BSc (Hons) - Member NIMH

Journal

Herbal Tea

The unique thing about a cup of herbal tea (tisane) is that this is one of the few forms of medicine that you can prepare in your own home. We've been drinking herbal teas for medicinal purposes for thousands of years; the reason for this is that as far as herbal medicine goes this is the simplest form of preparation. Making herbal tea is also relatively inexpensive, particularly if you are growing or gathering your own herbs.

The process of making herbal tea in itself is therapeutic - picking and choosing your herbs, watching them expand and come back to life in the water, breathing in the aromatic oils then reaping the benefits from the active constituents that have been extracted from the plant during this process.

Many herbs work wonderfully on their own as a tea; such as, Chamomile for sleep, Peppermint for digestion or Ginger for nausea. However, things get really interesting when you start making your own blends.

Begin with identification of your plants. After that, employ your senses: taste them individually; do they taste sweet, sour, bitter, salty or pungent. Are they cooling, drying, warming or hot. How do they make you feel; relaxed, stimulated, dreamy, hungry, sleepy, etc. With this information you can then begin to blend your herbs, taking care to think about balancing all of these elements as you go along.

To make the perfect cup:

Use fresh water that is just off the boil

Let the herbs infuse in an open space and strain on the way out

Remember that leaves and flowers infuse in a few minutes, roots and barks take longer or need decocted (boiled)

Then simply sit back, relax and let your mind wander as the herbs quietly work their magic.