Herbal tea

Herbal teas — less commonly[1] called herb teas or tisanes (UK and US /tɪˈzæn/,
US also /tɪˈzɑːn/)[2] — 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.[3] 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), nor with decaffeinated tea, in which
the caffeine has been removed. Like beverages made from true teas, herbal teas can
be served hot or cold.

Contents Herbal tea made from hibiscus

beginning to steep
Etymology
Health risks
Contamination
During pregnancy
Popularity
Composition
Major varieties
Ayurvedic tea
See also
References
External links

Etymology
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.[4][5] In any case,
the term herbal tea is very well established and much more common thantisane.[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
[2]
more common in US English and especially in UK English).

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 modernbarley water.[6]

Health risks
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 which may be harmful to theliver from chronic use, and particularly is not
recommended during pregnancy or whenprescription drugs are used; comfrey is not recommended for oral use. [7]
 Lobelia, which contains alkaloids and hastraditional medicine uses for
smoking cessation, may cause nausea, vomiting, or dizziness at high
doses.[8]
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.

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 Herbal tea in a glass teapot and cup
[9]
to aid in promoting global acceptance of these products".

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
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.
Baskets of dried hibiscus for making
In Sri Lanka, herbal teas have a long history within the local tradition of indigenous karkade, or "hibiscus tea", a popular
medicine. Iramusu (Smilax regelii), beli (Bael), ranawara (Senna auriculata), polpala herbal tea worldwide
(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 orjaggery.

Composition
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 herbaltea bags for such infusions.

This retail mixture Dried elderberries ready Coffee blossom tea Apple, rose hips, orange
contains rooibos, to be steeped into tea zest, papaya,
coconut, ginger, peppermint, liquorice
cinnamon, apple, root, lemon grass,
cardamom, black pepper cinnamon, blackcurrants,
and almond. rose and mallow
blossoms.

A pre-made, bottled A close-up of a rooibos

herbal tea made from blend in a tea bag being
ginseng. steeped.

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 ofBhang
Caraway, tea made from the seeds
Catnip, tea used as a relaxant,sedative, and to calm
Chamomile, commonly used for sorestomach, 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 fromIlex causue leaves
Chinese knot-weed tea
Chrysanthemum tea, made from dried flowers, is popular with ChineseDim sum
Cinnamon
Coca tea, infusion made from coca leaves. Contains trace amounts ofcocaine and similar alkaloids.[14] In some
countries where coca is illegal, products marketed as "coca tea" are supposed to bedecocainized, i.e., the
pharmacologically active components have been removed from the leaf using the same chemicals used in
manufacturing cocaine.
Cacao bean 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
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 inthe Philippines as salabat
Ginseng, a popular tea in China and Korea, commonly used as a stimulant and as a caf feine 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 yurvedic
A medicine (seeHibiscus health
benefits). It is also used in Roselle (see below.)
Honeybush is similar to rooibos and grows in a nearby area ofSouth 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 theHydrangea 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 ef [17] As
fects in promoting talkativeness and relaxation.
well, kava extracts may be an effective alternative to tricyclic antidepressantsand benzodiazepines for the treatment
of anxiety disorders.[18]
fects.[19][20]
Kratom, dried leaves of the Kratom tree, drank for its medicinal and stimulant ef
Kuzuyu, is a thick white Japanese tea made by addingkudzu 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 andanalgesic properties
Qishr, Yemeni drink with coffee husks and ginger
Red clover tea
Red raspberry leaf
Barley tea, East Asian drink with roastedbarley
Roasted wheat is used in Postum, a coffee substitute
Rooibos (Red Bush) is a reddish plant used to make an infusion and grown inSouth Africa. In the US it is sometimes
called red tea. It has many of theantioxidant 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 theSahel 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 ofroot beer until being banned by the
FDA.
Scorched rice, known as hyeonmi cha in Korea
Skullcap
Serendib (tea), a tea fromSri 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
[24]
calcium, potassium, vanadium, iron, manganese, selenium and zinc.

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
1. Google Ngram Viewer (https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=herb+teas%2Cherbal+teas%2Ctisanes&ye
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2. Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary(http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/tisane?a=british)
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Retrieved 2014-05-04.
4. Merriam-Webster.com (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tea)
5. Oxford Living Dictionaries(https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/tea)
6. Oxford Living Dictionaries(https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/tisane)
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rs-take-to-woods-as-prices-soar/). Fox News. 2012-09-28. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
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External links
Learning materials related toinfusion maker at Wikiversity
Media related to tisanes at Wikimedia Commons

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