#tea 101

⚠️This is meant to be a simple guide based on my own research and experience, by all means, educate yourself further and double check everything before proceeding!⚠️

First, define your intention or goal for this blend: what medicinal properties do you want to extract from these plants? You should know the medicinal value and effects of each plant separately before trying them out together and finding out how they interact with each other. Similarly, taste all the herbs separately before putting them together to get a better tasting blend. You’ll have to find a good balance between:

the right dosage of each herb to get their medicinal value,

the taste of said herbs to your liking,

the right dosage to avoid any possible side effects.

The herbs that cause the main desired effect should take up to 70% of the blend. 

One type of effect can be based on which system you want to work in (if the herbs all have similar positive effects on immune, circulatory, digestive, or other systems, like for example calming nerves or easing digestion). The other would be a nourishing effect (if the effects on each system cancel each other and thus you’re only taking in the nutrients, like minerals and vitamins, of the herb). The first kind would all have herbs that work together towards a common goal, the second would have effects that counteract each other so you only absorb their nutrients.

Then you’ll have supporting herbs, up to your 20%, that either boost the good medicine, and/or relief possible side effects of the main herbs.

Depending on the effects each plant has on your body, you’ll want them to boost each other or counteract each other. Also take into account if it’s an overall cooling or warming effect, boosting or slowing down metabolism, if it dries or moistens the tissues with minerals and fluids, and whether it’s relaxing or constricting/toning in tissues aswell. 

Last should be possible catalysts. These are optional, but recommended. That would be up to 10% of stimulant herbs that boost metabolism or enhance the overall effects of  the others, to really get all the good stuff into your body.

Some good examples of catalysts are ginger root, cayenne or licorice root, but be careful with licorice as it can be toxic in high amounts!

To give you an example of how I’d put everything into practice: if my goal is to make a tea blend that’s toning, rich in minerals and vitamins and strengthens the immune system, I’d use 5 parts stinging nettle, 2 parts lemon balm (for the main effects), 2 parts thyme (supporting), and 1 part ginger root (catalyst), then sweeten to taste. Parts can be grams, teaspoons, or smaller measures, depending on how much blend you want to prepare. If you’re going to try this blend, do this exercise: research each plant, it’s medicinal value and side effects, and you’ll find out why I put them together! 

Also, I personally love the taste of stinging nettle, yet someone else may prefer to use 5 parts of lemon balm and 2 parts of stinging nettle instead and get a slightly different result, more soothing to the nervous system, try it for yourself and always check for the effects and right dosages. I normally measure each part as grams, and this formula gives me around 2-3 liters of infusion, depending on how strong you make it. That is, using dry herbs, if you’re using fresh plant material you’ll need more grams. Normally 1 teaspoon of dry herb equals 1 tablespoon of fresh herb, or 1 part dried equals 3 parts fresh, but there may be slight differences between each plant depending on how much water it contains.

Finally, write everything down! The formula, how it worked for you and what it tastes like.

Thanks for reading ♡