Here are some short videos to help you blend your own herbal teas. To make a tea to aid my health, I use a method that selects a lead herb which has the main effect, support herbs that have a similar effect, and put these in as a teaspoon or half a teaspoon each. Then comes a harmoniser which can be a flavour which is helpful particularly if the herbs you are using are bitter. Then you can pop in other herbs to complete the formula.
Basic approach to blending a herbal tea (links to YouTube video)
This video steps you through how I blend herbal teas for my health. You select herbs that have the benefits that you want, such as ginger, turmeric and fennel for digestion. You select one as the lead and the others to support. Its a fun way of creating teas and is how many of the tea companies make their brews. Others use pyramids with the main flavour at the top, a middle herb to provide the body of the flavour, and a base herb to provide the lingering notes. A ginger tea here might have orange at the top, turmeric in the middle, and ginger at the base. At the end of the day, it is all a matter of what tastes nice to you!
Here’s my herbal tea blending chart which is inspired by many of the tea manufacturers, and is also based on Traditional Chinese Medicine approaches to blending formula, although in a much more simplistic way.
How to blend a ginger tea (link to YouTube video).
This video shows how you can blend using fresh ginger, dried chunks of ginger or even ginger powder from your spice rack. It steps you through the blending chart above.
How to brew the perfect cuppa (link to YouTube video).
In this video I show you the best way to brew a cup of tea. Yes, use a pot and a cosy. The heat is important for sterilising the herbs and extracting all of the nutrients. Dunking a teabag in a mug is far less effective.
IF YOU WISH TO LEARN MORE, I HAVE AN ONLINE COURSE ALL ABOUT BLENDING HERBAL TEA. DO VISIT THE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE ACADEMY.