Herbal Tea Recipes for Cold & Flu Season Support
Winter can be a time of low energy, illness, and stress. The cold weather often leaves us feeling lethargic, tired, and less than our best selves. This blog post will provide you with delicious herbal tea recipes that are specially designed to help you feel energized and refreshed during the colder months.
You’ll also learn how to use these teas to support your immune system if you’re battling an illness like the flu or common cold. Give your body what it needs this winter – healthy herbs!
With warming spices like cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, and cloves; sweet additions like honey or maple syrup; and soothing herbs such as chamomile, lavender, rose petals, lemon balm leaves - you’re bound to find a few herbal tea recipes suited for you!
What Are Herbal Tea Blends
Herbal tea blends also known as tisanes are obtained by steeping different parts of plants (roots, berries, barks, flowers) in boiling water.
Tea blends are the wisest way to combine unique qualities of different herbs and spices that provide you nutritional goals and flavors.
With a wide variety of botanicals, it becomes overwhelming to choose the plants for herbal tea blends. We are here to guide you pick the herbs and spices that will help you take a start.
Aside from unique flavor, herbal teas have a wide array of health promoting abilities like boosting the immune system, promoting heart and digestive health, aiding in weight loss and fat burning, relieving stress, and improving mental health.
First, consider your motive for making tea. Are you looking for herbal tea recipes to boost immunity, relax your mind, or to try out a new flavor?
We are going to discuss the best winter herbal teas that combat cold and flu, improve circulation, fight against infections, keep you hydrated, tame an upset tummy, and help you clear sinuses.
Here are some of the most common herbs and spices used in simple homemade herbal tea recipes:
Herbal Tea Blends For Winter
Various herbs have immunomodulatory and stimulating effects that help you fight against cold, flu and infections, and help you boost your immune functions.
Try these herbal tea recipes to get healthy and boost your immunity this winter.
Measuring Herbs in Parts
Many herbal tea recipes are measured out in “parts” so that you can choose to make as much (or as little) of these recipes as you choose. A “part” is any form of measurement used to measure out the ingredients in a given recipe. These parts can be measured out by volume or by weight. Weight measurements include ounces, pounds, and grams, while volume measurements include cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons.
Simply choose the measurement you want to use and stick to that measurement through the recipe. For example, let’s say you are making a tea recipe that is given in parts such as 2 parts lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), 1 part spearmint (Mentha spicata), and 1⁄2 part rose (Rosa spp.). You could brew up one big cup of tea to enjoy from this recipe by using a teaspoon as the part, for example: 2 teaspoons of lemon balm, one teaspoon of spearmint, and 1/2 a teaspoon of rose.
I like mixing together large quantities of these herbs to formulate special tea blends to have on hand to share with friends. When making large quantities, use cups for your measurements instead of teaspoons.
You could apply this same concept using ounces by weight as the measurement: Using parts in herbal recipes as a measurement is a folk method enjoyed by herbalists since time immemorial and is the simplist way to enjoy herbs. It allows for the greatest amount of flexibility and ease in herbal crafting.
Now that you know how to make herbal tea recipes with parts as the given measurement, it’s time to get busy whipping up some delicious wintertime tea recipes!
1. Berry And Flower-Spice Tea
Elderberry and calendula herbs are supercharged with antioxidants and vitamins that help combat infections and prevent cancer. This herbal blend is formulated to give your immune function a boost.
Ingredients
- Dried elderberries 1 part
- Dried calendula flowers 1 part
- Dried holy basil leaves 1 part
- Cinnamon chips 1 part
- Dried rose petals 1 part
- Dried ginger root 1/2 part
- Boiling water 12 oz.
Directions
- Take all these herbs in a container, add 12 oz. of boiling water and cover the container.
- Allow to steep the herbs for 15-30 minutes. You can increase or decrease the steeping time according to your taste. More the steeping time, stronger the tea will be.
- Strain the tea in a mug and add honey for flavor or taste.
2. Vitamin C Herbal Tea For Cold
This Herbal tea blend is high in vitamin C and is the best tea for colds. Vitamin C content of rosehip is credited for its beneficial effects in fighting against infections and reducing symptoms of arthritis.
Lemongrass and hibiscus are loaded with antioxidants and help alleviate anxiety, reduce blood pressure, cholesterol levels and promote oral health.
Fennel seeds are highly effective for improving digestion, reducing inflammation and preventing cancer.
Ingredients
- Rosehip 2 tbsp
- Lemon peel ½ tbsp.
- Cinnamon chips 1 tsp
- Lemongrass 1 tsp
- Hibiscus flower a pinch
- Fennel seeds a pinch
- Honey to taste
- Boiling water 16 oz.
Directions
- Take boiling water in a container and add all these herbs in boiling water.
- Allow these herbs to steep for a time of 30-40 minutes.
- Strain the tea and add honey or preferred sweetener for sweetness as per your taste.
3. Calming Linden Tea
This herbal tea blend is wonderfully useful for its ability to calm the mind and improve sleep quality.
Besides relaxing the mind, linden tea has the potential to fight inflammation, alleviate pain, and lower blood pressure.
Ingredients
- Linden leaves and flowers 1 part
- Dried calendula flowers 1 part
- Dried spearmint 1 part
- Catnip leaves 1/2 part
- Lavender flower 1/2 part
- Water 12 oz.
Directions
- Take all these herbs in a container, pour boiling water and cover the container.
- Let these herbs steep for 15-30 minutes. Strain the tea in a mug and mix some honey.
- Enjoy this linden tea to nourish and hydrate yourself at a time when you need calm.
4. Mint-Ginger Tea
Mint-ginger tea is highly effective for promoting overall health and immunity. It is said the immune system lies in GIT, and immunity is greatly associated with digestive health.
Peppermint and ginger are well known for improving digestion and circulation, promoting heart and reproductive health, and enhancing energy and balance.
This herbal tea blend may prove a great help to boost your immunity.
Ingredients
- Fresh ginger root 2-3”
- Peppermint leaves 1 part
- Chamomile flower 1 part
- Water 12 oz.
Directions
- Place water and ginger root in a pan and simmer for 10 minutes at medium flame below boiling point.
- Turn the flame off, add peppermint leaves and chamomile flowers in ginger water and let it steep for another 10-15 minutes.
- Tea resulting from steeping has a bitter taste and you may not like it. Add honey to fade bitterness and enjoy the perfect tea for winter.
5. Lemon-Pepper Tea
Lemon shines in its antioxidant and helps combat infections, promote heart and digestive health, increase weight loss, and reduce the risk of cancer and kidney stones.
This tea possesses anti-inflammatory properties, improves mental health and blood circulation and boosts immune function.
Ingredients
- Lemon one medium sized
- Turmeric powder ½ tsp
- Pepper ¼ tsp
- Honey one and half tsp
Directions
- Pour boiling water in a mug and add pepper and turmeric powder in it.
- Add lemon juice and honey, mix the tea and enjoy this detox tea to give your immune system a boost.
6. Cold Care Herbal Tea
This tea has potential to fight against infections and help relieve the symptoms of flu, cold and sickness.
Yarrow has the capability of reducing stress and anxiety, aid in brain health and reduce inflammation.
Licorice root possesses strong antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, and has a respectable history of being used in treatment of respiratory infection.
Ingredients
- Dried yarrow flower and leaves 2 parts
- Dried licorice root 1 part
- Dried elderflower 1 part
- Peppermint leaves 1 part
- Boiling Water 12 oz.
Directions
- Take all the ingredients in a container and add boiling water.
- Allow to steep the herbs for 20-30 minutes. Strain the tea in a mug, add honey for flavor and enjoy the nutritious cup of tea.
7. Clove Tea For Cold
Some of the herbs like clove, cinnamon and ginger possess antibacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties that help fight cold and flu. Herbal tea blends obtained from these herbs helps fight against infection and relieve sinusitis and symptoms of cold and flu.
Ingredients
- 1 1⁄2 cups water
- 1 clove, crushed
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 3⁄4 teaspoon tea leaves
- 1 teaspoon honey
- tablespoon milk (optional)
Directions
- Put water on the heat for boiling along with crushed clove and cinammon powder.
- Cover with a lid tightly so as to retain the flavours.
- Let it boil for good 2 minutes.
- Lower the heat and add tealeaves/teabag.
- Turn the heat off and let it stand.
- Pour in the cup and add sugar and honey
8. Nutmeg Ginger Tea
Nutmeg ginger tea is a great choice for colds and helps warm up the body in winter. Ginger is highly effective against cold and when used in combination with nutmeg, improves circulation, warms up the body and clears nostrils and airways.
Ingredients
- Ground nutmeg 1 tsp
- Ginger slices 4-5
- Water 12 oz
- Honey to taste
Directions
- Place ginger and nutmeg powder in a container and pour boiling water in it.
- Allow to steep for 10-15 minutes, strain the tea and add honey to taste the tea.
9. Tummy Tamer Tea
This recipe from Wellness Mama is said to be both calming and to soothe stomach aches and other digestive problems. For each serving, the ingredients are:
- 2 tsp mint leaves
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- Pinch of dried ginger (optional)
- Water 8 oz.
Instructions
Pour 1 cup of boiling water over the tea mixture, cover and steep for 5 minutes before drinking.
10. Respiratory Support Tea
The health benefits of mullein are many and varied. Mullein is a valuable herb for treating respiratory illness, coughs and congestion, and has been used as a specific treatment for tracheitis and bronchitis.
Its particular affinity is for the respiratory system, but it is also known to calm and strenghten the nerves, digestion, and urinary system. It’s a great herb for swollen glands and overall good at relieving pain.
Ingredients
Mullein leaf and/or flower
Good for:
- dry irritale coughs
- bronchitis
- laryngitis
- pleurisy
- swollen glands
To prepare mullein tea:
- Take a rounded tablespoon of dried mullein leaf alone or a mixture of leaf and flower.
- Pour boiling water over herbs and steep covered for 15 minutes.
- Strain the mullein leaves and flowers through cheesecloth to remove any fine hairs.
- Drink as needed for dry cough or any irritation to the respiratory sysstem or chest.
Bottom Line
We hope we have inspired you to brew up one or more of these herbal tea recipes. They are a fantastic way to enjoy medicinal properties of different herbs and spices in a single cup. Tisanes are the best choice to warm up the body in winter, boost energy and promote overall health and immunity.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this article and that we were able to provide some useful herbal tea recipes for wintertime support and pleasure. If you want more, subscribe to our newsletter! It will be delivered straight to your inbox with information, recipes, and herbal inspiration every month!
