Last Updated on September 9, 2023
Looking for a thoughtful and easy homemade gift that’s not only inexpensive but healthy, too? These simple, nourishing herbal tea blends make wonderful presents. You’ll also want to make some for yourself and enjoy it all year long. Find out about herbal tea benefits and check out these nourishing herbal tea recipes!
EASY HERBAL TEA RECIPES TO TRY
If you’ve never tried blending your own herbal teas, you’ll be surprised how simple it is to brew a delicious blend of herbs tailored exactly to what you want. You’ll also save some money on your healthy tea habit!
If you’re reading this at the holidays, tossing together some herbs in a jar is a frugal but thoughtful way to cover the many people you might like to give gifts this season. A jar full of fragrant and beautiful herbs makes a great last-minute gift for teachers, friends, and family. What could be better than a health-supporting jar packed with herbal tea benefits? Here are 30 other great gifts for tea lovers.
If the recipient hasn’t already jumped on the loose-leaf tea bandwagon, throw in a simple tea ball or infuser teapot to make brewing their loose tea easier. Here are some glass jars for packing your herbs into, including a few that come with their own labels. You can also upcycle pretty jam or honey jars.
WHY MAKE YOUR OWN HERBAL TEA?
Sure, you could buy expensive herbal tea bags, but there are some compelling reasons not to. First, what you’re getting in the tea bag would cost SO much less if you use loose herbs instead. While 20 single-serve tea bags will run you $3–$7, a 1-pound bag of loose herbs costing $12 will last you the better part of a year, depending on your tea-drinking habits.
Second, many tea bags are made of plastic, not what you want leaching into your hot tea. Tea bags made of paper often include glues, which may also contain plastic and other chemicals that make that lovely cuppa a little less awesome for your long-term health.
Apart from the savings and reduced chemical exposure, loose-leaf tea lets you make your homemade herbal tea zero waste, a win for the environment. You can bring your own jars to your local natural food store to get just as much as you need for your herbal tea recipes, and you’ll save money and resources.
If you’re going to make a lot of herbal tea blends, you might want to order your herbs online by the pound. Yes, there’s a plastic bag, but there’s just one for the whole pound instead of all those individually-wrapped tea bags. These are the same pound bags most natural food stores use to refill their herbal tea jars.
One of the top sources for high-quality herbs is Mountain Rose Herbs, where you’ll find a stunning array of organic loose herbs and spices at very reasonable prices.
You can also forage a number of these herbs, or try growing some yourself. Several are easy perennials that can be worked into ornamental landscapes or garden beds. Here are some ideas for sneaking herbs into asmall garden, even if you don’t have a dedicated place to grow food.
You can also easily forage ingredients like pine, spruce, birch, and goldenrod for completely free (and waste-free) nutritious herbal tea. Here’s more on making spruce tea, pine needle tea, birch tea, and goldenrod tea.
Even common edible weeds like dandelions, wild violets, edible clover, and creeping Charlie can add interesting flavors and medicinal compounds to your teapot. Here’s how to make dandelion tea from flowers, leaves, or roots if you want to try!
HERBAL TEA BENEFITS
Besides being delicious, herbal teas are a super-easy way to tap into the powers of plants to support health. Some herbs support the immune system, while other calming herbs help manage stress, promote sleep, or give you a healthy dose of disease-fighting antioxidants. Many are useful herbal remedies for coughs. A daily cup (or several!) of herbal tea can add important phytochemicals to your diet.
And of course, they’re a wonderful way to kick a sugary drink habit, which may contribute to disease risk. (Here’s how much sugar per day is OK.)
WHAT HERBS TO USE IN YOUR DIY HERBAL TEA RECIPES
You can choose your herbs for herbal tea recipes according to flavor or according to the herbal tea benefits you’re after. Below are some of my favorite herbs, which I keep in my cabinet and mix into teas regularly. Click the linked text to find out more about them if you’re curious.
- Chamomile — Relaxing and fruity, a perfect bedtime tea. (Avoid for people with ragweed allergies.)
- Lemon Balm — Delicious and lemony, it can be enjoyed anytime, but is especially popular for promoting sleep. Here’s how to make lemon balm tea.
- Hibiscus — A yummy tart tea rich in antioxidants, it’s utterly gorgeous as well! (Not recommended during pregnancy.)
- Nettle — This nourishing tea is rich in minerals and may help with pain and allergies. I find the flavor a lot like green tea and mix it with my hibiscus or lemon balm regularly.
- Oat Straw — Another mild-tasting nutritive tea, oat straw is noted for its beneficial effects on the nervous system. Great for people trying to counteract stress! If you can get your hands on them, milky oats are considered even more effective and make a pleasant addition to herbal tea blends.
- Elderflower — This fruity flower is packed with antioxidants and is noted for its usefulness in respiratory illness. Some dried elderflower you can buy comes with a lot of stem material, so do what you can to pick it out before mixing with other herbs.
- Yarrow — A traditional remedy for fever and cough, yarrow is also antimicrobial. (Also avoid for ragweed allergies.)
- Peppermint — A popular herb many people like, peppermint is great for digestion and treating colds. It’s also easy to grow yourself and dry for holiday gifts or to throw in delicious homegrown herbal sun tea. “Gypsy Cold Care” combines peppermint, elderflower, and yarrow to banish colds quick.
- Elderberry — A premier herb for fighting off viruses, here’s what to know about making elderberry tea.
- Hawthorn berry, leaf, and flower — Hawthorn is a go-to herb for supporting heart health. Here’s how to make mild hawthorn berry tea, which can be combined with other herbs above.
Other herbs to consider for your DIY herbal tea recipes: Lavender, catnip, lemongrass, calendula, linden, raspberry leaf, tulsi (holy basil), or rose petals, many of which are among the shade-tolerant herbs to consider growing in a shadier garden. Learn how to distinguish catnip vs catmint if you’re not sure and want to grow some.
Mixes of leaves and flowers look beautiful in a jar. If you grow lavender, you can use both the purple blossoms and the lavender leaves. You can also toss in some nutrient-rich orange peels to make the most of your produce. Or harvest some sunflower petals for their sunny color and medicinal properties.
Many of these herbs, like lemon balm, nettle, chamomile, linden, and hibiscus, taste wonderful on their own — the health benefits are just a bonus. But they can easily be combined to make even more medicinally-useful blends for supporting better sleep or treating a cold.
HERBAL TEA RECIPES TO TRY
The herbal tea recipes below use “parts” rather than amounts so you can mix up in the quantities you need. If you’re making multiple large jars, you might use a cup-size scoop as a part, or for smaller quantities, maybe you’ll use a 1/4 cup. Don’t worry about getting the quantities exactly. These proportions are merely a guideline.
Be sure to label your homemade tea blends when you give them as gifts, as not all herbs are recommended for everyone. Hibiscus, for example, is not recommended in pregnancy or for people with peanut allergies. Read up on the herbs before adding them to tea blends.
Your label should include ingredients as well as brewing instructions. To get the most from your herbal tea blends, make a strong infusion of 1–3 tablespoons per cup and allow to steep for several hours. You can also make weaker brews, using less herb and steeping only ten minutes.
Your label might read something like: “For a simple tea, combine 1 teaspoon herb per cub water and steep ten minutes. For a stronger infusion, use 1–3 tablespoons herb and steep up to 8 hours.”
Relaxing Herbal Tea Blend
2 parts lemon balm OR chamomile
1 part nettle
1 part oat straw
Combine 1–3 tablespoons herb per cup of boiled filtered water in a large teapot or French press. (Here’s why I recommended filtering your water.) Steep at least ten minutes and up to eight hours.
If you’re dealing with sleep issues and want to make the most powerful blend possible, check out the other options explained in this post on herbs for sleep.
Cold Care Herbal Tea Blend
1 part elderflower
1 part peppermint
1 part yarrow or oat straw
Combine 1–3 tablespoons herb per cup of boiled filtered water in a large teapot or French press. Steep at least ten minutes and up to eight hours.
Uplifting Hibiscus Blend
2 parts hibiscus
1 part oat straw or nettle
Combine 1–3 tablespoons herb per cup of boiled filtered water in a large teapot or French press. Steep at least ten minutes and up to eight hours.
Some people like to combine hibiscus and mint to this mix, so add an additional 1 part mint if you like. Elderflower and hibiscus also pair well and make a nice combination for treating cold symptoms.
Remember, these are just suggested mixes. You can absolutely try your own herbal tea blends with whatever herbs you have in your cabinet. A mainly oat straw and nettle mix with some hibiscus or mint would work, as would some lemon balm and chamomile. Play around with different herbs to find out what you like.
Do you make herbal tea? What are your favorite herbal tea recipes?
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Love experimenting with ways to get super healthy food into your daily diet? You might like these recipes as well!
Disclaimer: I’m a health enthusiast, not a medical professional. Content on this website is intended for informational purposes only and is not meant to provide personalized medical advice. I draw on numerous health sources, some of which are linked above. Please consult them for more information and a licensed professional for personalized recommendations.
Herbal Tea Benefits photo credits: Okan Caliskan, Kevin bölling, Michele De Vivo, Anna Taskaeva, Oleg Kav
Susannah
Susannah is a proud garden geek and energy nerd who loves healthy food and natural remedies. Her work has appeared in Mother Earth Living, Ensia, Northern Gardener, Sierra, and on numerous websites. Her first book, Everything Elderberry, released in September 2020 and has been a #1 new release in holistic medicine, naturopathy, herb gardening, and other categories. Find out more and grab your copy here.
