Many of us have enjoyed sipping a cup of tea, whether it’s once in a while or multiple times a day, tea plays a warming and nourishing part in our lives. You can serve your tea in delicate bone china to bring out the subtleties of an Indian Himalaya black tea or in a chunky mug sitting on the sofa with your friends.
Being a herbalist, I love transporting the properties of herbs out of the dispensary and into my client’s daily routine in the form of herbal teas. Such as for breast feeding support, a liver cleanse, or a gentle pick-me-up. There are herbal tea blends that can fill all kinds of roles; relaxation, energy-boosting, cough and cold soothing, gut supporting, liver clearing, breast milk production and memory-enhancing (we probably could all do with some support there from time to time!). There’s no end to the blends that can be created given the number of therapeutic herbs available to us, all you need is a little herbal knowledge and your imagination.
Developing My Herbal Teas
My love of drinking tea and the awe I feel at how amazing it is that nature has provided us with all these incredible plants to support our health led me to create my range of herbal tea blends. My aim was to provide not only formulas that would support your body but that tasted good too. I decided to target the main health concerns that I see often in my herbal medicine clinic. Firstly, I set about choosing the herbs for their therapeutic benefits and matching them up with other herbs in similar or complementary action groups to create the effect I was after. Then I calculated the correct dosage range for each of the dried herb so as to ensure it would bring benefit. The final step, and one of the most important, the taste test! For this I got my two sons, then aged 8 and 4, to taste each one and tell me what they thought. Children are very honest and they got the final say in whether each blend made the cut or not.
My Herbal Tea Range
Here are the nine types of herbal tea and their benefits currently available in clinic.
Afternoon Wind Down
Put your feet up and unwind with a cup of herbal tea. This particular blend has been created to assist with relaxation and to help ease away the day’s stresses.
Ingredients: Lemon balm, Red Rose petals, Lavender
Cleanse Me Quick
May help cleanse and support the Liver, whilst also promoting lymphatic flow (not recommended in pregnancy or lactation).
Ingredients: Wild crafted Dandelion root, St. Mary’s Thistle, Calendula, organic Liquorice root.
Cough Soothe
To help calm and soothe a dry tickly cough (not recommended in pregnancy and lactation).
Ingredients: Organic Marshmallow root, Peppermint, organic Liquorice root, Eucalyptus, Ginger root.
Feeling Fruitful
A fruitful blend giving you a mix of antioxidants, balanced with the earthiness of cinnamon and rooibos.
Ingredients: Organic Rooibos, organic Rosehips, organic Hibiscus, organic Orange peel, organic Cinnamon bark.
Fire Quencher
May help relieve fevers and mucous congestion associated with flu and the common cold (not recommended in pregnancy or lactation).
Ingredients: Yarrow, Elderflower, Peppermint.
Love Your Kidneys
May assist with keeping the kidneys flushed and soothing the urinary tract (not recommended in pregnancy or lactation).
Ingredients: Couch grass, Horsetail, Lavender, Marshmallow root, Crataeva bark, Nettle leaf.
Milky Mumma
Breast feeding support. An organic tea to help assist with breast milk production and flow whilst also supporting the mother’s body.
Ingredients: Organic Shatavari, Organic Goat’s Rue, Organic Nettle Leaf, Organic Fenugreek
Pick Me Up
To help give you a natural energy boost without depleting your system. (Not recommended in pregnancy or lactation).
Ingredients: Organic Chinese green tea, wild crafted Siberian ginseng, Orange peel, Ginger root.
Sweet Dreams
Relax and ease your body into a peaceful sleep with herbs that may assist you in your relaxation (not recommended in pregnancy or lactation).
Ingredients: Organic Chamomile, wildcrafted Valerian passion flower, Peppermint.
Blended by Nina Taylor – Western Herbalist at Harbord Homeopathic Clinic
The full range of herbal teas can be found here.
How to Make the Perfect Cup of Herbal Tea
You will need:
Kettle
Teapot (with strainer inserted or separate handheld trainer)
Your favourite cup / mug which ever one you enjoy taking out of the cupboard when you are in the process of making a hot drink. This is also part of the pleasure process!
Step 1: Not quite boiling water
The goal here is to heat the water so that it’s hot enough to quickly and easily infuse into the herbs and works to draw out the properties of the herbs.
If it’s really boiling hot it can deactivate some of the herbs.
Allow the boiled water sit to cool slightly in the kettle while you put the herbs into the teapot.
Step 2: Place herbs into the teapot
Loose-leaf versus tea bags?
Bagged tea is easy to brew, as it is already contained in the bag and no need for strain. It has a consistent taste and is cheap and easy to mass-produce.
Loose leaf tea is often fresher with larger leaves / herbs. You may lose more nutrients in the bag than you do if the leaf is loose.
Anyway, put 1-2 heaped teaspoons per person of herbal tea into your teapot.
Step 3: Pour Hot Water
Super simple. Pour your water into your teapot so that your herbs are submerged in the hot water.
Step 4: Steep Your Tea
Cover your teapot with the lid so that the steam doesn’t escape. This prevents the essential oils that are in the herb from evaporating out of your herbal tea with it’s steam. They are a part of the plant so they need to stay in your tea so that everything works together. Usually, after a minute or two, the steeping process is accomplished and you are ready to pour.
However, if you’re using a harder herb like barks or berries, give it about 10 minutes to steep. This allows enough time for the benefits of herbal teas to release.
Step 5: Pour your tea
If your teapot doesn’t have a built-in strainer, remember to use a handheld strainer. Pour the tea and compost the used soggy herbs… or make another cup with it.
Step 6: (Optional) Sweeten your tea
Honey goes very well with most herbal teas, but you can use whatever sweetener you favour. Just a little is needed.
Find a comfy seat, put your feet up, grab a good book or simply stare at the nature that may be surrounding you… and relax while sipping at your herbal tea!
Written by Nina Taylor, Western Herbalist at Harbord Homeopathic Clinic
Herbal Teas
Herbalist blended teas, made by Nina Taylor. These teas aim to provide not only formulas that support your body but also taste good too. Nina has chosen the herbs for their therapeutic benefits, matching them up with other herbs in similar or complementary action groups to create the effect required. Nina Taylor is a Western Herbalist and has calculated the correct dosage range for each of the dried herb so as to ensure it would bring benefit and a great taste.
A consultation with Nina is holistic, taking into account not only your presenting physical problem but also diet, lifestyle, environmental factors and emotional health to provide a unique and results-based treatment. She provides ongoing advice and support throughout your treatment plan.
- Health Benefits of Herbal Teas - 19/11/2019
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