How to Make a Therapeutic Strength Tea

Beyond a Warm Beverage: Therapeutic Strength Tea

When you brew tea, the water is extracting constituents from the herbs. So you’re actually making an herbal remedy, not just a—hopefully—tasty beverage.

Teas:

Hydrate you. Herbal teas without caffeine count towards your daily intake of water. Dehydration can exacerbate anxiety, while adequate hydration helps with calmness and sleep.

Provide gentle therapeutic, and at times tonifiying (strengthening) qualities. Herbal teas are ideal for chronic conditions that benefit from nourishment and nervous system regulation.

- - Making a quart of tea and having it three to four times a day is often more convenient.
  - Drinking it a few times daily is most responsive to chronic conditions.

Are versatile. You can blend countless herbal combinations to suite your needs and taste.

- - You can drink an herbal tea hot, iced or at room temperature.
  - You can add honey if you enjoy sweetness, or if you’re working on healing trauma and want the medicinal quality to go deep.

Create pauses, transition points and ideally pleasure. Yum! Warm or cool sips. (Yes, drink that tea chilled if you need some coolness!) Aroma and visual interest. Making tea is a perfect moment to slow down what might be speeding through your system.

- - I love choosing a tea that has a symbolic meaning for what I’m experiencing, need or for which I have an intention.

Offer nourishment. Plants offer constituents and when we drink them regularly we can gain specific therapeutic benefits.

How to Brew a Therapeutic Strength Tea

A cup of tea is different than what I call a therapeutic strength tea. The later is potent and intentional.

You know what you’re brewing it for. And you’re brewing it strongly.

Read examples of why you would want a therapeutic strenth tea here.

You want a strong tea, where you’re extracting constituents and potentially blending herbs of choice to: 1) Respond to an ailment, such as a cough or anxiety 2) Calm your nervous system 3) Relax your body 4) Support digestion 5) Help your system know you’re transitioning from one part of the day to another.

1) As you collect your herbs, tea cup and brewing vessle or open your teabags, consider your intention.

2) Use about 2 tablespoons of herbs for each 8 ounces of water. If you’re using teabags, use 2 or 3 teabags instead of one. While loose herbs almost always make a fresher and more vibrant, potent brew, if you’re traveling, low on time or energy, or just getting into herbal tea, you may opt for pre-packaged, commercially available tea and still make a fantastic cup!

3) If possible, use filtered or distilled water. Cover your herbs with boiled water.

4) Cover your cup (or if brewing a quart, cover the heat-tempered glass jar,) cover the cup as it steeps. You can use a small ceramic plate or glass lid for this. Covering the cup/heat-tempered glass jar will keep in the steam, which contains some of the constituents you want.

5) Steep for 15-20 minutes unless you’re using bitter herbs (passionflower and chamomile are examples). If you notice your tea is bitter, brew it for only 5-7 minutes next time. An exception to this would be if you were trying to get a bitter tea to help with digestion.

6) Strain and pour. If you’re using a cup and tea bags, let the drops on your cover return to your cup. Allow the tea bags to cool to the touch, and then squeeze them over your cup, concentrating the liquid into your tea. If you prefer, add honey.

7) Sip and enjoy. Engaging your senses will enhance any healthful qualities.

8) As you sip, check back in with your intention or anything significant you noticed about how you felt when started brewing your tea. Has anything shifted?

Have a wonderful tea time and sign up for my newsletter here to learn more about caring for yourself and musings on sleep!

-Quai