Herbal teas, or herbal infusions, are called tisanes. They commonly don’t include the camellia sinensis plant. For that reason, some companies choose to call their drinks herbal infusions or tisanes to not be confusing for consumers.
Caffeine Or No Caffeine
Herbal teas are becoming more popular with the health benefits of herbs and plants gaining in popularity. Historically, herbal tisanes have not been caffeinated (caffeine free). Yet, in recent years a few herbs have entered the market that are caffeinated such as yerba mate and yaupon to name a few.
Should I drink herbal tea?
If you like the idea of bringing yourself close to nature and into a calm state, we think you should give a herbal tea a try. You can incorporate a tea ritual to create space for yourself throughout the day. Think of it as a way to intentionally being mindful by stepping away from your daily tasks to take a moment to breath, listen to your mind and body, and have a few minutes to check in with self.
There are so many flavors you can enjoy. If you know you like peppermint, find a peppermint tea. Peppermint is one of our favorites for its flavor and health benefits. Our Time to Smile Tea and Bear Hub both have peppermint as a primary ingredient.
A more subtle blend with chamomile and lavender blends might be more your style. We have Cozy Chamomile that balance these two herbs into a soothingly light, and refreshing blend.
When a little boost is needed in our day, we choose our Perky Tea blend. It is perfect if you don’t want an abundance of caffeine. We blend white tea with peppermint and lavender. The part that gets most people is the presence of rosemary leaf. It's refreshing and keeps you on your toes.
Unique Flavors
Some herbs have strong pungent flavors. Many people will drink some pretty potent herbal blends because of their health benefits, and we champion that ability. For us, it’s more about the full experience of slowing down to enjoy the tea and enjoy the moment for ourselves.
If a tea makes one want to regret their choice of drinking it, we prefer to blend it with other ingredients to help build a palatable experience when possible. But this is only if it doesn’t take away from the health benefits we desire.
Here are some herbs to try:
- Ashwagandha: This herb is becoming very popular for its health benefits. It is a power adaptogen that helps the mind and body in many ways (1). Our blends that focus on relief for anxiety and sleep issues tend to include this herb. Check out Reishi Realms and Time to Smile blends for how we pair this with other herbs.
- Passionflower: This has promising anti-anxiety effects (2). There is a growing body of evidence on how the herb can help provide mental and physical relief. It has short-term relief impacts when consumed in tea form. In other words, it might be a good choice if you feel a little tension in your chest or the start of an anxiety buildup. Our blend Happy Hibiscus includes passionflower with powerful anti-stress herbs like rooibos and noni leaf.
- Lavender: If you want to calm yourself in a moment's notice, take a long deep breath of lavender (3). Just the inhalation of this herbs scent has an immediate impact on stress levels. It is versatile with what you can combine it with. Our Time to Smile and Perky Tea both have notes of Organic English Lavender to provide a floral and sweet hit to our blends.
Citations
- Ashwagandha Root - Link
- Salve J, Pate S, Debnath K, Langade D. Adaptogenic and Anxiolytic Effects of Ashwagandha Root Extract in Healthy Adults: A Double-blind, Randomized, Placebo-controlled Clinical Study. Cureus. 2019 Dec 25;11(12):e6466. doi: 10.7759/cureus.6466. PMID: 32021735; PMCID: PMC6979308.
- Passion flower tea -Link
- Khan A, Akram M, Thiruvengadam M, Daniyal M, Zakki SA, Munir N, Zainab R, Heydari M, Mosavat SH, Rebezov M, Shariati MA. Anti-anxiety Properties of Selected Medicinal Plants. Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2022;23(8):1041-1060. doi: 10.2174/1389201022666210122125131. PMID: 33480339.
- Lavender Tea
- Link - an overview of the most tranquilizer herbs.
- Lavender is helpful for anxiety, depression and nervous restlessness (7, 11).
- Lavender has beneficial effects on the nervous system and Alzheimer's disease (37) and its beneficial effects on Parkinson’s disease has been found (38).
- Chamomile Tea - Link
- Mao JJ, Xie SX, Keefe JR, Soeller I, Li QS, Amsterdam JD. Long-term chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) treatment for generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized clinical trial. Phytomedicine. 2016 Dec 15;23(14):1735-1742. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2016.10.012. Epub 2016 Oct 24. PMID: 27912875; PMCID: PMC5646235.