Herbal teas are my favorite herbal preparation. They are a simple yet effective way to ingest herbs. If you are a beginner herbalist, herbal tea blends are an excellent place to begin. All you need to do is take these simple 3 steps.
Blending herbal tea is both a creative art and a science when creating the formula for the tea blend, you want to look at the color, the taste, and the aroma of the herbs that you plan to use and experiment with different combinations until you find the one that appeals to the eyes and your sense of taste and smell.
On the science side, you want to understand each herb that you plan to use individually. You want to look at the herb’s energetics, actions, and organ affinity —more about that below.
The first step to blending herbal tea is your intentions. Two questions come into mind: who? And why?
The first question is, who are you making the tea for? A tea for a child or a frail elder might differ from a tea for an adult. Generally, you want to use gentle herbs that taste good for children, such as Lemon balm, Lavender, or Rose. An Adult pallet is usually much more flexible.
The second question is, why are you blending the tea. A tea blend for a daily tea party is very different from a tea for alleviating a specific condition.
Once you set your intentions straight, it’s time for the scientist part of the process. You want to make a list of the herbs you might want to use in your blend and study each of them individually.
There are two ways to study herbs:
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Research them on books and websites. You want to understand their organ affinity, actions, and energetics.
Understanding the organ affinity and the action of an herb will help you create blends that address a specific area of the body in a particular way. Think about antispasmodic herbs that have an affinity to the lungs and help relieve cough.
The energetics of the herb refers to the ways it manifests in the body; is it warming or cooling? Is it tightening or relaxing? Moistening or drying? You want the overall energetics of your tea to be balanced. It means that if you use one or two heating and drying herbs, you will want to balance them with a cooling and moistening herb.
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Direct experience with the herb. You want to experience the herb directly. Make yourself a cup of tea with each spice individually. Sit with it. How does it taste? How does it feel in your mouth? Your throat? Do you feel it in any other part of your body?
By the end of this stage, you will have a clear vision of what herbs you would like to use in your blend and why you are using them.
Once you set your intentions and get to know the herbs you plan to use in your blend; you can start experimenting with different formulas.
This is where your creative mind and heart can express themselves.
In the third week of my program;
“Getting Younger- The Wise Women Way to Well Being at any Age,”
I share more details about the different components of an herbal formula. I also share my 10 favorite herbs and some of my herbal tea formulas.
