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Tea Tips
Herbal Tea
Simple directions and tips for brewing a great cup of tea every time for every reason.
- Try to always use spring water whenever possible.
- Use one teaspoon of tea leaves per 8 ounce cup. If brewing a pot of tea, throw in an extra teaspoon for the pot.
- Warm your empty teapot or cup by rinsing it with boiling water, then discard the water.
- Bring fresh, cold spring water to a rolling boil. Pour boiling water over tea. For Green and White teas use slightly cooler water (heated just to steam). If water does boil, allow it to cool for 1 minute before adding tea.
- Steep all Green teas for 3 minutes.
- Steep Black teas for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Flavored and small leaf teas: Steep 3 minutes.
- Full leaf teas: Steep 3 to 5 minutes.
- Steep Oolong teas for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Larger leaf teas - Steep for 10 minutes.
- Jade Oolongs: Steep for 8 minutes.
- Herbal infusions - Steep for 10 minutes or 15 to 30 minutes for medicinal and root teas. Separate the leaves from the water using a strainer.
Common Healthful Teas
Chamomile Tea has soothing, calming and relaxing properties. It helps digestion, coughs, colds, poor skin, and is used as a liver tonic. The entire chamomile plant can be used for tea. However, the flowers are the most flavorful. To 2 teaspoons dried flowers or 1 tablespoon of fresh flowers add 1 cup boiling water. Steep to taste.
Dill Tea helps an upset stomach, indigestion, coughs, colds, and bronchitis, fever, sore throat, and tendency to infection, urinary tract infections and sleep disorders. It stimulates the appetite, acts as a nerve sedative, and is a blood and liver tonic. Dill seeds have been proven the most effective. Crush the seeds or use a grinder. To 1 teaspoonful of crushed seeds add 1 cup of boiling water. Steep to taste.
Fennel Tea helps bronchitis, digestive problems, coughs, stimulates movement of food through the stomach and intestines, dries respiratory phlegm and destroys germs. It makes a good after dinner tea. Use crushed or ground seeds. To 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground seeds add 1 cup of boiling water. Steep to taste.
Lemon Balm Tea will perk you up in the morning, help bloating, gas, mood disorders, bronchial inflammation, high blood pressure, mild vomiting, toothache, earache and headaches. Lemon Balm has anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. Use the plants leaves. A good combination is lemon balm and fennel. To 1 teaspoon of crushed lemon balm add 1 cup boiling water. Steep 10 minutes. Take only twice a day.
Peppermint Tea helps indigestion, head colds, headaches, appetite loss, bronchitis, and fever and gal bladder problems. It can be used as a blood and liver tonic. To 1 teaspoon of peppermint add 1/2 cup of boiling water. Steep 10 minutes.
Thyme Tea helps bronchitis, coughs, sinuses, nose and throat, larynx and whooping cough. It can be used as an anti-bacterial. Thyme tea aids digestion. To 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme add 1 cup boiling water. Steep 10 minutes. Do not exceed 3 cups per day.
Ginger Tea helps appetite loss, motion sickness, upset stomach, relieves gas, loosens phlegm, and soothes earaches. To 1 teaspoon of ginger add 1 cup boiling water. Steep 5 minutes.
See also:
Healing Tea Recipes
Soothing Tea Recipes
