#tea making

herbalism & tea people pleaseee feel free to lmk if there’s anything you’d add or change

-silver needle white tea

- white clover flowers (hopefully can get some red clover too just need to find the motivation to hop out of the car next time i see some)

-lemon balm

-lavender

-maybe a little bit of orange peel or pieces of dried apple?

Would a rose, sage, and red pepper tea be good together? Or do you guys have any other blend suggestions? I want to start making tea (I literally drink at least one mint teat a day).

Have you ever sipped a cup of tea so good it felt like a whole ritual? Yeah. That's Tea Magic.

Tea is magic. Literal, steeped, sip-it-down-to-the-last-drop magic. For witches, mystics, and those in between, tea isn’t just comfort in a cup—it’s transformation, intention, alchemy, and a cozy moment to call your power back.

And while we’re brewing this conversation, yes—we’ve partnered with our favorite tea people over at Harney & Sons Fine Teas for this post. But don't worry this isn’t a sales pitch disguised as spirituality. It’s a sacred sipping session, and Harney & Son just happens to make a damn good brew worthy of your altar.

☕ Why Tea Is a Magical Tool

Unlike some ritual tools, tea is one of the most accessible forms of magic. Whether you’re in a dorm, a tiny apartment, or a witchy cottage, all you need is hot water and herbs. Tea can cleanse, enchant, heal, or activate—depending on what you put in it.

Here’s why witches love tea magic:

It’s multi-sensory (smell, taste, touch—engages the full system).

It’s consumable magic—you absorb your spell.

It’s adaptive for all abilities—low-energy days? Brew and sip. That’s the spell.

It can be daily or ceremonial—make it what you need.

It lets you connect with plants and their spirit allies intimately.

🌿 Magical Herbs in Tea & Their Uses

Let’s get practical. Here’s a list of popular magical teas and their properties, many of which you can find in pre-blended form with Harney & Sons:

Black Tea (Focus, Protection, Grounding). Good for banishing brain fog, setting firm boundaries, and commanding energy. Try: Earl Grey Supreme, English Breakfast

Green Tea (Healing, Clarity, Growth) Excellent for intention-setting and clarity work, especially during New Moons. Try: Japanese Sencha, Tropical Green

Chamomile (Peace, Dreams, Protection) The ultimate comfort spell. Use for sleep magic, peace, or to ward off nightmares. Try: Egyptian Chamomile

Mint (Focus, Purification, Prosperity) Sharpens the mind and clears psychic debris. Great for Mercury days or before readings. Try: Mint Verbena, or blend with green tea

Rose (Love, Self-Worth, Beauty) For love spells, heart chakra work, or divine feminine connection. Try Mother’s Bouquet (rose + chamomile)

Cinnamon (Fire, Prosperity, Speed) Add heat and momentum to any spell. Try: Hot Cinnamon Spice (warning: it’s addictive)

Thats just a few for our lovely collaborators who have over 300 blends to choose from.

🌕 Lunar Tea Magic: A Brew for Every Moon Phase

Aligning your tea practice with the moon phases brings extra power to your ritual.

| 🌑 New Moon | Fresh starts, clarity | Green tea + mint, lemongrass | | 🌓 Waxing Moon | Growth, abundance | Ginger, cinnamon, rooibos | | 🌕 Full Moon | Power, divination | Rose, jasmine, white tea | | 🌘 Waning Moon | Release, rest | Chamomile, lavender, valerian|

Bonus tip: Brew your moon phase tea under moonlight and whisper your intention into the steam.

🔮 Five Ways to Use Tea in Your Magic

Tea magic isn’t one-size-fits-all. Try these and see what works best for your style:

1. Intention Stirring

Before you sip, stir your tea in a spiral while focusing on your goal. Clockwise to draw in. Counterclockwise to release. Whisper your spell into the steam.

2. Tea Spell Bottles

Save your used tea herbs and dry them. Add to small jars with crystals, charms, and symbols for a long-lasting spell jar.

3. Tea Divination (Tasseography)

Use loose leaf tea, sip slowly, then flip the cup onto a plate and read the leaves. (Symbols that appear are messages—trust your intuition.)

4. Tea Offerings

Pour out a small cup for ancestors, deities, or spirits. Use herbal teas for safe, respectful offerings—rose for Venus, mint for Mercury, chamomile for ancestral peace.

5. Elemental Magic

Water? Check. Fire (heat)? Check. Earth (herbs)? Check. Air (steam)? Tea is an all-element ritual in a mug.

🌍 Tea, Accessibility & E-Magic

Not every witch has a full apothecary or garden of herbs. That’s okay. Magic doesn’t require perfection—it requires presence.

Pre-made blends (like those from Harney & Sons) are valid magical tools. Whether you’re a spoonie witch, neurodivergent practitioner, or just tired, using sachets or boxed tea is still magic.

And if you’re practicing in digital space? Even e-offerings count—a photo of your tea left for a spirit, or an emoji in a devotional post can carry intention.

Ritual Suggestion: The “Sip & Spell”

Intent: Daily grounding and clarity Tea: Harney’s Earl Grey Supreme or Green with Citrus & Ginkgo Ritual:

Brew your tea. Sit in silence.

As it steeps, place your hands around the cup. Whisper: “I return to myself with every sip.”

Sip slowly. Journal one truth revealed to you.

Pour the last few drops onto the earth or your altar.

✨ Final Thoughts

Magic is what happens when intention meets action—and sometimes, that action is as simple as boiling water and choosing your leaves with care.

Tea is magic you drink. Magic you carry inside. Magic that warms you from the inside out. And with trusted blends from tea makers like Harney & Sons, your daily cup becomes an act of sacred self-devotion.

So sip slowly. Stir intentionally. And may every cup be a spell worth savoring.

🔗 Shop Harney & Sons

Want to explore the blends mentioned above? Visit harney.com for teas worthy of your spellbook, your spirit, and your senses. We recommend:

Hot Cinnamon Spice (Fire magic + manifestation)

Egyptian Chamomile (Ancestor work + sleep magic)

Paris Blend (Love spells + luxury altar teas)

Support the Witch Behind the Brew Love what you read? Book a reading, support on Ko-fi, or join the Email coven. Every bit helps keep the kettle on and the magic flowing.

Start with official real tea recipes. Look at the backs of tea bags you like and replicate. Research the herbs you are using. And when I say research, I mean check multiple sources, including the scientific. I don’t care if it’s not the aesthetic, but it will be worth it long run.

Google combinations! If you are making tea for a friend ask them what medications they are on, every time, this includes if they recently took a cold or pain over the counter medication or they have a regular controlled substance, even ask if they are doing recreational drugs— because that should be cross referenced to no what is safe. Ask allergies!!!

Some herbs can be safe with one medication unless mixed with another. Ie: Catnip should not be mixed with skullcap if made in a tea with someone talking antidepressants. But catnip in small doses in a tea can be perfectly safe. (Catnip is a sedative but can be holistically used as an ADHD supplement… so google it’s safe with adhd meds).

Personally I stay away from both when someone is one antidepressants, and skullcap especially when someone is one anxiety meds.

Also, if comfortable, ask whom you’re making tea for their medical history both physical and mental.

Did you or your friend have an X-ray recently? A surgery?

Many disorders disrupt sleep. But often differently.

Bipolar Disorder and ADHD are good examples of that. So your sleep tea may help friend with ADHD, but maybe less for your friend with bipolar.

Of course discussing mental health is private.

And often times the difference on that level isn’t dangerous, but it’s worth noting.

Another thing! St. John’s Wort and Mugwort can put you at risk for serotonin sickness on antidepressants, and both can fuck up birth control.

Many herbs you can buy can be cross contaminated with tree nuts!!!! And gluten!!! I myself am lucky and don’t have a tree nut allergy or celiac, and a younger version of me has forgotten to ask, I was lucky that a friend who has a sister with a serious nut allergy told me that some herbs may not be nut safe.

On that note, google the allergy stats on your herbs. especially if it becomes a real hobby.

Know caffeine levels. Know as much as you can. Especially if you plan to share this hobby with others.

And the more you know the more you can help, but also the less you know is more you can hurt.

Also like researching can be fun!!!! Personally I did get into tea making for witchy reasons, but I stayed for the academic pursuit of knowledge. If I am so honest I am less a witch and more an academic with a witchy aesthetic.

Everyday Herbal Teamaking: A Pocket Guide for Health, Fun, and Self-Care by Glenna A. McLean

This unfussy, spirited guide to 35 readily accessible herbs offers botanical names, medical reputations from various modern and historical sources, good-humoredly honest tasting notes, and illustrations

Rating: ★★★✮☆ (3.75)

A helpful reference for beginner teamaking! And a retrospective enlightenment on how I accidentally sent me and a friend into hot flashes via raspberry leaf tea a few years ago…. “Cures fever by inducing sweating,” who would’ve thunk

I really liked how the flavor profiles were described, it helped to get a sense of how things might pair in a blend (but I’m still going to try each individually, of course).

The historical tidbits were also cute, I enjoyed seeing how the ancient perspective would compare to what the modern medical literature says about each herb.