Have you ever looked at your favorite tea leaves and thought they looked like the contents of your garden? That’s because some of the most well-known herbal teas are actually made with plants and herbs that are common home garden staples.
Put on your gardening gloves and join us as we learn about some of the benefits of herbal tea and how you can make it in your own kitchen.
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Why Make Your Own Herbal Tea Blends?
If some herbal tea ingredients sound familiar, it’s because you’ve probably seen them plenty of times in your daily life. Rosemary, lemon balm, and peppermint are all staples in many herb gardens and can be found at many grocery stores.
Meanwhile, flowering plants like valerian, chamomile, and dandelion are all essentially wildflowers in different parts of the United States. Basically, you’ve got everything you need for a yummy and healthful cuppa right outside your own front door!
Making your own herbal tea blends is a lovely way to connect with the earth and create teas designed for your own specific needs. If you cultivate these plants in your garden, it’s a wonderful way to reduce carbon emissions and support the environment.
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How Can I DIY Tea?
Step One: Gather Your Herbs
When you make your own tea blends, the first thing you’ll need to do is gather your herbs. If you use herbs like rosemary and peppermint, you’ll just need the leaves.
For flowering plants like chamomile and dandelion, you’ll just need the flower heads. If you plan to use valerian, you’ll need to harvest the roots specifically.
We also recommend planting and harvesting your own herbs and flowers or finding a friend who does, since plants in public spaces may have been exposed to harmful pesticides.
Step Two: Dry Them Out
Once you’ve gathered all of your ingredients, they’ll need some time to fully dry out. When you blend them together, the last thing you want is remaining moisture molding your tea.
We recommend hanging herbs upside-down to dry for one to two weeks to make sure they’ve fully dried.
Step Three: Blend
When your plants are dry, you’re ready to start making some homemade loose leaf tea! Here are two of our favorite functional tea blends:
The Heavy Sleeper
This homemade tea is a lovely option for anyone who just needs a long, sound night’s sleep. Simply combine the following ingredients:
Chamomile flowers
Valerian root
Lavender flowers
Rose hips or rose petals (optional)
The Digestion Booster
This herbal blend is wonderful for anyone who experiences discomfort after eating. Heartburn, we’re looking at you!
Put together the following ingredients, and play around until you discover a blend that you love:
Ginger
Licorice root
Lemongrass
Step Four: Store Your Tea
Once you’ve blended your teas, make sure to store them in an airtight container. You can also spoon some tea into a glass jar as a fun gift idea!
When stored in an airtight container, your tea should stay good for up to a year. Otherwise, you’ll only have a few months with your special blend.
Step Five: Enjoy a Cup of Tea
To enjoy, simply put some tea into a tea infuser and pour in some hot or boiling water. You can let it sit in the fridge overnight for iced tea, or use cold water to start out for a fun herbal cold brew.
What Are Some Health Benefits of Herbal Tea?
You may be familiar with black teas like English Breakfast tea and chai tea, and you may even be familiar with green tea. These teas are all made from the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant, meaning they belong to the family of “true teas.”
However, there are a plethora of herbal teas made up of dried herbs from all over the world, and some of them have been used as folk remedies for hundreds of years. Here are some of our favorite herbal teas and their benefits.
Better Sleep
Some herbal teas have the amazing benefit of helping to promote better sleep. While quite a few teas boast this ability, there are some that stand out.
You may have tried chamomile as a bedtime tea, as this tea is well-known for its supportive and relaxing abilities. In fact, chamomile contains a flavonoid called apigenin, which can help your body relax and ease feelings of stress.
Meanwhile, herbal teas with magnolia bark and lavender act as anxiolytics, which means that they help reduce feelings of stress and promote balanced mental wellbeing. Because of this, both of these teas can help transform you from on-the-go to bedtime-ready with just one cup.
Finally, valerian root tea is also well-known for its calming abilities. While scientists are unsure about exactly how valerian achieves this effect, the running theory is that it supports a chemical called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is known to help soothe feelings of stress.
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Smooth Digestion
Some teas can also help ease discomfort related to digestive issues. From burning sensations associated with acid reflux to intense discomfort associated with gas, these different teas might just be your next go-to's.
Ginger tea has long been a folk remedy for digestive discomfort, and science has finally caught up to word-of-mouth wisdom. One of the main components of ginger root is gingerol, which can help promote smooth and efficient digestion.
Another lovely tea for digestion is dandelion tea, which contains inulin. This prebiotic fiber also helps promote smooth digestion and can help prevent constipation.
Peppermint tea is also a lovely option for those with digestive discomfort because peppermint can have a calming effect on irritated digestive muscles. This is often a wonderful complement to licorice root tea, which helps coat the digestive tract in a protective layer that can ease discomfort related to stomach acid.
Other honorable mentions in this department are echinacea, fennel, and spearmint tea.
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Caffeine-Free
If you have a high caffeine sensitivity, then herbal tea might be your new best friend. With the exception of yerba mate, yaupon, and guayusa, herbal teas don’t contain any caffeine.
Whether you’re sensitive to caffeine or just looking to get to bed on time, herbal tea is a lovely choice.
Boost Brain Health
Herbal tea can also boost your brain function and help keep your memory like a steel trap for many years to come. Some teas have particularly strong abilities in this area.
Lemon balm tea also helps boost levels of GABA, which you might remember helps promote relaxation. However, this tea also communicates with your neurotransmitters to help improve memory and cognitive function.
Meanwhile, rosemary tea acts in a similar fashion. Rosemary can help increase the quality of memory and mental alertness.
Another great tea for brain health is oat straw tea. This tea is made from the stalks of green oat grass and has been proven to improve memory and concentration.
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Full of Antioxidants
Antioxidants are unique compounds that prevent oxidative stress, AKA free radical damage. Oxidative stress over time can lead to serious illness and other physical problems, so it’s important to load up on as many antioxidants as possible.
Hibiscus tea is one of the heavy-hitters in the tea world because it contains a handful of powerful antioxidants. In fact, hibiscus tea elevates the antioxidant level of one's bloodstream within an hour of consumption.
Another tea high in good antioxidants is rooibos. This herbal tea comes from South Africa, and it contains antioxidants that are totally unique to its plant. These are some of the rarest antioxidants in the world!
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Topping It Off
Herbal tea has been around for centuries because of its wellness benefits, and we’d love to continue that trend. Whether you’re a hardcore forager or you’re looking to step outside your urban jungle, making your own herbal tea is a delicious way to start.
Herbal Tea Shop
Herbal tea is naturally caffeine-free and has many health benefits. No matter the type or flavor of herbal tea you're searching for, Sips by has options you'll love. Discover your new favorite herbal caffeine-free tea today!
Interested in trying these teas and others? Subscribers receive 4 teas chosen just for them in every box. Learn more about our tea subscription box or explore the loose leaf tea shop.
About Sips by: We’re a female-founded and led startup that makes discovering tea fun, personalized, and affordable. The Sips by Box is the only multi-brand, personalized tea subscription box. Each month, we match tea drinkers across the U.S. with delicious teas from over 150 global tea brands that we’re sure they’ll love. Based out of Austin, Texas, we are adept at savoring a hot mug even when it’s seasonally inappropriate.
Sources:
The Therapeutic Potential of Apigenin | International Journal of Molecular Science
