An herbal garden is a perfect way to take advantage of fresh herbal teas at home. These plants can alleviate a variety of different ailments, and boost your overall health. Grow the following tea herbs, either alone or combined, and you’ll have powerful herbal allies at your fingertips.
1. Lavender
This purple flower is perfect for home use. Its intoxicating scent can fill entire rooms, intoxicating the senses. In tea form, however, lavender is used to relieve insomnia and provide relaxation. Steep about 1 teaspoon of flower buds in a cup of hot water for about 5 minutes to create a calming tea. Add sugar or honey if desired.
2. Lemongrass
Use lemongrass stalks to make herbal teas, soups, and many other dishes. As the name suggests, it provides a lemony scent and subtle lemon flavor. Grow it easily indoors in a kitchen garden or a greenhouse, and use it for a number of different ailments.
It aids the digestive system, treats oral infections like cavities, help with colds and flu symptoms, and provides a calming effect. Begin by cutting the stalks into pieces around 1-inch-long and steep in boiling water for at least 5 minutes, then strain out the stalks and pour the mixture into a teacup.
If you grow your lemon grass outside, it can also keep away common garden pests like whiteflies and mosquitoes.
3. Lemon Verbena
Out of all the lemon-scented tea herbs available, lemon verbena offers one of the most robust and most accurate lemon scents. Whether you make hot or cold tea from the leaves, it aids digestion and alleviates common cold and flu symptoms.
The zesty tea benefits the body in multiple other ways, including heartburn, anxiety, and indigestion. It’s a refreshing drink in summertime too—brew up a pitcher and keep it in the fridge.
4. Mint
This herb’s leaves have been used for centuries to aid digestive health. It also provides calming effects, and both the scent and flavor invigorate the senses. Whether you select peppermint or spearmint, use the fresh leaves to create a wonderful, flavorful tea.
You can also use dried mint, which holds onto its flavor better than most other herbs, and all you need is a few leaves to get started. Just steep the leaves in hot water, and drink hot or cold.
5. Ginger
Ginger is a popular natural cure, especially in South and East Asia, and its roots and leaves make a great tea. Ancient Chinese medicine uses the plant for its antioxidant and antibacterial properties, and it’s used to treat the common cold or flu. However, ginger is also excellent for aiding digestion and alleviating nausea.
This makes it one of the most popular tea herbs for pregnant mothers dealing with morning sickness. It’s easy to grow, and you can make tea quickly by placing chopped ginger in a pot of water, covering, and bringing it to a boil. Allow it to simmer for 20 minutes, then strain. Just make sure you peel the ginger before you boil it if you don’t want papery bits floating around in your tea.
6. Thyme
Thyme is an easy-to-grow, low-maintenance herb that calms stomach issues and sore throats. The plant requires bright light to thrive, and you can use both its leaves and flowers to prepare tea. Many people enjoy adding cinnamon, honey, or both to add a sweetness to the brew.
This herb also will protect your body from infections and help balance healthy bacteria in your body when consumed regularly. Just allow the thyme to steep for at least 15 minutes before drinking.
7. Chamomile
German chamomile plants produce flowers similar to daisies, and these blossoms have been used for centuries to soothe emotions after a long day. Chamomile tea tastes fruity—almost like apples in flavor, which is why it’s known as “manzanilla” (little apple) in Spanish. All you need is a teaspoon or two of the fresh or dried flowers to make a cup of tea at home.
Did you know it can even ward off damping-off disease in many other plants? This makes it a great companion plant in your sunny home garden, but you may need to water it more in summertime.
8. Jasmine
Jasmine flowers are gorgeous and easy to grow in a container. They’re also great tea herbs, and you can pick the flowers fresh or dry them for later use. Many people enjoy adding the dried leaves to green tea as well, and jasmine tea can help to prevent illnesses like heart disease, cancer, or diabetes.
It’s also an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, and it can be used to promote healthy skin and aid your immune system. Some drinkers even believe jasmine tea helps reduce stress and promotes more restful sleep.
9. Rosemary
With a strong flavor and stronger fragrance, rosemary is one of those tea herbs where a small amount is more than enough. This tea is pungent and stimulating, and you can use a teaspoon of the leaves fresh or dried for every cup of tea you make. Some people prefer to crush the leaves first, which allows a little to go a long way, and others add sweetener to the brew.
Rosemary is used to alleviate muscle pain, boost the immune system, aid digestion, improve memory and the circulatory system, and promote hair growth. Just keep in mind that you don’t need to steep the leaves for long to take advantage of their curative effects.
10. Fennel
Fennel aids digestion, and offers an aromatic licorice flavor that will soothe and warm you. Either the crushed seeds or leaves are used to make tea, and you’ll need around a teaspoon of the seed or a few fronds for every cup you make.
It aids abdominal issues like indigestion, bloating, and constipation, and can also reduce water retention, improve eyesight, aid acne, and reduce asthma symptoms. Women can use fennel to help relieve menstrual cramps.
11. St. John’s Wort
This herb is known to aid nervous disorders including depression, anxiety, and insomnia. It’s easily grown in pots, making it an excellent kitchen herb, and has a light lemony flavor.
Steep around 2 or 3 teaspoons of the flowers in boiling water for around 5 minutes, and strain the mixture before serving. However, be careful how often you drink this tea. St John’s Wort comes with side effects like dry mouth, headache, upset stomach, and confusion, and it shouldn’t be consumed every day for an extended period.
When it comes to cultivation, this plant basically thrives on neglect, in almost any soil. It practically grows on its own without any special care.
12. Sage
Sage tea is a natural stress reliever, with a grassy, herbal flavor. Its leaves are often used to create medicines for a variety of digestive issues like appetite loss, gas, tummy pain, bloating, diarrhea, and heartburn. It’s also great for Alzheimer’s disease because it aids memory loss.
It’s been used to alleviate depression, and promotes weight loss and hair health as well. Whether you have a sore throat, insomnia, or hot flashes, sage can provide a helping hand. Just use a teaspoon of dried leaves or two teaspoons of fresh leaves to make a cup of tea.
13. Basil
Although it’s most commonly used in cooking, basil contains a fresh and bracing flavor that’s perfect for a refreshing tea. Grow your own bunch in your kitchen, and pick off a couple of fresh leaves for a cuppa whenever you desire.
This relaxing plant helps tackle anxiety, stress, and even inflammation. Many people who struggle with arthritis pain adore basil tea, and it’s said to help fight cancer as well.
14. Rose
While you can make a tea from rose petals, using rose hip after the bloom expires provides a boost of Vitamin C. Many people enjoy rose hip tea, as the seed pods give a fruity, floral flavor. All you have to do is crush a hip or two growing on your rose bush and steep them in boiling water. That said, if you’ve never had this herbal tea before, take it slow. It also acts as a mild diuretic, with slight laxative properties.
15. Monarda
This purple flower comes from the mint family, and it’s known by many names including bee balm, Oswego tea, or bergamot. Because it grows aggressively, you can use the fresh leaves to create a beverage similar to mint tea only the taste is stronger and slightly more floral. Dry the extra leaves to use for tea as well, or you can use the edible flowers. With this plant, you’ll have more than enough blooms to enjoy tea every day.
If you’ve never made your own herbal tea at home, definitely try doing so. The flavors are much richer and fresher! Rather than purchasing a commercial blend from the store, you can learn to mix your own tea herbs to suit your needs. Try using a few herbs together, such as mint, fennel, and ginger, for example, for an effective tummy soother.
