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Author:
Melissa Collins
What better way to get in touch with the therapeutic power of nature than by creating a blend of herbs that can heal, nourish, boost your wellness, and provide a satisfying taste as a bonus?
If you thought that making homemade tea was an undertaking only for the knowledgeable herbalists, you were so wrong.
Making herbal tea requires nothing more than following a special formula and using herbs that will taste and make you feel good.
As the name suggests, an herbal tea blend combines different herbs, roots, bark, flowers, seeds, spices, and berries that can support our wellness and address various mental and physical symptoms.
Herbal tea blends are prepared in the same way you prepare regular tea – by steeping in boiling water and allowing the medicinal goodies that are trapped inside the herbs to get extracted.
Herbal tea blends are sold in hundreds of different variations, but since it is often hard to pinpoint the exact combo that will work best for your well-being, it is much simpler and healthier to make the blend yourself.
As long as you choose herbs that are safe to consume, you can incorporate pretty much any plant into your herbal tea blend. Many herbs are jam-packed with medicinal properties, so it is wise to use those that your health will benefit from the most. However, to make it an enjoyable experience, don’t forget that your herbs will also have to taste good.
Here are my absolute favorite herbs for tea blending:
Chamomile – This daisy-like flower is an essential part of every herbalist’s apothecary. Equipped with soothing actions, chamomile can lull you to sleep, get rid of stress, and support proper digestion. It also blends well with tons of other herbs, which is why these white and yellow flowers should always be in your pantry.
Holy Basil – Being a powerful adaptogen agent, holy basil brings powerful actions that can slay stress and get you out of an anxious mood. It also doesn’t hurt that it has a lovely scent and flavor that shoots calming vibes down your spine.
Nettle Leaf – Stinging nettle should be your go-to herb if you are a part of the unlucky bunch that gets frequently visited by seasonal allergies. Add nettle leaves to your tea and get your histamine levels in order.
Lemongrass – You may have used this lovely-scented herb for aromatherapy, but lemongrass is also quite the ingredient for your herbal tea. With a soothing taste and powerful calming properties, this herb will send you off to tranquility in no time.
Peppermint – If your grandma used to force you to drink minty cuppas when you had tummy aches, she knew her herbs well. Peppermint is one of the most prized plants by herbalists, and it also blends well with other herbs. Excellent for digestive issues.
Echinacea – Plant these in your garden, and you’ll get more than just lovely pink flowers. Echinacea – especially its root – is known to be the most powerful weapon against common colds. When flu season is around the corner, shield your immunity by adding echinacea to your tea.
Hibiscus – A potent antioxidant, hibiscus is yet another herb that is a great match to many other plants, and therefore perfect for herbal tea blending. It also looks great, so having it in your garden brings a visual bonus as well.
Making a tea blend is not rocket science, really. You just have to find out which herbs pair well together so you can enjoy the taste, as well as the healing properties that the plants bring with them.
However, the blending process requires giving it some thought. You may be tempted to dump a bunch of herbs in your cup, but if they do not complement each other well, the result will be far from desirable.
The whole point is to be mindful of the purpose of the blend. I’ve discovered that adding more than three herbs to the blend is, in most cases, not that efficient. When you have many herbs combined together, the concentration of each of them gets diluted, which makes it much harder for your body to absorb the needed benefits.
For that purpose, following the formula of three parts yields the best results:
#1 – The Base (main herb)
#2 – The Compliment (supporting herb)
#3 – The Accent (that something extra)
Before you get all crazy with the formula, keep in mind that you need to be quite selective with the herbs. So ask yourself this – what goal do I need to achieve? What issue should this tea address? If looking to de-stress, you need to opt for adaptogenic herbs, if you need to fight off an infection, then anti-inflammatory actions are your friends.
Once you get that figured out, you may continue with the three-part formula:
The base is your main herb. And your main herb, obviously, takes up the largest chunk of the blend. When choosing the base, make sure that it is packed with the healing properties that your well-being needs at the moment.
A good rule of thumb is to add three parts of the base to the blend.
The compliment is the herb that accompanies the plant in charge. It can have similar benefits, or it can bring whole different actions to the table to give the main herb a helping hand.
For instance, if your main herb is medicinally beneficial but distasteful, this is a good chance to boost the flavor by adding some lovely scented herb that you can enjoy.
Aim to add about one to two parts of the compliment herb to the blend.
The accent herb, or as I like to call it, that extra something, is your cherry on top. It’s a herb that wraps everything up nicely and often packs a stronger punch. Think peppermint, cinnamon, or lavender.
You shouldn’t really overdo it with the accent, so stick to adding ½ to one part of the accent to the blend.
Now that you know the secret of blending herbs and making your own homemade tea, the next step is to hit the health stores and stock up on aromatic and potent leaves, flowers, and roots, so that you can start exploring the benefits of mixing and matching the right herbs for your health, today! What is your favorite herbal combo?