The Mug Shot: Herbal Tea

It’s that time of year again. The leaves are changing, the days are getting shorter, the scarves are coming out of the closet, and the chill in the air is making your nose run like a bandit fresh out of a jailbreak. 

October marks the beginning of that nippy, brisk and sometimes, offensively frigid season (depending on who you talk to), when few things are as soothing as a freshly steeped mug of hot tea.

I have been chugging tea over the past few days like it’s my job. This is partially because of its warmth, and partially because I've always assumed that it's better health-wise than guzzling five cups of coffee, or throwing back a few Hot Toddies on a Monday morning. 

Each time I get ready to fill my cup with boiling water, I frantically shuffle through the boxes of tea bags in our company’s kitchen while pondering some important questions: What does Oolong taste like? Do I want caffeine? Which one has more antioxidants? Green? Black? Herbal? How long do I steep this? Who was Earl Grey, anyway?

With such a number of teas to choose from, along with the equally daunting styles to try, how do you determine which is the best for you? I'm not going to delve into flavor here, as I'm sure my taste can easily be disputed. What I want to explore in this blog series, is the numerous and varying ways that tea can benefit our bodies, and which types are best for specific needs.

To begin, let’s start with herbal teas, because that’s what I happen to be sipping  right now. You might notice that most of these varieties are caffeine free, but here’s something to blow your mind - Did you know that herbal teas aren’t actually teas at all?That’s right. Black, green, white, and oolong teas come from the leaves of a type of evergreen tree, more formally called Camelia sinensis. However, most herbal teas, otherwise known as tisane, are actually “infusions made with herbs, flowers, roots, spices or other parts of some plants,” but usually not from the same evergreen tree as the other varieties of tea.

That being said, the health qualities and flavors of herbal teas may greatly differ from standard teas, and also depend largely on the particular plant material that is used. Most herbal teas are said to promote relaxation, help with digestion, support heart health, generate some sort of a natural cleanse, and/or boost your energy.  You will find that most teas have the ingredients and a brief description for the tea written on the label (a little teaser that sums up the properties and purpose of the tea, like a calming chamomile tea or a immunity-boosting Echinacea tea). But for a more basic reference, here is a listof some common herbal ingredients to look for in you next swig of tea, and how each can promote your health, one sip at a time.

• Sooth: To sooth your sniffles, and other symptoms associated with the common cold or fever, look for teas with allspice, chamomile, chrysanthemum, fennel, ginger or raspberry leaf.
• Calm: For calming qualities and stress relief go for chamomile, cinnamon, lemongrass, or peppermint.
• Settle: If you’re suffering from nausea, digestion issues or menstrual cramps, opt for ingredients such as allspice, cinnamon, fennel, ginger, hibiscus, peppermint or slippery elm.
• Circulation: To increase blood flow and for better circulation sip on some cinnamon or hawthorn.
• Strengthen: Spruce up your nails, bones, teeth and skin with a little bit of raspberry leaf or sarsaparilla.
• Flush: Parsley works as a diuretic, and also helps your kidneys.
• Holistic: For all-around health maintenance, try to slurp on some ginseng.

This is, of course, only a small sampling of the boundless herbal options available, and be sure to remember that your body may react uniquely to different ingredients. Stay tuned for the upcoming Mug Shot: Tea blog, in which we we’ll shed some light on a few other tea varieties for your next steaming cup of goodness. Pinkies up!

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