5 Best Herbal Teas: Reviews & Buying Guide
Herbal Tea, it’s a tasty drink that offers plenty of different health benefits.
It’s also caffeine-free and especially good for gut health.
A lot of people drink this tasty concoction for detoxification, stomach issues, relaxation, weight loss, colds, and sore throats.
It’s an overall amazing elixir made from various nature’s healing plants, roots, seeds, and barks.
But, with so many different kinds of herbal infusions and teas on the market, it’s a pain in the butt to find the most beneficial herbal tea on the planet for your specific health illness!
In this article, we will break down everything you need to know to choose the best tasting herbal tea so that you can improve your health and get rid of any frustrating symptoms you may be having.
If you just want to see the best tasting herbal teas click here.
What Exactly is Herbal Tea?
If you’re going to choose the most effective herbal tea for your health and taste preference it’s important that you understand what exactly you are buying.
Most people don’t realize that herbal “tea” isn’t actually tea.
The correct name for a herbal tea is actually a tisane or herbal infusion. This is because it doesn’t come from the Camellia sinensis tea plant like traditional caffeinated black tea does.
These teas are made from different roots, berries, barks, leaves, and seeds of herbal plants which are steeped in hot water.
Herbal infusions or teas can be a mixture of different herbs or a simple tea with just one herb. A lot of times a powerful healing tea will be made from a combination of different herbs that are perfect for strengthening a specific organ.
Teas made from herbs are much more than tasty drinks. They offer amazing health benefits and have been used since the beginning of time as medicine. They are natural defenses against disease and offer a gentle and cheap alternative to drugs. That’s why a lot of people drink herbal tea.
Also Read: Top Rooibos Teas: Reviews & Buyer’s Guide
Benefits and Uses of Herbal Tea
Teas made from herbs have many benefits and uses. The beauty of herbs is that each one has different medicinal value. One herb may be used to strengthen the adrenal glands while another may ease muscle pain and spasms. Let’s start with some general benefits of herbal tea.
Herbal Tea Benefits:
- Help prevent disease and illness
- Cheap alternative to drugs
- Can aid stress and relaxation
- Boosts immune function
- Aids in detoxification
- Calms and soothes the gut
- Great tea for reducing inflammation
- Caffeine-free and calming
Teas made from herbs have so many benefits. Like I said earlier, you can combine different herbs to promote a synergistic effect on your body or steep a simple tea with one herb that will treat a specific health issue you are dealing with. The possibilities are really endless!
Also Read: Pique Tea Reviews: Everything You Need To Know
Specific Uses for Herbal Tea:
- Can aid soothe the gut and relieve upset stomachs
- Can strengthen specific organs like the adrenal glands
- Can aid insomnia and promote relaxation
- Can aid in weight loss
- Can help relieve body aches
- Can reduce anxiety
- Specific herbs can act as antimicrobials
- Can be used for constipation
- Can treat respiratory problems
Yes, teas made from herbs are very beneficial and can be used for so many different health issues. But, in order to get these great benefits you have to use high-quality herbs and steep them correctly. They are different from heavily advertised black tea and green tea in the market. So you may enjoy them without any worries!
If you just get a couple crappy bagged infusions and teas from the store and throw them in hot water for 10 minutes you probably won’t get the same medicinal value that you get from ordering high-quality herb products and steeping them well.
If you want the great medicinal benefits I’d highly recommend buying loose leaf herbs and steeping them correctly. If all you care about is sweet flavor or great taste, bagged teas will be ok.
How to Make Herbal Tea
In order to make the best tasting herbal teas, you have to prepare and steep them correctly. There are
a few different ways you can prepare herbal concoctions.
Let’s keep it simple.
All herbal teas are made by taking herbs and steeping them in hot water for a certain amount of time. Try to steep them much longer than regular tea since you are using roots, barks, leaves, and seeds. These parts of the plants usually need to be steeped a bit longer to extract the beneficial properties they contain.
Here’s How to Prepare Basic Herbal Tea:
- Heat water to a boil around 212 degrees
- Scoop 1-3 tablespoons of herb and insert into your strainer
- Insert strainer into your cup of tea and pour water over the strainer to fill the cup
- Let the herb steep for 15-20 minutes. The longer steeping time the stronger will be the flavor
- Remove the strainer and enjoy
Note: You can cover the cup of tea to keep essential oils and its flavor from escaping during straining or if you have extra tea from your batch
How to Make Root & Herb Decoction + Infusion
If you are creating your own formula with harder roots, barks, dried berries, or seeds then using the decoction method for these herbs before infusing the softer herbs is the way to go.
A decoction is basically just allowing harder herbs to decoct or steep in simmering water. Since these herbs are harder it’s good to decoct them to extract the beneficial components.
Step 1, Decoction:
- Place 1-2 tablespoons of hard herb into a saucepan or kettle
- Cover the herbs with 1 quart to 1 liter of water depending on how much tea you want
- Bring the stove to a simmer (low heat)
- Allow the herbs to gently simmer for 20-30 minutes
Step 2, Infusion:
- Add 1-2 tablespoons of your softer herb or herb mix to the decoction
- Take the pan or kettle off the heat and turn your burner off
- Allow your herbs to infuse for a certain time of 15 minutes
- After 15 minutes strain your tea into your cup or storage container
- Enjoy!
Be sure to check out the gut-friendly tea guide where I demonstrate how to prepare herbal tea.
5 Best Herbal Teas to Buy (2022 Update)
I have experience trying many different herbal infusions and teas for gut health and general wellbeing since I live with a chronic intestinal illness called SIBO or IBS.
This means I only use the highest-quality, most impactful herbal teas you can buy. The brands you can actually get symptom relief and health benefits from!
After reviewing many of the best tasting herbal teas and brands around I’ve narrowed it down to a few different products below. If you don’t have time to read the complete article, here are our top picks. For a detailed review, continue reading!
Quick Comparison
| IMAGE | HERBAL TEA | INGREDIENTS | LINK TO BUY |
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Teabox Pure Chamomile Tea | Organic Chamomile | CHECK IT OUT |
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Twinings of London Nightly Calm Herbal Tea | Chamomile, Spearmint, Passion Flower etc | CHECK IT OUT |
1. Teabox Chamomile Tea
The highest quality that comes with this caffeine-free tea and one herb product will offer you the full benefits of chamomile as a relaxant, digestive aid, and all-around daily delight. It is sweet, refreshing, and has a good flavor.
Teabox uses only fresh, pure organic, or sustainably wild harvested ingredients and maintains their natural purity. By 2024, the brand wants to reduce their plastic consumption by 80%.
If you want a top-notch plain chamomile tea you must get this product.
2. Twinings of London Nightly Calm Herbal Tea
Subtle, yet powerful, this comforting and great flavor tea blend provides a balanced union of delicate herbs, including chamomile, spearmint, and passionflower, guaranteed to gently carry you to an elevated feeling of calm. It is slightly sweet, caffeine-free and one of the top alternatives to black tea and green tea.
3. Organic Ginger Lemon Tea
Ginger is one of the most effective herbs for numerous different health ailments including indigestion. Just like black tea, drinking ginger tea also improves focus and mental well-being. But it is caffeine-free. You may also substitute this tea for a cup of green tea to shed some extra pounds.
4. Turmeric Citrus Spice
An awesome tea blend containing turmeric, lemongrass and cinnamon. It is caffeine-free and an excellent substitute to black teas, green teas, coffees, and sweet, fruity energy drinks.
5. Organic On The Waterfront Tea
A tea blend of peppermint, spearmint, rooibos, rosehips, ginger, rose petals, marigold, and sunflower this herb delight is perfect for a cold or as a general health tonic. Has a light minty, sweet flavor but with a kick of ginger and rose petals making the taste and flavor of this tea very unique. Drinking a cup of this tea blend offers lots of antioxidants and good for your skin.
Best Herbal Tea for Constipation and Digestion
Organic Peppermint Tea
Drinking peppermint tea can help soothe the intestinal tract, calm the body, and aid with gas, bloating, indigestion, and constipation. It acts as a smooth muscle relaxant which can allow the GI tract to function better. If you have an upset stomach or cramps steeping a strong cup of peppermint tea can aid symptoms a lot.
Related Reading: How to Make Peppermint Tea Properly?
Herbs that help with digestive disorders and constipation:
Sometimes if you’re dealing with a more severe digestive issue it may be best to buy different flavor herbs in bulk and blend your own high-strength teacup to sip on throughout the day. The top herbs that may be steeped and decocted for digestion are listed below.
- Peppermint
- Fennel
- Chamomile
- Slippery elm
- Ginger root
- Liquorice root
- Burdock root
- Cinnamon
- Lemon Balm
- Passion Flower
Best Herbal Tea for Colds and Sore Throats
Organic on Waterfront Tea
This tea is a blend of peppermint, spearmint, rooibos, ginger, rose petals, marigold, and sunflower. The synergistic blend of herbs can calm your body and help support the immune system when you come down with a cold to aid your body fight it off ASAP. It is a great tea drink for weight loss.
The best herbs you can buy to make your own tea blend for sore throats and colds are:
- Echinacea
- Elder
- Ginger
- Peppermint
- Goldenseal
- Plantain
- Pau de’ Arco
- Red clover
- Liquorice root
- Dandelion root
- Burdock root
Best Herbal Tea for Weight Loss
Organic Yoga Tea
This tea is a blend of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, peppercorn, hawthorn, and cardamom seeds. It is a low-calorie beverage drink and offers many different benefits for good health.
Substitute and drink this caffeine-free tea for a cup of green tea, black tea, soda, flavor milkshakes or other sweet fruity beverages and you will be able to shed the pounds much easier. If you add some yoga to the mix then you will be well on your way to healthy weight loss.
You may also want to read this Gut-Friendly Tea Guide which is designed to help you learn about different types of tea that may be beneficial for your gut!
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