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By the author of The Flat Broke Cookbook and The Ultimate Guide to Frugal Living
Do you enjoy a steaming cup of herbal tea? It’s one of the simple pleasures that I most enjoy. I like the entire ritual of it. Putting the water on to boil. Placing sweet local honey in a beautiful mug. Loading up my infuser with fragrant herbs. The sound my spoon makes when it rings against the mug, and I stir everything together.
I noticed the last time I was at the store that the price had gone up on herbal tea bags. (Of course, the price has gone up on just about everything.) Not that this is enough to make or break you, but tea bags ranged from 20 cents apiece to 40 cents apiece, depending upon the brand.
There’s a far better and cheaper way to make herbal tea, my dear Frugalites. Make your own! For a small investment up front, you can buy organic herbs by the pound on Amazon or at many different online retailers. As well, I dehydrate the herbs I grow, as well as random citrus peels and other elements of herbal tea, for even thriftier ingredients. There are a few things I often grab in tincture format, especially if I don’t use them every day.
Then, all you need is a tea ball or an infusing mug, and you’re paying single-digit pennies per cup. What’s more, your blends are personalized and probably a lot higher quality than the ones you get at the store.
How do you use loose tea?
There are all sorts of ways to use loose tea. In fact, you can find entire websites dedicated to the art. I like to keep things simple, though, and also thrifty.
I own this mug with an infuser insert and lid. It’s not fancy, but it matches my black and white dishes, and it is one of the more reasonably priced options.
I also like these tea strainers. They’re a little bit bigger than those tea balls with the squeezy opening mechanism, and I find them far easier to fill.
Making tea this way is simple. Fill your tea strainer or infuser with about two tablespoons of loose herbs and pop it into your mug. Add your honey if you’re using it. Boil your water and pour it over the infuser. Pop a lid on it (you can also use a saucer) and allow it to steep for 5-15 minutes. Remove the infuser or strainer, give it a stir, and enjoy your super-thrifty cup of herbal tea.
Below are some of my favorite blends.
These are just suggestions for blends. Make them your own according to your likes and dislikes (and what you have on hand). Play around with the ratios until it tastes right to you.
Get-‘Er-Done Tea
Got stuff to do, but your get-up-and-go got up and went? Try this get-‘er-done tea for a boost of herbal energy.
- Lemon Peel
- Orange Peel
- Ginseng
- Green Tea
Peace Tea
Have you had a stressful day? Are you feeling anxious? Do you need to wind down and chill out? Peace Tea is a blend containing calming herbs that may support relaxation.
- Lemon Balm
- Peppermint
- Chamomile
- Skullcap
Feel-Better Tea
Are you feeling under the weather? Depending on what ails you, this tea can help with its fragrant herbs and medicinal properties. I always make this when someone is suffering from a cold or flu. The slippery elm bark helps soothe a cough, and I prefer to use a few drops of this tincture instead of the dried material. If you don’t have slippery elm, you’ll still find the tea beneficial.
- Peppermint
- Slippery Elm
- Chamomile
- Elderberry
- Orange Peel
- Hibiscus Flower
Tummy-Ache Tea
Looking to settle your stomach? This combination can help support digestion and calm an upset stomach. If you are vomiting or have heartburn, leave out the ginger. Slippery elm tincture is my go-to for heartburn.
- Peppermint
- Chamomile
- Ginger
- Slippery Elm
Sweet Dreams Tea
One of the most popular teas out there is Sleepytime Tea by Celestial Seasons. And for good reason – the ingredients are gentle and pleasant in taste. You can make your own version with these herbs.
- Chamomile
- Peppermint
- Lemon Verbena or Lemon Balm
- Passionflower
- Skullcap
- Hibiscus flower
Courage Tea
Nearly everyone has seen the movie Practical Magic, with Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. But did you know that it’s based on a delightful four-book series by Alice Hoffman? These books will transport you to a quaint, charming home by the sea, where magic abounds, and whimsical lore is a part of everyday life. In the books, the Owens women make a drink called “courage tea” whenever someone needs a boost. Because my daughters and I love both the books and the movie, I concocted a tasty blend inspired by the tea that sustained generations of the fictional family. It’s really tasty, and perhaps it’ll make you feel braver.
- Ginger
- Lemon Peel
- Orange Peel
- Elderberry
- Red Roiboos
- Star Anise
- Black Pepper
Recommended ingredients for herbal tea blends
Here are some of the things that I always keep on hand for tea blends. Most herbs I get by the pound, but smaller packages are available. It would be a big expense to get everything at once. Start small and add to your tea-ingredient collection on a monthly basis.
- Peppermint
- Chamomile
- Lemon and orange peel (I dehydrate my own from fruit I eat or use in cooking, and then zap it in the food processor)
- Hibiscus flower
- Elderberries
- Slippery Elm (dry or tincture)
- Passionflower
- Skullcap (dry or tincture)
- Lemon Balm
PS: Homemade herbal tea blends and an infuser would make a lovely holiday gift basket that won’t cost much if you use bulk herbs you purchased for yourself anyway.
Do you make your own herbal tea blends?
What about you? If you are an herbal tea lover, do you make your own herbal tea blends, or do you buy the little bags? What are your favorite blends? Let’s talk tea in the comments.
About Daisy
Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, adventure-seeking, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites. 1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty; 2) The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived; and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. Her work is widely republished across alternative media and she has appeared in many interviews.
Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.
3 thoughts on “FrugaliTEA: Making Your Own Herbal Tea Blends”
I love herbal teas. I grow and forage to make my teas. I also dry all the nicer citrus peels. For spicy blends I sometimes use dried date chunks for a sweetener if I’m low on honey. I grow stevia and dry the leaves for the mildest flavored teas. I always grow an assortment of mints and edible flowers for teas and to candy for cupcake decorations.
To candy mint or flowers. Beat an egg yolk with 1 tbsp of water. Dip leaves and flowers to cover. Then gently cover with granulated white sugar. Let dry on a rack. They will store for a few days in a glass jar but don’t close too tightly of they may draw in moisture. Use to decorate cupcakes or cookies by setting on soft frosting. Or drop in cups of mildly flavored teas.
I forage juniper branches and berries, pine growing tips, skullcap, yarrow, pineapple weed, wild rose hips, and more… fruits that I cup up and dry and berries. I use some of my homegrown and dried herbs also. I’ve finally established elderberries here. Good for teas, cough syrup, and in baked goods. Even apple peels with cloves or anise or dried cranberries with orange peel make pleasant teas.
Some years if I have more apple cores and peels than I want for making vinegar I’ll dry the rest then powder then in a blender. Fill a tea strainer I make hot mulled cider by adding a few cloves or star Anise to the cup with a bit of honey and steeping in boiling water for 10-15 minutes. A cinnamon stick could be added and reused several times.
I also grow a number of tea ingredients, including stevia and lemon balm. The latter I grow hydroponically. Pretty much any herb or green can be grown this way, I’ve found. I also grow St John’s wort and dwarf tomatoes that way.
Your contribution is awesome, Clergylady! I love tea. I currently only grow mint but eventually that will change. I buy loose stuff at my natural foods store, sometimes on Amazon, and sometimes I buy teabags at my grocery store. I think I need to start making my own blends – I need one for night time as I’m almost out of that. So thanks for the inspiration.
In summer I practically live off hibiscus tea, usually cold brewed in the fridge. It’s a fantastic boost and such a pretty color. Also, here’s my own little hack for getting tea: use import stores! Some of the Asian markets have wonderful teas, both loose and bagged, usually high quality and often at good prices.
Now if you’ll excuse me I’m off to repurpose an old tea tin and make my own herbal blend….