Herbal tea

Image:Kräutertee.jpg

An herbal tea, tisane, or ptisan is an herbalinfusionnot made from the leaves of the teabush (Camellia sinensis). (Varieties of "real" tea include black, oolong, green, yellow, and white tea.) Tisanes 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 tisane is then strained, sweetened if so desired, and served.

Varieties

Varieties of herbal tea include:

• Roasted barley, known in Japanese as mugicha and Korean as boricha. The roasted flavor can be reminiscent of coffee (without coffee's bitterness and caffeine). It is often drunk cold in the summer.
• Bissap, consumed in the Sahel.
• Chamomiletea is used as a sedative. In Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Peter's mother gives him chamomile tea.
• Chrysanthemumtea, made from dried flowers, is popular with Chinese Dim sum.
• Citruspeel, including bergamot, lemonand orangepeel.
• Coca tea, made from leaves of coca, is popular in the Andes and helpful at reducing the effects of altitude sickness
• Roasted corn
• Echinaceatea, often drunk as to prevent or alleviate the coldor flusymptoms.
• Essiac tea, a blended Native American herbal tea.
• Fennel
• Ginger root
• Hibiscus(often blended with rosehip), a popular tea alternative in the Middle East and is drunk hot or cold. Hibiscus tea is also consumed in Okinawa, where the natives associate Hibiscus tea with longevity.
• Honeybushis related to rooibosand grows in a similar area of South Africa, but tastes slightly sweeter.
• Gentian
• Horehound
• Kavaroot, from the South Pacific, is popular for its effects in promoting talkativeness and relaxation.
• Labrador tea, made from the shrub Labrador tea, found in the northern part of North America.
• Lapacho(also known as Taheebo) is the inner-lining of the bark (or cambium) of the Red or Purple Lapacho Treewhich grows in the Brazilianjungles. It is boiled to make an infusion with many and varied health benefits.
• Lemon grass
• Licoriceroot
• Lime blossom, dried flowers of lime tree(Tilia in Latin).
• Lotus flower, from the stamensof Nelumbo nucifera.
• Mint, especially peppermint(also mixed with green tea to make mint tea)
• European mistletoe(Viscum Album), (steep in cold water for 2-6 hours)
• Nettleleaf
• Red raspberryleaf
• Rooibos(Red Bush) is a reddish plant used to make an infusion and grown in South Africa. In the US it is sometimes called red tea. It has many of the antioxidantbenefits of green tea, but because it does not come from tea leaves, it has no caffeine.
• Rosehip(often blended with hibiscus)
• Sage
• Sassafras
• Thyme
• Tulsi
• Roasted wheatis used in Postum, a coffee substitute.
• Wong Logata medicinal tea with several herbs
• Woodruff
• Yerba mate(or hierba mate) is a shrub grown mainly Argentina, Uruguayand Brazilfrom which a caffeinated, tea-like brew is prepared.
• Yuen Kut Lam Kam Wo TeaComposed of thirty Chinese herbs, made in Hong Kong.

Many companies produce herbal tea bagsfor such infusions.

Many blends of real teaare prepared by adding other plants; for example, the popular Earl Grey teais black tea infused with bergamot. Such preparations are considered varieties of tea as opposed to herbal teas.

Medicinal concerns

Herbal teas are often drunk for their physical or medicinal effects, especially for their stimulant, relaxantor sedativeproperties. The medicinal effects of certain herbs is discussed under herbalism. The medicinal benefits of specific herbs are often anecdotal or controversial, and in the United States and elsewhere, makers of herbal teas are not allowed to make unsubstantiated claims about the medicinal effects of their products.

While most herbal teas are safe for regular consumption, some herbs have toxicor allergeniceffects. Among the greatest causes of concern are:

• Comfrey, which contains alkaloidsthat can cause permanent liverdamage with chronic use.
• Lobelia, which contains toxinssimilar in effect to nicotine.
• Pineapple weed, which is sometimes sold as chamomile, is closely related to ragweedand can cause violent allergicreactions in hay feversufferers, up to and including anaphylactic shockand death.

Any herbal tea with unknown effects should be taken in moderation.

Inexperienced use of wild herbs in herbal tea should be avoided. Poisonous plants can be similar to common herbs, for example, certain deadly nightshadeleaves look like comfreyleaves.

See also

• Tea
• Coffee
• Herbalism

External links

• For more information on Herbal Tea
• Guide to Herbal tea
• Health Benefits of Tea (about.com)de:Kräutertee

fr:Tisane it:Tisana hu:Gyümölcstea ja:????? zh:???

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article Herbal tea.