January is National Hot Tea Month and if you know me at all, then you know I LOVE my tea!  Especially HOT tea.  Even during the summer.  Yummy! Over the years I have explored new types of tea and different ways to make it.  To me, tea is relaxing, warming, mood boosting, and healing.

I share many recipes with healing foods but I think it is just as important to share the healing capabilities of tea as well.  It can be another form of ‘therapy’ and herbal teas are a fabulous addition to your medicine cabinet.

Tea is not only delicious but it serves many functions that I think we should all enjoy more for a couple reasons.

– JUST holding a cup of tea in your hands encourages warmth and kindness to others. Studies have shown the warmth of a tea in your hands helps you perceive others in a better light.

– Many herbs/teas such as peppermint, rosemary, spearmint, lavender, and lemon balm are highly aromatic and benefit our nervous system.

For those two reasons alone, a daily cup of tea is the best way to start your day and help take care of your body.

Ok, but how do these teas actually heal?

In an ideal world we would all be getting enough nutrients from our food.  Unfortunately, that is not the case.  Nutrient deficiencies are incredibly common – especially deficiencies in Vitamin D, iron, Vitamin B, folic acid, and calcium.  By turning to nutrient dense herbs, we can help bridge that gap in our bodies.  Sometimes better than supplements.

This is where nutritive herbs come into play.

Nutritive herbs support your overall health by improving one or more of the systems of your body.

My favorite nutritive herbs include nettle, oat straw, rose hips, and dandelion root.

A little note about getting them into your body though, they are strongest if you eat them.  That doesn’t always taste so good.  BUT there are ways we can still increase the absorption with teas…

EXAMPLES – Super-infused teas are seeped for a longer period of time to release more of it’s beneficial nutrients. Matcha tea is drank with the entire ground up tea leaves (powder) in your cup.

The book, Body Into Balance; An herbal guide to self care, has some AMAZING recipes including these nutritive herbs that can be extremely healing for the body.  I highly recommend taking a look at this book for all their delicious recipes.

What should you buy?

When looking for herbal teas, always always look for organic.  There is nothing worse than the idea of thinking we are sipping on herbal tea that is healing but also not healing at the same time due chemical concoctions on the herbs themselves.  GROSS.

1.  Chamomile:  soothes stomach, relives anxiety, nausea, and cramps.
      
Boil 2 cups of water in a pan.  Add 1 tsp dried chamomile flowers to the pan and boil for one minute longer.  Turn off heat and cover with a lid for 10 minutes.  At that point, strain the flowers from the tea and drink when cooled a bit.

2.  Cinnamon: Helps lower blood pressure and good for diarrhea.

Place 2 cinnamon sticks in a mug.  Pour boiling water over the sticks and let sit for an hour. Remove the sticks and sip. SO GOOD!!

3.  Citrus peels:  Citrus teas can help with coughs and congestion and will also stimulate digestion and metabolism.

Place 2 Tbsp chopped fresh orange peels in a pot with 2 cups of water.  Bring water to boil and then immediately turn off.  Keep the lid covered for one hour.  At that point you can remove the citrus from the water and drink warm or at room temperature.

4.  Ginger:  Relieves nausea, indigestion, and cramping.

Place a large piece of raw ginger in a mug; pour boiling water over the ginger piece and let sit for about an hour.  Also really good with a lemon in there.

5.  Lavender: Helps you feel relaxed and calm.

Dried lavender can be added to a tea ball and seeped the same way as a few of the options above.  Place 1 tsp dried lavender into a tea ball – place into 2 cups boiling water and seep for 5-10 minutes.

6.  Peppermint:  Helps with bloating, feeling stuffy from colds, and stimulates the brain.

I love using fresh mint for tea. Pour 2 cups of boiling water into a mug with a your mint. Let seep for at least 10 minutes. Remove the mont and enjoy!

7.  Nettle leaf:  Helps reduce allergies, anti-inflammatory, and great for skin.

Use 1 tsp of dried nettle leaves in a tea ball in one cup of water.  Let seep for 10-15 minutes and enjoy!

Where to buy herbs for tea?
      

Your local grocery store might have a few options but for the best prices on organic herbs I would suggest Mountain Rose Herbs.  This is not a sponsored post but the site is beautiful and so easy to navigate.  I only used it once and will use it again in the future. Everything was labeled clearly and packed well.

Does this sound like something you are interested in?  You can find several recipes on Pinterest as well to help get you started.  Reach out to me if you have any questions.

Happy National Hot Tea Month.