom when cutting lavender.
All herbs are different, so for best results research the best practices to harvest the particular herbs that you are growing.
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Herbs For Great Tasting Infusions
Herbs most commonly used because they offer great-tasting infusions include chamomile, ginger, and any of the mints.
It is important to remember that some herbs can be harmful if you consume too much, such as if the infusions are allowed to steep too long. Combining the wrong herbs can also lead to problems. For this reason, please do your research before making any infusion you intend to drink. It’s best to follow recipes from trusted sources and pay attention to any warnings given.
Consult your physician or herbalist before drinking infusions.
Facial Steam To Imrove Complexion
Leave the sage tea covered to infuse for about 10 minutes, while preparing a blanket and a wooden spoon. Once you have uncovered the lid, mix it with a wooden spoon for more active substances to evaporate. Immediately cover with a blanket so that steam does not escape. Hold for as long as possible, at least 15-20 minutes. Inhale with frequent mixing. Excellent for relieving a stuffy nose and sinuses, as well as for the skin.
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Tips & Options For Making Herbal Iced Teas
- Muddle fresh herbs to release their essential oils. Dont crush too hard though, otherwise youll release the green chlorophyll which can leave a bitter taste.
- Choose one type of herb for your tea or use a combination. You could even add flower petals or spices like cinnamon or ginger to your tea.
- Dont expect bright vibrant colours like you get with commercial herbal teas unless you add ingredients like hibiscus, calendula or blue butterfly pea blossoms to your herbal tea mix.
- Consider adding black, green or oolong tea to the mix. I use 1 tea bag or 1 teaspoon loose leaf tea for every 2 cups of water.
Top 11 Healthiest Herbal Teas
1. Ginger Tea
Ginger tea has been consumed for thousands of years to relieve nausea and digestive complaints. Ginger contains valuable compounds, including gingerol, which is particularly beneficial for issues related to inflammation and immune system health.
A systematic review published in 2020 indicates that ginger helped improve nausea, inflammation, metabolic syndromes, digestive function and colorectal cancers.
To make ginger tea at home, add a clean two-inch knob of fresh ginger to two cups of boiling water, and let it simmer for 1020 minutes. To enhance its flavor and impact, you can add lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
2. Chamomile Tea
There are numerous chamomile benefits, including its ability to ease anxiety, relieve seasonal allergy symptoms, reduce muscle spasms and improve insomnia. Its also used to alleviate PMS symptoms and other menstrual disorders.
Its been consumed for nearly 5,000 years and remains one of the most popular herbal teas today.
Research shows that chamomile contains many bioactive constituents that are used for medicinal preparations, including antioxidants that help fight free radical damage and work to prevent cell mutation.
You can find a high-quality chamomile tea at just about any grocery or health food store. Look for a tea thats made with pure chamomile flower leaves, which is where the beneficial oils are held.
3. Turmeric Tea
4. Peppermint Tea
5. Chrysanthemum Tea
6. Rooibos Tea
7. Dandelion Tea
8. Chaga Tea
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How To Sweeten Herbal Iced Teas
If you wish to sweeten your iced tea here are three options:
How To Make The Perfect Cup Of Herbal Tea
Supplies:
- honey
- a little helper if you have one close by kids LOVE to help make tea
Once youve got your supplies handy, its time to get started. Take a peek at the photos below, and you can read through the steps afterward.
Directions:
Step 1: Boil Some Water
It doesnt matter if you use a tea kettle to boil your water or if you boil it in a saucepan on the stovetop. The tea kettle makes quick work of it, but either will do. You can even use a hot shot to boil your water in about a minute if you really need a small amount of boiling water quickly. I love these things!
The goal here is to boil the water so that its so hot that it quickly and easily infuses into the herbs and works to pull out the properties of the herbs as well as the vitamins and minerals too!
Step 2: Place Herbs In Tea Strainer
Now here if you dont want to mess with loose leaf teas, thats totally fine. You can purchase premade herbal tea bags or you can buy seal-able tea bags and make your own using loose leaf teas. There are a lot of options. I personally like using loose leaf teas with strainers. I think its so much easier, and I know my herbs are fresh and havent been in a box for a year already. Anyway, put about a teaspoon of the herb into your strainer or your teabag if youre making your own, and place it in your teacup.
Step 3 4: Pour Hot Water
Super simple. Pour your just-boiled water into your cup so that your herbs are submerged in the hot water.
Step 5 6: Steep Your Tea
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More Custom Blending Tips
- Label Your Jars. Once they’re brewed, many herbal teas look alike. Rather than resorting to the sniff test to figure out which tea is in which jar, keep it simple. Label your jars before you begin.
- Keep a Notebook. As you’re testing different combinations, keep track of what you’re doing. When you find a blend you love, note which herbs you used and in what proportion. Also note the combinations you’ve tried and didn’t care for. That way, you can easily repeat your successes – and avoid making the same down-the-drain mistakes twice.
- Have a Sweetener Handy. A little shot of sweetness sometimes turns a “so-so” mixture into a “Wow!” herbal tea blend. That’s why I always have some freshly brewed stevia liquid on hand when I’m experimenting. All-natural sweetness with zero-calories. Love it!
The Perfect Cup Of Tea
No matter what the season, I start my days by making a big pot of herbal tea to drink throughout the day. I have a few tea pots and an amazing thermos that keeps the tea fresh all day. I find that making just one cup at a time uses too much energyboth my own efforts and the heat required to boil water multiple times a day. In the morning, I decide on what type of tea I will drink for the day and experiment with flavors.
Herbs can be steeped directly in water and then strained out when you store the tea for the rest of the day. Or you can use a variety of different products to contain the tea: paper tea filters, tea balls, a tea pot with a tea filter, or even a coffee press.
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How To Make Tea
Making herbal tea is simple, and you can pretty much follow the same tea recipe for each herb or plant, with perhaps a few changes depending on the type.
In general, add about one tablespoon of plant roots, stems or flowers to one cup of boiling water. Then let the plant parts steep in simmering water or hot water that has been removed from heat.
Steep times vary from plant to plant most commonly five to 15 minutes.
For plant parts, you can use them fresh, dried or even in extract form. Adding one to two drops of a high-quality essential oil, for example, can make an herbal tea.
Some herbal teas taste more earthy than others, so adding lemon, honey or stevia is a great option for sweetening your tea. If you add raw honey, make sure the tea cools first.
How To Grow An Herbal Tea Garden
Follow the planting directions on the seed packets. Make sure you have a sunny location and good quality soil.
A container garden can be an excellent choice for herbs. During the winter months, the containers can be moved indoors, and as long as they receive 6 hours of sunlight every day, they will continue to grow. Containers work especially well for herbs in the mint family since they can spread rapidly.
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Making Tea With Herbs From The Garden
Herbal tea has many uses, from simple relaxation and enjoyment to homeopathic remedies to meditation and reflection. Why not grow your own herbal tea garden to create custom, homemade teas you can enjoy fresh from your own plants?
Best Garden Herbs for Tea
A wide range of herbs and other plants can be brewed as individual teas or incorporated into rich, flavorful tea blends. While the foliage of herbs is the most common part of a plant to be used for tea, flowers, roots and stems can also be part of different teas. The most popular garden plants that can be delicious tea flavors include
- Basil
- Stevia
- Thyme
These are not the only herbs that can be used in teas. Any herb with a potent aroma or rich flavor could be added to a tea, and experimenting with different flavors and combinations is a delicious way to make the most of your herb garden.
Growing Tea Herbs
Herbs destined for tea can be grown in several ways. You might simply snip herbs you already grow in your outdoor garden, or you could plan a specific tea garden using only the most flavorful herbs. Tea herbs also do well in containers, both outdoors or inside on a sunny windowsill.
Tea Brewing Tips
When using your garden herbs for brewing tea, you’ll get the richest, most flavorful blends if you
It can be very rewarding, not to mention delicious, to brew tea from your own garden herbs. With just a little care, you’ll have a bountiful herb harvest to help you create amazing tea blends you can enjoy all year long.
Herbs To Use For Teas Or Tisanes:
- Anise Hyssop . Licorice-tasting blossoms and leaves. Perennial.
- Bee Balm . Mildly-citrus flavored. Use dried leaves. Perennial.
- Chamomile . Mellow grassy flavor and fragrant. Good for the digestive system and calms nerves. Annual.
- Lavender . Use blossoms for steeping. Soothing and relaxing. Shrub.
- Lemon Balm . Tastes like mint plus citrus. Used to calm the nerves and also aids digestion. Use leaves fresh and dried. Perennial.
- Lemon Verbena . Intense flavor and very fragrant. Use leaves fresh and dry. Shrub.
- Mint . Nearly 200 varieties. Use fresh and dried leaves. Aids digestion. Spearmint and peppermint tea are revitalizing. The menthol in hot peppermint tea is useful in clearing head colds. Perennial.
- Rosemary . Strongly flavored stimulates circulation and ease migraines. Use leaves and sprigs. Shrub.
- Sage . Mild, musky, camphorous, with spiciness. Soothes sore throats. Perennial.
- Thyme, lemon . Sweeten with honey to ease coughs. Perennial.
More Herbs for Tea: Other herbs that can be used to make tea: catmint, chicory, comfrey, costmary, fennel, horehound, hyssop, lemongrass, lovage, parsley, pennyroyal, perilla, rose , and sweet cicely.
Many useful culinary herbs grow well in containers. Basil, chives, cilantro, dill, common and Florence fennel, garlic, lemon balm, mint, oregano and marjoram, parsley, rosemary, sage, French tarragon, and thyme are excellent choices for container growing. Continue reading> > >
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Homemade Dried Herbal Tea Gift Jars
Once you gain more experience growing and pairing herb blends, you can think about storage. Glass jars work best because they allow you to see the ingredients and keep them sealed tight. Avoid using plastic because it can affect the taste of the tea.
Dried herbal tea blends make easy and thoughtful gifts. It’s a way to share your knowledge of herbal remedies with friends and family and make sure that the edibles you’ve worked so hard to grow don’t go to waste. To fill an 8-oz. jar, you will need 1 cup total of dried herbs. Mix ½ cup of a primary herb with ¼ cup each of two secondary herbs. This makes 24 servings .
To make a pretty gift, wrap twine around a storage jar and accent with a bit of fresh or dried herbs. Tie a gift tag on the jar with steeping instructions: Steep 2 teaspoons tea in 8 oz. boiling water for at least 15 minutes. Then strain and enjoy.