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5 from 2 votes

How to Brew Herbal Tea

This guide to herbal tea (or tisane) will walk you through how to brew and steep herbals and mix your own ingredients, and includes tips for buying, growing, and foraging your herbals.
Average Steep Time:8 minutes
Total Time8 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: British
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian
Yield: 8 ounces tea
Author: Nicole McKinney
Cost: $0.50 per cup (amount variable)

Equipment

  • tea ball or infuser (if not using infuser teapot)

Materials

  • 8 ounces water
  • 1 teaspoon dried herbals or 2 teaspoons fresh herbals See notes "How much tea?" and "Tea vs. Herbals"
  • sweetener of choice (honey, sugar etc) Optional

Instructions

Hot Brewed Tea:

  • Bring the water to a full boil.
    Add loose herbals to an infuser teapot, an infuser or a large tea ball.
    Add Thyme to the Teapot
  • Cover pot and brew 5-10 minutes
    Steep Tea 10 Minutes
  • Pour the tea out of the teapot, or remove the infuser or tea ball from your mug.
    Optionally, sweeten to taste.
    chamomile lavender tea in mugs with honey on a spoon

Cold-Brew Tea:

  • Add herbals to a glass container.
    Cover with water, and chill in the fridge for 8 hours. The timing isn't critical and you can do a longer brew if desired.
    Steep Hibiscus for 8 Hours

Notes

For larger batches: Use the 1-teaspoon of tea to 8-ounces of water as a general guide, and make larger batches as desired.
How Much Tea?  Dried herbals are stronger than fresh herbals, so you may want to double or triple the amount if using fresh herbals (such as fresh mint).
Tea vs. Herbals:
  • Tea is a specific type of plant leaf. 
  • Herbals can include fresh or dried flowers, herbs, fruit, or any other non-tea plant.
Herbal Tea from Fruit: Some varieties of herbals, especially those made with fruit or roots (such as cranberry tea or fresh gingerroot tea) benefit from a long boil directly in the water instead of the brew times indicated.