Herbal Tea: Loose Herbs and Blends for Every Mood

Here's the mix-up we get asked about most: herbal tea isn't tea. Tea comes from one plant, Camellia sinensis. Everything else you pour hot water over is a tisane, and that covers nearly everything in this part of the smartshop.

Tisane or True Tea, and Where the Caffeine Hides

A tisane is an infusion of leaves, flowers, roots, bark or seeds that has nothing to do with the tea plant. That's why chamomile, lavender and lemon balm come out caffeine free. Not everything here does. Japanese Sencha, Gunpowder Tea and Earl Grey are all Camellia sinensis, so they carry caffeine, and so do Yerba Maté and guarana. Guarana seeds run up to 5% caffeine, roughly three times the strength of coffee by weight, with some of it bound to tannins so it works slower and longer. If you want a genuinely caffeine-free mug, stay on the flower and leaf side.

Loose Herbs, Family by Family

South American Roots, Barks and Seeds

This is the corner the supermarket brands don't touch. Bobinsana (Calliandra angustifolia) and Mulungu (Erythrina mulungu) both come from Amazonian tradition, while Maca (Lepidium meyenii) has been grown high in the Andes for around 2,000 years. Catuaba and Clavo Huasca sit alongside them, all bark and woody bitterness rather than anything floral.

Hedgerow Names You Already Know

Valerian, Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis), Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and Chamomile are the old European evening herbs. Damiana (Turnera afrodisiaca) has centuries of folk use behind it in Central America; Wild Lettuce (Lactuca virosa) is the European plant with a comparably long story.

Calming Herbs: Chamomile & Wild Lettuce

These two draw the most questions of the evening group, and they taste nothing alike. Chamomile infuses light and apple-sweet, while wild lettuce is firmly bitter, which is why plenty of people cut it with mint or lemon balm.

Water Off the Boil, Lid On, Ten Minutes

Water Temperature & Steep Times

Just off the boil for leaves and flowers, a proper simmer for roots and barks. Five to ten minutes with the lid on covers most of what is listed on this page.

Leaves and flowers only need steeping: a heaped teaspoon or two per mug, water just off the boil, lid on for 5 to 10 minutes so the aroma stays in the cup instead of the kitchen. Roots and barks want a real simmer. Valerian, for instance, gets a few tablespoons boiled in half a litre for five minutes with the lid on, and damiana works out at three tablespoons of powder per half litre. A Tea & Herb Infuser or an Empty Tea Filter (T-Bar) saves you straining twice, and the Metal Measuring Spoon keeps doses honest. Watch out for calamus: it arrives as powder, so it stirs in rather than steeps, and the grit settles at the bottom of the mug.

Storing Dried Herbs So They Still Smell of Something

Airtight, dark, cool, and nowhere near the hob. Whole flowers hold their smell far longer than anything ground, which fades within a few months. Our blends ship in aroma-sealed packaging, so keep them in that and squeeze the air out before resealing.

Where We'd Start

Good Morning Herbs Tea is the one we'd hand a newcomer: lemongrass, hibiscus blossom, spearmint and liquorice root, sharp and cranberry-tart from the hibiscus with a sweet liquorice finish that means you can skip the sugar. Note the liquorice, though, since it isn't recommended in high doses for anyone with high blood pressure. If you want more of a kick in the morning, Jetpackkratom Chai Tea is the spicier route.