Four Fantastic Ways to Drink Amazing Herbal Tea

By Erika Robertson

If you want to learn how to make herbal tea you’re in the right place. We got the scoop on four different techniques to help bring out the best flavors in your herbal blends. 

Herbal tea can be enjoyed any time of the day. And with all these variations, you can drink hot and cold tea that will tantalize your tastebuds no matter if it’s in the early morning or late evening. The best part about herbal teas is that they are so easy to make — a perfect starting point if you’ve never made tea before. 

Did you know herbal tea isn’t tea at all? All real tea — black, green, oolong, and white — is made from the leaves of the Camelia sinensis plant. Herbal teas — commonly called tisanes — are not made with tea leaves. 

What’s wonderful about tisanes is that they harness the potent power of herbs, spices, and fruits. When you make herbal tea, you’ll find a lot of them have a good helping of antioxidants and other nutrients. 

They are also naturally caffeine-free — save a few outliers like yerba mate and yaupon holly tree leaves which are naturally rich in caffeine. You can decaffeinate any real tea, but there will still be trace amounts of caffeine. Herbal tea is the only “tea” with absolutely zero caffeine, so you can enjoy drinking it as a pre-bedtime treat. 

We will cover how to make herbal teas starting with a hot tea version. This hot tea variation will be the starting point for many of the other techniques. To start we have a list of teaware and tea essentials you’ll need to make your tea.

What You’ll Need:

• Tea pitcher, Teapot, or a single-serve cup or tea mug
• Removable tea infuser
• Loose-leaf herbal tea blend
• Water (Never use pre-boiled/cooled down water — read why here)
• Perfect measure loose-leaf tea spoon - optional
• Tea timer - optional

The Hot Herbal Tea Technique

When you learn how to make herbal tea the correct way, you will release more flavor and get more out of it. Steeping tisanes in hot water is the fastest way to make your tea and probably the most traditional. 

Some people find that hot teas taste more potent than their iced versions. If you like a burst of flavor and the soothing warmth of hot tea, this technique is for you. 

You’ll also use this technique as a starting point for the ice and iced versions that follow:

Step 1: Heat Up Your Fresh Water

Bring your water to a rolling boil. Herbal teas can be made with very hot water, which will help release all of those beautiful herbal flavors quickly. 

Unlike other teas — which can be very temperature-sensitive and delicate — herbal teas can be steeped with almost any temperature water. But you’ll get the heartiest and boldest steep by letting it it sit on hot water. 

Helpful Tip: You can use a Teabloom teapot, tea kettle, or tea pitcher to heat your water directly in your tea vessel. It saves you from having to transfer the water to your teapot or tea press once it’s done boiling. 

Step 2: Measure Your Tea Leaves

A great rule of thumb for measuring your tea is to use about 1 teaspoon for every cup — or 8 ounces — of water. Some fluffy teas — like chamomile — might require more than a teaspoon. Be sure to check the tea package for specific instructions. 

Always remember that your preference is the most important part of this step. If you enjoy stronger tea, add more herbs. If you like a subtle-flavored tea, you may want to add fewer herbs to the hot water. 

Step 3: Steep Your Tea

Once your tea is added to the teapot, pour the water over the herbs. Some herbs have a tendency to float on top of the water, so give them a stir with a spoon to make sure they’re saturated. You can steep your herbal tea for 3 to 5 minutes.

For the most part, you’ll be fine steeping your herbal tea for however long you like! You can steep your tea for as long as 15 minutes or even longer. 

Step 4: Remove Your Tea Leaves

Unlike real tea, removing your tea leaves at a precise moment isn’t a crucial step. For real teas, if you steep them too long, it can release bitter unpalatable flavors. But, when you make herbal tea, there is little concern for this. 

Once your tea reaches the desired strength, remove the leaves. You can set them aside for a second steep if you like. The second steep won’t be nearly as strong, but you can add a dash of herbal tea to the leftover leaves if you want that extra boost of flavor the second time around.

Step 5: Add Your Favorites and Enjoy

When you make herbal teas, you’ll find they are exquisite on their own. But lots of people enjoy adding honey, lemon, or even fruits and spices to their hot tea after it’s steeped. Fresh mint leaves are delightful, too. 

Enjoy your tea however you like!

The Iced Herbal Tea Technique

There might be nothing more refreshing — or quintessentially American — than sipping on a glass of ice-cold tea in the middle of summer. We also enjoy making herbal iced tea while sitting by a roaring fire in winter. Are you curious? — Here are some iced tea recipes for all four seasons. 

American iced tea is bold and full of flavor. Nowadays it’s also made primarily with black tea as the base. But if you want a delightful spin on iced tea, you’ll want to make herbal iced tea. 

Herbal teas have so much zing and flavor. When they are iced, you get to experience all that zing in a new way. 

For this recipe, use any kind of herbal tea you want. You can steep chamomile, but we are definitely fans of stronger herbal teas — like mint-based herbal teas and rooibos red bush teas — that have bold characteristics you can unquestionably taste through the icy chill. 

To make iced herbal tea, you’ll start with the hot tea technique above, but make a few adjustments:

Add More Tea!

You’ll want to use about two or three times as much herbal tea for this recipe. Steep your tea like you normally do in hot water, but use 2-3 teaspoons per cup of hot water instead. 

You can use twice as much tea and steep your herbal tea a little longer if you think it will make a really strong brew. The idea is to make this herbal tea as concentrated as you possibly can so there’s enough flavor to combat the next step.

Flash-Chill Your Hot Tea

Remove your tea leaves and transfer your hot tea to a pitcher or a vessel that’s large enough to add a good amount of ice. When you flash-chill your tea, the ice will start to melt immediately, but keep adding ice until it cools down. 

Your tea should have been strong enough that — even with all the ice added — you can still taste the bold flavor of the herbal tea. Serve your tea in glasses with plenty of ice. Add leafy garnish or even fresh fruit for a delicious snack and drink all in one.

The Ice Herbal Tea Technique - a Spin on Iced Tea

There is an iced tea variation that requires a lot less ice and far fewer tea leaves — it’s known as ice tea. While iced tea requires you to flash-chill your tea, ice tea skips this step altogether.

The result is a bold, chilled tea, that may be more true to flavor than iced tea. You also don’t risk over-icing your tea on accident and watering it down. The only thing you’ll need is just a little more patience. 

Start with the recipe for how to make hot herbal tea but add a few adjustments:

Add a Few More Herbs

You don’t need too much extra tea to make this ice herbal tea variation. You’ll only use about 1.5 teaspoons of tea for every cup of hot water — this will make the herbal tea only slightly stronger. You’ll want that little extra strength for when you serve your tea!

Once your tea is done steeping, remove the leaves.

Slow and Steady Cool Down

The secret to great-tasting ice tea is to let it cool down on its own. You won’t add any ice for the cooling process. Instead, you’ll put the steeped tea in the refrigerator and wait for it to get cold on its own. 

The great thing about this is you can keep your ice for something else and your tea will stay strong. Once your tea is chilled completely, serve it in some cups with a little ice. You should still taste the rich flavor of your tea even when the ice starts melting. 

The Cold Brew Herbal Tea Technique

You’ve heard of cold brew coffee, but how about cold brew tea? This technique for making herbal tea comes straight from the coffee industry. It’s also an excellent way to steep a gorgeous pitcher of chilled tea. 

For this you’ll use a “set it and forget it” process — you’ll just need to practice a lot more patience for this technique. 

The best thing about cold brewing herbal tea is that you’ll usually end up with a slightly different flavor profile than you would steeping it hot. Some people describe the flavor as a little more well-rounded. The more delicate herb flavors have a chance to come forward.

Step 1: Measure Your Herbs

You’ll want to measure about 1 tablespoon — not a teaspoon! — of herbal tea for every 12 ounces — or 1.5 cups — of water. You can add however much or little you want based on personal preference, but this is a good baseline for most herbal blends. 

Step 2: Steep Your Tea in Unheated Water

Don’t use hot water for this — use only room temperature or cold water. Add the correct amount of water to your tea leaves and put the tea pitcher in the refrigerator. You’ll let this steep anywhere from a few hours to overnight — you can steep it for 10 hours or even longer if you like.

Step 3: Remove the Herbs and Enjoy

Once your tea reaches a strength you like, remove the herbs. You can serve your tea in chilled glasses and add any fruits or garnish you like. Cheers!

Teaware for Pure-Tasting Tea

Making herbal tea with excellent flavor starts with the right kind of teaware. The chemical-free, sustainable, and health-conscious teaware from Teabloom checks all the boxes when it comes to style and wellness. 

From the very beginning, Teabloom’s mission has been to clean up the tea industry. They’ve created the largest borosilicate glass teaware selection in the world. The result is a collection of beautiful teaware that is functional and attainable for everyone. 

With Teabloom, you can enjoy the pure flavor of every one of your favorite teas. Explore their exclusive collection for better-tasting tea, today. 

www.Teabloom.com