There’s nothing I like better than a warm cup of herbal tea to soothe my nerves and help me wind down at the end of a stressful day. This nightly ritual also sets me up for a good night’s sleep.
While it seems easiest to purchase a box of teabags to make a cup of tea, you will most likely find high-quality, fresh loose herbs to be more effective. The fresh herbs will have more of their volatile oils and constituents available and if allowed to float freely in warm water, will release more of these components into the water. When steeping aromatic herbs, it’s important to keep the water covered as they will evaporate if they can. You’ll know you are working with aromatic herbs if they are releasing a strong scent.
While it may sound like a project at first, once you get yourself set up and started, you’ll find it’s actually very simple and rewarding. Even the process of making a special tea blend for yourself while setting an intention for its purpose can shift your mood and become a welcome act of self-care.
First, you will need a vessel in which to make your tea: a teacup with a strainer, a teapot with a strainer or a French press all work well.
Next, you will need to make your herbal blend. One of my favorite blends for an evening tea is:
1 part. Chamomile
1 part. Lemon Verbena
1/2 part. Rose
1/4 part Lavender or if lavender is too strong for you, 1/4 part Linden
Always make sure you are working with organic and sustainably grown herbs. If you’re lucky, you may be able to purchase your herbs from a local herb shop. Otherwise, a great place to order your herbs online is Mountain Rose Herbs.
Mix your herbal blend and store it in a covered glass jar away from heat and light. Loose herbs stored like this should last a few years.
To make your tea, simply take one to two tablespoons of your herb mix per every 8 ounces of hot water and add it to your tea vessel. Pour your hot water (almost boiling) over your herbs, cover your vessel, and let the tea steep for 5 minutes. You can experiment with the amount of herb you use in the same amount of water and how long you let it steep to find the flavor and effect that suit you best.
Now strain and enjoy your cup of tea while noticing how it makes you feel. I like to drink this tea in the early evening when I’m ready to put all of my work aside and it’s still a few hours away from bedtime; this way I avoid a chance of having to get up in the middle of the night from drinking tea!
Photo by Photo by Ioana Motoc from Pexels
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