“You can never get a cup of tea large enough, or a book long enough to suit me” – CS Lewis

Updated 07/10/2020

Here at the naked chemist, we talk a lot about topical applications for the skin.

Exercise and getting your diet right is also a major part of the bigger picture

But for the purpose of this article was going to take this one step further, and suggest you can drink your way to health, by adding herbal tea to your treatment plan.

Healing power of herbal tea

Herbal tea recipes are simple to make and they make a great way to get the maximum benefit from herbs; unleashing their healing properties.

Her’s a list of some of the common herbs used:

• green tea for vitamins
• rooibos for antioxidants
• peppermint for sinuses
• Ginger for gut health
• Chamomile for mood
• Licorice for skin health
• Echinacea for cold
• Lemongrass for anxiety
• Rosehips for anti-ageing
• Hibiscus – for healing
• Blackberry – for immunity

The list is endless – and because they are inhaled as they are drunk, they work on both an emotional and physical level.

Herbal tea recipes

The following herbal tea recipes we have put together, that you may like to consider:

Lemon Barley water

• ¼ cup pearl barley
• 1 ltr cold water
• 1 rind of ½ lemon

1. Cover the Barley with cold water and put it on the heat.
2. Simmer gently until the Barley is tender.
3. Next, strain the water and leave it to cool.
4. Add a touch of fresh Lemon juice, along with a little wild honey to sweeten your tea.

Anti-acne herbal tea recipe

This is an age-old recipe from a recipe book on medicinal plants that pack a real punch:

• 1 ounce red Clover flowers
• 1 ounce blue Flag root
• 1-ounce burdock root
• ¼ ounce sassafras bark
• 4 pints water

1. Combine all the ingredients together in cold water.
2. Then slowly bring them to the boil.
3. Simmer for around 30 mins and then strain the ingredients.
4. Drink a glass 3 times a day.

Anti-flu herbal tea recipe

This recipe is really healing, the Ginger is both spicy and warming, whilst the thyme leaves offers protective anti-viral and natural antibiotic properties.

• 3cm of fresh ginger
• 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• Juice of half a lemon
• 5 sage leaves
• 1 tsp of manuka honey

Follow the instructions as above.

Migraine relief herbal tea

This is one of those herbal tea recipes; I personally reach for if I have the kind of headache or migraine, that just won’t go away.

• 1 tsp dried spearmint leaves (optional, omit if using homeopathy)
• 1/2 tsp feverfew
• 2 tsp fresh ginger
• Raw honey to sweeten

Infuse and use as above.

Decoctions can easily be preserved by adding around 40 ml ethanol to a 200 ml decoction blend.

If you are looking for more herbal tea recipes, this article on ten teas to cure everything, has you covered.