How To Make Herbal Tea

tawny@indigo-h… 08 September 2015
Herbal Teas

Herbal teas are one of the simplest, and oldest ways of including beneficial herbs in your daily diet. A herbalist would call a tea made with the loose botanical ingredients an infusion, tisane or ptisan. Making a herbal tea is effectively a method of extracting the active and beneficial constituents of a herb and preparing it into an easily absorbable tasty and enjoyable form.

There are basically two tea preparations that can be made from loose herbs: an infusion and a decoction. An infusion can be made from loose leaves, flowers, herbal or fruit powders, dried berries and the aerial parts of the plant. A decoction is needed if it’s the roots, barks, or seeds being used.

Ingredients

  • Infusion:
  • Approx 200 ml of boiling water
  • Approx one heaped teaspoon of loose herbs per person. (And traditionally one for the pot if you are using a pot)
  • Decoction:
  • 300ml of boiling water
  • Approximately one heaped teaspoon of loose herbs per person

Equipment

  • Infusion:
  •  a teapot & strainer
  • or a cafeteria (normally used to brew coffee)
  • a teapot with a strainer built in
  • a one cup tea-ball
  • or other specialist loose leaf tea making equipment
  • Decoction:
  • A pan with lid and a pouring spout
  • Or a purpose made pot made from stainless steel that can be heated directly over a flame
  • A tea strainer

Instructions

  1. Warm the teapot if you are using one. Add some boiling water to your empty, clean teapot or cafeteria, replace the lid and allow the vessel to warm for a few moments. Empty the teapot.
  2. Add the loose herbs, the amount you add will depend on which herbal tea you are making and how strong you want it to be, but a good amount is usually about 1 heaped teaspoon per person. (And one for the pot)
  3. Immediately pour over the remaining boiling water (make sure it is still boiling) and quickly and calmly put the lid on the teapot and cover with a tea cosy or tea towel.
  4. Leave the tea for between 5 and 15 minutes allowing the herbs to infuse into the water.
  5. Pour into your favourite mug and enjoy! Can be sweetened with a little honey.
  6. Add the loose herbs to the pan, a good amount is usually about 1 heaped teaspoon per person.
  7. Cover with boiling water, approximately 300ml per 1 teaspoon of herbs.
  8. Cover with lid and simmer for 15 -20 minutes, to slowly extract the active phyto-chemicals from the tougher plant materials.
  9. Pour into your favourite mug through a tea strainer and enjoy! Can be sweetened with a little honey.

What else you can do

Why not make a pot of Herbal Tea and let it cool, then store it in the fridge for up to 3 days? This makes a delicious refreshing cold drink and can be mixed ½ and ½ with Apple juice.

Loose leaf herbal tea is perfect for blending and experimenting. A herbal tea blend can be made from leaves, flowers, herbal powders, fruit powders and dried berries. When you make a blend, be sure to store it in an airtight container and use 1-2 teaspoons of the well-blended herbal matter per person.

About Indigo products

Here at Indigo Herbs we supply the finest range of Loose Leaf Herbal teas. Browse through the comprehensive selection on our Herbal tea page. We go to great lengths to ensure the loose leaf herbs are all pharmacoepial grade and will be of greatest benefit to you. We supply the popular teas like Chamomile Flowers and Peppermint leaf as well as many lesser known therapeutic teas such as Gymnostemma leaf, Meadowsweet, Yerba mate and Lemon Verbena.

We have also designed especially for you our proprietary blended Indigo Herbal Tea range including: Tummy Tamer, Getwell Staywell, Monthly Moontime and more. Discover a full range blended by benefit on our Indigo Teas page.

More information

Many herbs, both medicinal and culinary, make excellent and delicious teas. The ritual of stopping and making tea is a multi-cultural practice that not only spans centuries but also punctuates our rhythm of life. A nice cup of tea is, and always has been an important part of many peoples daily routine. From the Chinese Emperor Shennong who enjoyed one of the first cups of Cha, to the 21st century citizen pausing from their busy schedule to rejuvenate themselves with a satisfying cup of tea.

Herbal teas can be delicious, refreshing and a great way to stay hydrated while sneaking in a few beneficial micro-nutrients and phytochemicals. Drinking Herbal tea is a great way to ingest the beneficial properties of herbs, and can easily be “taken” three times a day. The tea break is an essential part of the day across the globe and stopping to enjoy herbs means much less caffeine for your body to handle and much more well being and goodness. Making Loose leaf herbal tea has become rather fashionable these days, and there are now lots of different tea making products on the market. These products can vary from one cup tea balls to teapots with tea strainers built in to make the process easier.               

“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” ― Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady