Making Herb Teas-For Good Health........

I like to use herbs for many purposes........one is for making teas. I can use single herbs for tea and that is great, but I also like to combine those that address certain health issues and create specialized teas that can be used at any time, but can also be used at specific times. One example would be to have a "Sore Throat" tea which would be especially helpful.....when you have a sore throat!

A few weeks ago, I made several such teas and they have been so helpful.......and quite delicious. Here is the process...................

 This shows all of the teas
in separate bowls - all ready to
mix.







     I had these nice cute jars that I thought would be perfect for tea. They were each 3 1/2" in diameter x 3 3/4" tall. Since there were 8 of them and I like having a matching set, I decided to come up with 8 different teas. After deciding the types of tea to make....for sore throat, building immunity, detox, etc, I wrote out a list of the herbs that fit that category - one 3" x 5" card for each category or each different kind of tea.

Herb or nutrition books are great for doing research on herbs and what they can be used for. You can also use the internet, but realize that people can write anything online and it is up to the user to double check for safety's sake.

    Since I was making so many and since I didn't want to get the herbs out multiple times, I decided to do them all at once......Hmmm.....not as easy as I thought.......

    I set out a bowl for each kind of tea and set the card in front of the bowl.....then added herbs to each bowl as I needed to......and worked hard to keep track of what I was doing......a challenge, but worth it. You may find it easier to make 1 special tea at a time.

   If you keep track of the ingredients you put in your tea, you can make it again. You may find you want to add more or less of some herbs to adjust the taste. It is not necessary to use all of the herbs I use in these teas.....use what you have or only a few.  I had all of these and didn't have to go out and buy them, so I used them.

 This is a DETOX tea - I got the base recipe from frugallysustainable.com and loved the idea. I didn't use the recipe totally as written, but deleted some things and added others to fit our needs.

I used: nettle, pau d'arco, marshmallow root, dandelion leaf, red clover, gingko leaf, horsetail/shavegrass, burdock, fennel seeds, cinnamon, orange peel, milk thistle, beet root powder, slippery elm powder, elderberries






                                                                               

 This is a Build Immunity tea

It contains: echinacea, rosemary, burdock, milk thistle seeds, hawthorn berries, dandelion leaves, elderberries, red clover, mullein, pau d arco, green tea, cat's claw, gingko biloba, tumeric

This is a tea to Fight Infection

It has:  thyme, cinnamon, eucalyptus, echinacea, elderberry, allspice, anise, clove, juniper berries, lemongrass, marshmallow root, parsley, turmeric, wormwood, sassafras root  

This is a tea for Coughs

It has: thyme, echinacea, eucalyptus, anise, comfrey, slippery elm, fennel, mullein, spearmint, gingko biloba

This is a tea for Sore Throat

It has: marshmallow, slippery elm, blackberry leaves, cayenne pepper, thyme, sage, plantain, rosemary, mullein, white oak bark

 This is a tea for Digestion

It has: fennel, mint, rosemary, juniper berries, mullein, marshmallow root, st. john's wort, dandelion, cardamon, dill, cinnamon

This tea has very good flavor. 

This is a Multivitamin Tea

It has: alfalfa, dandelion, catnip, spearmint, nettle, red clover, marshmallow root, slippery elm

Here are all of the bowls, with the herbs in them, and the labeled jars. Note, I like nice pretty labels, BUT I have found that it is more important to get things labeled than to put it off until you can make nice pretty matching labels.

You can tell that I was hurrying and just have functional labels on.....not pretty ones, but they work fine. :)

After thoroughly stirring up each bowl, then it is time to fill those labeled jars.

I know I said I had 8 jars and I do......I made 2 of the Herbal Detox and I am glad that I did.....we are really using our teas.












These teas have been a blessing..........in the past, I made some up when needed - but only enough to brew a pot of tea at a time. It is so nice to have them all mixed and ready to steep. I just use enough for a cup of tea...........or a whole pot.

After a lengthy time of weakness and slowly regaining my strength last fall, I made these teas and then started brewing a pot of tea every day and drinking several cups a day. My stamina increased markedly, and my recovery accelerated. I have used different teas to add variety and nutrition....plus I love to experiment. :)  My family and I all drink these teas.....most are mild and you can adjust the flavor, as desired.

   I hope you will enjoy a nice cup of healthy homemade herbal tea and start to see the health benefits in your own life.  Don't be overwhelmed by the amount of herbs I use......I started small and kept adding more and I use my herbs for so many things.

  Thanks for reading my blog and I hope it was helpful.............I'm going to go and brew a cup of hot tea and enjoy it.  Mmmmmmm.



Other sites you may enjoy.....
Weekend Potluck
The Art of Homemaking

Wellness Wednesday
Homeacre Hop
Mostly Homemade Mondays
Tea Time Tuesday
Inspire Me Monday
Frugal Friday
Tuesday Cuppa Tea