How to steep a proper cuppa…tips & tricks for making herbal infusions!
Infusion, Decoction, Cold Infusion, Tisane, theres so many ways to steep but not to worry by the end of this we will have you brewing like a savage.
You’ll learn how to make a proper cup of herbal tea, that lets your mind and body absorb all the benefits. When wanting the medicinal properties of a tea to become available there are certain steeping steps you’ll want to take…and remember always cover your tea!
So to boil or not to boil???
Well you never want a full wild boil however, some herbs need hot water to release the most active constituents (what makes the herbs medicinal), some need to be simmered in water on the stove… this is a decoction, and these are usually berries, barks, and roots, and some you can do a cold infusion or overnight infusion (marshmallow root loves a cold infusion, I know i just said roots are decocted but here's an exception to the rule, marshmallow root is extremely mucilaginous and she's not as thick as other roots, she needs a little more gentle of a steep)
An infusion is done with mostly leaves, flowers, and the delicate parts of herbs. You can also do a sun tea where you add your herbs to a jar, cover with water and place it on a sunny windowsill, or outside ( if you’re in the AZ summer your tea will steep much quicker as sun tea!)
I put a couple cute graphic step by steps for each method at the bottom <3 but don’t scroll straight there I’ve got some juicy info below!
Water:
The water you use is important, you want to at least filter your water but for the post potent tea…Distilled Water is empty so it soaks up all the nutrients and minerals. Don’t drink distilled water because it is empty it will leach the minerals from you!
Any herb that is nutrient and mineral rich will make a great tea!
Steeping time is really important and so is making sure you aren’t skimping on your herbs if you want a therapeutic tea vs. just drinking tea for flavor.
A few notes to make a quality tea:
Don’t over steep bitter herbs like Chamomile, Red Raspberry Leaf, or Motherwort! The longer you steep the more bitter your bitter herbs will taste!
You want to steep covered for 15-20 minutes for your herbal tea. ( a french press is great)
I like to do 1TBSP/ 8oz of water. This is therapeutic. If you're just going for taste you can do 1-3 tsp.
(You can use a tea ball, I do recommend loose leaf (tea bags can contain toxins etc.) but you want to make sure its a large tea ball or tea steeping device so the herbs have room to dance in the water thats how you’ll get the most out of them)
Don’t pour boiling water over the tea, if letting water boil let it cool a few minutes before making your tea.
You can also add herbs to sweeten like licorice root ( black licorice get its flavoring from anise and fennel I promise this tastes nothing like that!) to your blend or stevia the plant. You can add honey, maple syrup or a natural sweetener after you steep your tea as well. I prefer honey for all the benefits but remember don’t put a wet spoon in honey, honey will never spoil unless you introduce water or bacterias to it by putting your tea spoon back in the honey jar!
Batch Your Tea:
You can make big batches of herbal tea - there are some herbs that don't keep well like milky oats and red raspberry leaf but for the most part you can make a large batch of tea for up to 3 days.
