Herbal tea

Herbal tea made from hibiscus beginning to steep

Herbal teas — less commonly^[1] called herb teas or tisanes (UK and US /tɪˈzæn/, US also /tɪˈzɑːn/)^[2][3][4] — and fruit teas are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, fruits, or other plant material in hot water. They do not usually contain caffeine.^[5]

The tea industry often confusingly uses the term fruit tea to refer to what are in fact fruit-flavored black teas, not fruit teas.

Herbal teas and fruit teas should not be confused with true teas (e.g., black, green, white, yellow, oolong), which are prepared from the cured leaves of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis), as well as from decaffeinated tea, in which the caffeine has been removed.

Like beverages made from true teas, herbal teas can be served hot or cold. Documents have been recovered dating back to ancient Egypt and ancient China that discuss the enjoyment and uses of herbal teas. Among the Chinese, herbal teas are commonly known as liang cha (Chinese: 涼茶; pinyin: liáng chá; Jyutping: loeng4 caa4).

Etymology

Herbal tea in a glass teapot and cup

Some feel that the term tisane is more correct than herbal tea or that the latter is even misleading, but most dictionaries record that the word tea is also used to refer to other plants beside the tea plant and to beverages made from these other plants.^[6][7] In any case, the term herbal tea is very well established and much more common than tisane.^[1]

The word tisane was rare in its modern sense before the 20th century, when it was borrowed in the modern sense from French. (This is why some people feel it should be pronounced /tɪˈzɑːn/ as in French, but the original English pronunciation /tɪˈzæn/ continues to be more common in US English and especially in UK English).^[2][3][4]

The word had already existed in late Middle English in the sense of "medicinal drink" and had already been borrowed from French (Old French). The Old French word came from the Latin word ptisana, which came from the Ancient Greek word πτισάνη (ptisanē), which meant "peeled" barley, in other words pearl barley, and a drink made from this that is similar to modern barley water.^[8]

Health risks

As herbal teas can be composed of any plant material, including some plants that are known to be toxic, the specific ingredients must be checked individually for health and safety. Most retail herbal teas sold as beverages could be considered safe, but medicinal herbal teas could easily contain herbs that cause damage in large amounts.

While most herbal teas are safe for regular consumption, some herbs have toxic or allergenic effects. Among the greatest causes of concern are:

• Comfrey, which contains alkaloids that can cause permanent liver damage with chronic use
• Lobelia, which contains alkaloids similar in effect to nicotine

Herbal teas can also have different effects from person to person, and this is further compounded by the problem of potential misidentification. The deadly foxglove, for example, can be mistaken for the much more benign (but still relatively toxic to the liver) comfrey.

The UK does not require herbal teas to have any evidence concerning their efficacy, but does treat them technically as food products and require that they be safe for consumption.

Mint and peppermint herbal teas have significantly stronger ferrous ion chelating ability than true teas.

Contamination

Depending on the source of the herbal ingredients, herbal teas, like any crop, may be contaminated with pesticides or heavy metals.^[9][10] According to Naithani & Kakkar (2004), "all herbal preparations should be checked for toxic chemical residues to allay consumer fears of exposure to known neuro-toxicant pesticides and to aid in promoting global acceptance of these products".^[9]

During pregnancy

In addition to the issues mentioned above which are toxic to all people, several medicinal herbs are considered abortifacients, and if consumed by a pregnant woman could cause miscarriage. These include common ingredients like nutmeg, mace, papaya, bitter melon, verbena, saffron, slippery elm, and possibly pomegranate. It also includes more obscure herbs, like mugwort, rue, pennyroyal, wild carrot, blue cohosh, tansy, and savin.

Popularity

Baskets of dried hibiscus for making karkade, or "hibiscus tea", a popular herbal tea worldwide

In Egypt, herbal teas such as hibiscus tea (karkade) are very popular. They are served in teahouses (ahwas).

In China, the traditional Chinese medicine approach is used in formulating natural herbal teas and they are very popular in enhancing health and addressing core issues within the body; e.g. formulated recipes like hawthorn plus oolong / pu-er are used to address the high fat level in the bloodstream. The Chinese term liang cha, means "cooling tea", and the Chinese drink it to cool down the body when it has become overheated due to weather or sickness.

In Sri Lanka, herbal teas have a long history within the local tradition of indigenous medicine. Iramusu (Smilax regelii), beli (Bael), ranawara (Senna auriculata), polpala (Aerva lanata), weniwel (Coscinium fenestratum), and kothala-himbutu (Salacia reticulata) are among the many plant species used to make herbal teas, which are used to treat a wide variety of ailments. The widely used "paspanguwa" (translated as five-portions) is a common local remedy for colds and fever containing the five ingredients pathpadagam (Mollugo cerviana), katuwelbatu (Solanum virginianum), koththamalli (coriander seed), thippili (long pepper), and inguru (ginger), often served with a sweetener of sugar or jaggery.

Composition

This retail mixture contains rooibos, coconut, ginger, cinnamon, apple, cardamom, black pepper and almond.

Herbal teas can be made with fresh or dried flowers, leaves, seeds or roots, generally by pouring boiling water over the plant parts and letting them steep for a few minutes. Seeds and roots can also be boiled on a stove. The herbal tea is then strained, sweetened if so desired, and served. Many companies produce herbal tea bags for such infusions.

Major varieties

While varieties of herbal teas are defined as any plant material for infusion, below is a list of common herbs:

• Anise tea, made from either the seeds or the leaves
• Asiatic penny-wort leaf, in Southeast Asia
• Artichoke tea
• Bee Balm
• Boldo, used in South America
• Burdock
• Cannabis tea, used in the preparation of Bhang
• Caraway, tea made from the seeds
• Catnip, tea used as a relaxant, sedative, and to calm
• Chamomile, commonly used for sore stomach, irritable bowel syndrome, and as a gentle sleep aid.^[11] It is also used as a mild laxative and is anti-inflammatory^[12] and bactericidal.^[13]
• Che Dang, very bitter tea made from Ilex causue leaves
• Chinese knot-weed tea
• Chrysanthemum tea, made from dried flowers, is popular with Chinese Dim sum
• Cinnamon
• Coca tea, infusion made from coca leaves. Contains trace amounts of cocaine and similar alkaloids.^[14] In some countries where coca is illegal, products marketed as "coca tea" are supposed to be decocainized, i.e., the pharmacologically active components have been removed from the leaf using the same chemicals used in manufacturing cocaine.
• Cacao bean tea

Coffee blossom tea

• Coffee tea leaves, coffee cherry tea, and coffee blossom tea are herbal teas made using the leaves, cherries and flowers of the coffee plant; in coffee the coffee beans (seeds) are instead used.
• Cerasse, a bitter Jamaican herb

Apple, rose hips, orange zest, papaya, peppermint, liquorice root, lemon grass, cinnamon, blackcurrants, rose and mallow blossoms.

• Citrus peel, including bergamot, lemon and orange peel
• Dandelion coffee
• Dill tea
• Echinacea tea
• Elderberry
• European Mistletoe (Viscum album), (steep in cold water for 2–6 hours)
• Essiac tea, blended herbal tea
• Fennel
• Gentian
• Ginger root, can be made into herbal tea, known in the Philippines as salabat

A pre-made, bottled herbal tea made from ginseng.

• Ginseng, a popular tea in China and Korea, commonly used as a stimulant and as a caffeine substitute.^[15]
• Goji, popular and very simple to prepare tea
• Hawthorn
• Hibiscus (often blended with rose hip), a popular tea alternative in the Middle East which is drunk hot or cold. Hibiscus tea is also consumed in Okinawa, and used in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine (see Hibiscus health benefits). It is also used in Roselle (see below.)
• Honeybush is similar to rooibos and grows in a nearby area of South Africa, but tastes slightly sweeter. Has a low tannin content, no caffeine.
• Horehound
• Moringa
• Houttuynia
• Hydrangea tea, dried leaves of hydrangeas; considerable care must be taken because most species contain a toxin. The "safe" hydrangeas belong to the Hydrangea serrata Amacha ("sweet tea") Cultivar Group.^[16]
• Jiaogulan, (also known as xiancao or poor man's ginseng)
• Kapor tea, dried leaves of fireweed
• Kava root, from the South Pacific, commonly used for its effects in promoting talkativeness and relaxation.^[17] As well, kava extracts may be an effective alternative to tricyclic antidepressants and benzodiazepines for the treatment of anxiety disorders.^[18]
• Kratom, dried leaves of the Kratom tree, drank for its medicinal and stimulant effects.^[19][20]
• Kuzuyu, is a thick white Japanese tea made by adding kudzu flour to hot water
• Labrador tea, made from the shrub by the same name, found in the northern part of North America.
• Lemon Balm
• Lemon and ginger tea
• Lemon grass
• Luo han guo
• Licorice root
• Lime blossom, dried flowers of lime tree (Tilia in Latin).
• Mint, especially peppermint (also mixed with green tea to make mint tea)
• Mountain Tea, a very popular tea in the Balkans and other areas of the Mediterranean region. Made from a variety of the Sideritis syriaca plant which grows in warm climates above 3,000 feet. Records of its use date back 2,000 years.
• Neem leaf
• Nettle leaf
• New Jersey Tea
• Noni tea
• Oksusu cha, traditional roasted corn tea found in Korea.
• Osmanthus tea, dried flowers of the sweet olive tree are used alone or blended with tea leaves in China.
• Patchouli tea
• Pennyroyal leaf, an abortifacient
• Pine tea, or tallstrunt, made from needles of pine trees
• Poppy tea, drank for its sedative and analgesic properties
• Qishr, Yemeni drink with coffee husks and ginger
• Red clover tea
• Red raspberry leaf
• Roasted barley tea, known in Japanese as mugicha and Korean as bori cha. The roasted flavor can be reminiscent of coffee (without coffee's bitterness and caffeine). It is often drunk cold in the summer.
• Roasted wheat is used in Postum, a coffee substitute

A close-up of a rooibos blend in a tea bag being steeped.

• Rooibos (Red Bush) is a reddish plant used to make an infusion and grown in South Africa. In the US it is sometimes called red tea. It has many of the antioxidant characteristics of green tea, but because it does not come from tea leaves, it has no caffeine.
• Rose hip (often blended with hibiscus)
• Roselle petals (species of Hibiscus; aka Bissap, Dah, etc.), consumed in the Sahel and elsewhere
• Rosemary
• Sagebrush, California Sagebrush
• Sage
• Sakurayu, a Japanese herbal tea made with pickled cherry blossom petals
• Salvia
• Sassafras roots were steeped to make tea and were used in the flavoring of root beer until being banned by the FDA.
• Scorched rice, known as hyeonmi cha in Korea
• Skullcap
• Serendib (tea), a tea from Sri Lanka
• Sobacha
• Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) leaves used to make a tea by some native peoples of eastern North America
• Spruce tea, made from needles of spruce trees
• Staghorn sumac, fruit can be made into a lemonade
• Stevia, can be used to make herbal tea, or as a sweetener in other beverages
• St. John's Wort
• Thyme, contains thymol, an antiseptic^[21] used in mouthwashes such as Listerine.^[22]
• Tulsi, or Holy Basil, in English
• Turmeric tea
• Uncaria tomentosa, commonly known as Cat's Claw
• Valerian is used as a sedative.^[23]
• Verbena (Vervain)
• Vetiver
• Wax gourd in East Asia and Southeast Asia.
• Wong Lo Kat, recipe for herbal tea from Canton, China since Ching Dynasty
• Woodruff
• Yarrow

Ayurvedic tea

Ayurvedic tea is made of Ayurvedic herbs like Agya Ghas, Yeshtimadhu, Tulasi etc. Various pharmacies have come up with their products using different combinations of Ayurvedic medicines. Ayurvedic tea has also been found to contain nutrients including calcium, potassium, vanadium, iron, manganese, selenium and zinc.^[24]

See also

• Health food store
• List of hot beverages
• Tea culture
• Tincture, the often more concentrated plant extracts made in pure grain alcohol, glycerin, or vinegar
• Traditional Chinese medicine

References

External links

• Learning materials related to infusion maker at Wikiversity
• Media related to tisanes at Wikimedia Commons