Health Benefits -- Tea Ideas for the Month of August

Health Benefits of Herbal Tea

With a handful of herbs, many of which can be found in your kitchen cabinets or garden,  and a few basic techniques, you can brew up healing teas for everyday ailments.

There are lots of ways to enjoy the goodness of plants, but for accessibility and simplicity, it’s hard to beat a good cup of tea. I especially enjoy it when it the tea contains herbs I grew, foraged, or blended myself. 

There are also so many health benefits to drinking tea that can’t be denied. Here are a few of the known benefits.

ginger

Improves Digestion 

Several herbal teas have been shown to help with nausea, constipation, indigestion, and more. Fortunately, most of them are widely available and easy to make. Some herbs that are known to help include: ginger, peppermint, gentian root, fennel, angelica root, dandelion, senna, and marshmallow root

Mint teas are great for the stomach so tea with strong mint favors will help with digestion.  At Backyard Patch Herbs we have Shakespeare and Rest Easy Teas which will give you the mint flavor in an amount to help with stomach issues.

Peppermint and Green Tea

• 2 parts peppermint
• 1 part green tea

Combine together and store in a jar with a tight-fitting lid, use 1 to 2 tsp per cup of hot water. Can be served hot or iced.

chamomile

Reduces Inflammation 

There are a variety of beneficial compounds present in different kinds of tea that can help to soothe inflammation, including tea itself as well as rose petals and rose hips, ginger, turmeric, chamomile, and more.

Backyard Patch Herbs has several types of tea that will help with inflammation - like Hibiscus Rose Blush, Turmeric Chai and Therapeutic.

Ginger and Hibiscus Tea

• 2 parts ginger
• 1 part hibiscus
• 1/2 part cranberries (if you want some extra tart)
• honey to taste (for some sweet)

If you use dried cranberries check to see if they added sugar before you add honey.  Combine all the items in a jar and use 1 to 2 teaspoons for 1 cup of hot water.  Great served hot or iced.

lavender

Relieve Stress and Anxiety

Herbal teas calm and relax the mind, relieving stress and anxiety. Since it calms the mind, drinking herbal tea before going to sleep also helps people who suffer from insomnia.

Chamomile is one of the best herbs for sleep and the reduction of stress.  Along with lavender, these two herbs can help with difficulties sleeping and the comforting effect may also act as a mild anti-depressant for some as it stimulates the brain to reduce feelings of depression and stress.

We have several teas to assist in this way.  Nerve Soothing is high in Chamomile, Dreamtime has both chamomile and lavender, and Calming Spirit gives the relaxation of lavender, mint and chamomile.

Anti-anxiety Herbal Tea Blend

• 2 tablespoons dried lemon balm
• 2 tablespoons dried rose hips, cut & sifted
• 1 tablespoon dried chamomile
• 1/2 teaspoon dried lavender

Combine materials and store in a lidded jar or tin. For a single serving hot cup of tea, place 1 tablespoon of the tea blend into a tea ball or bag. Add the filled tea ball or bag and fill with 1 cup (8 fl oz) hot water. Cover & let steep for 8-10 minutes, then enjoy! (Sweeten if desired!)

 

New Feature - Monthly Herb Tea Crafting Ideas

I have a boat and a garage and a house full of tea recipes.  Some I learned, some I crafted from scratch some I created by accident. I share them regularly on the blog (you can find them by searching Tea Recipes on the blog) but I thought it might be nice to be more organized about it and share some tea creating ideas every month. These will include recipes for tea, recipes for items to serve with tea and highlights on herbs to grow for making tea. 

I started my first herb garden in 1992, because I love herb tea.  However I wanted my herb (caffeine-free) tea to be as nuanced in flavors as the black teas I also enjoy, like Earl Grey with a hint of orange from bergamot oil, or Assam Tea which has a chocolaty finish to go with the malty strong flavor. What was available in the stores were generally single herb teas like peppermint or chamomile and those were not subtle. So I began experimenting with herbs and their flavors and creating combinations.  

I started with two-herb combos like Lemon balm and Lavender (now called Lemon Lavender Splash and made with multiple lemon herbs) or Lemon balm and peppermint (called Lemon Peppermint and made in the winter because of its throat-soothing properties.) Then I moved to three and four herb combinations like Dreamtime (chamomile, lavender and catnip,) Headache Relief  a combo of lavender, rosemary and thyme and Nerve Soothing (sage, thyme, marjoram, chamomile, because you can be soothing without lavender.)

Once I gained confidence in my blending skills, I began making multi-herb blends like my popular hot and iced tea called Calming Spirit named so because it is made with relaxing herbs of spearmint, lavender, chamomile, rosemary and cloves for color. Now I can create a tea with any number of herbs and spices and enjoy a side hustle of custom tea blends for groups, events and weddings.  If you have questions about herbs for your tea, please ask in the comments down below.

There are many recipes I have made or adapted to try at home, use in cocktails and tryout for programs so I thought I would share some of these experiments and perhaps a few of my commercial failures with you and let you judge them for yourself. And since herbs are best with shortbread and scones, I will share a few of those recipes along the way as well.

As it is May I decided to start with an iced teas, you can then enjoy a cooling blend as summer heats up. Although as I write this is is not yet very warm, I am hopeful that by publication it will be warm enough outdoors for you to enjoy these recipes on your porch or deck.

Tea Idea to Start

Lemon Verbena-Apple Mint Tea
Nothing is more refreshing in the summer than lemon verbena iced tea, and a hint of apple and mint adds a twist.

1 cup fresh lemon verbena leaves, loosely packed
½ cup fresh apple mint leaves, loosely packed
2 quarts water

Bring water to a boil.  Turn off water and add the herbs, bruising them slightly.  Cover pot and let sit for 10 minutes.  Strain out herbs, allow to cool and add ice.

Another Tea Idea

Now if you do not bring in your lemon verbena plants for winter like I do , you might not have any of that herb just yet, so here is a recipe you can make with kitchen herbs, or those you can gather at the grocery. I shared this years ago in my herbal newsletter - which is now called the Good Thymes....

Nippy Iced Tea  

• 5-6 stems catnip
• 4-5 stems peppermint
• 4-5 stems lemon balm
• A bit of sage 1-2 leaves

Because you are dealing with stems of herbs, place the stems in a roaster pan pour boiling water of them and let steep 20 to 30 minutes.  Chill and serve over ice with a splash of fresh cool water. Start with one quart of water and if it is too strong add another quart.  Allow to cool then serve with ice.  The mint is cooling and refreshing while the lemon balm is uplifting.  The catnip and sage will help with allergies too!

Stop back next month for more tea ideas!