How to Brew Medicinal Tea

Historically, medicinal teas are a favorite means of treating ailments. Brewing medicinal tea requires little or no specialized equipment and takes relatively little time. Finding a reliable recipe and locating a trustworthy supplier for your ingredients are often the most challenging parts of the process. Brewing methods are based on how delicate your ingredients are and how strong you want the tea to be.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Start with viable herbs. Exposure to oxygen, light and moisture cause a breakdown of the medicinal properties in herbs and plants. The herbs and plants you use need to be fresh or stored away from air, light and moisture so you get their full medicinal effect in your tea. Wrapping individual tea bags in envelopes and sealing loose tea in canisters are both acceptable methods of storage.

2. Select a brewing method for your tea. Brewing extracts an herb's medicinal properties and results in medicinal tea, making it possible for the body to absorb the medicine. Most recipes for medicinal teas tell you which brewing method works best for its herbal combinations.

3. Brew by hot infusion. Add your herbal ingredients to a pot or cup. Pour boiling water over them and let the herbs steep for the 10 minutes.

4. Follow the recipe for cold infusion. Mix the herbs and water. Allow the herbs to steep for several hours, usually in direct sunlight.

5. Brew tougher ingredients, such as seed pods, barks and roots by decoction. Place the herbs in a nonmetal pot. Add water and boil. Reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer for at least 30 minutes.

6. Drink your medicinal tea straight to derive the whole experience of the herbal ingredients. If you mix in milk or sugar, the tea loses many of the recipe's intended benefits. For example, medicinal teas created to aid digestion begin their work with taste. When brewed properly, the tea's taste triggers the release of brain chemicals necessary in the digestive process. If you change the taste, you reduce the total medicinal benefit.

Tips & Warnings

• Brew your tea according to the recipe's instructions. Do not assume that a longer steeping time creates a better or stronger tea. Steeping time effects taste and aroma, both of which are part of the medicinal effect of the tea. Tinkering with either lessens the tea's medicinal value.

Who Can Help:

• Overweight? Lose 30+ lbs without pills or diets- guaranteed
• Arthroscopic Alternative to Spine Surgery- For Back & Neck - Free MRI Review by our Doctors. Get your life back!
• Do you suffer from back pain? Learn more about our Medicare approved back support system. Medicare covers 85% of the cost.

[sandyakamom]

on 12/18/2008 Very, very well written. Thank you for this information. Make it a great day, Sandy a.k.a. Mom