One of the growing trends in the steeped drink arena is herbal teas or tisanes. Herbal teas are fresh or dried flowers, leaves, seeds or roots. The “tea” misnomer comes from the common steeping technique of the two drinks.
The main draw is the natural ingredients of the product and purported health benefits of consuming these teas. More on that in my next post.
A secondary benefit is the variety of ingredients produces a large number of taste possibilities. The variety of ingredient combinations guarantee an herbal tea to suit everyone’s taste. And likely quite a few hours of steeping enjoyment along the way.
Until next time – happy steeping.
Tags: Herbal Tea, natural teas, organic teas, tisane
March 8th, 2010 at 11:50 am
Herbal teas or tisanes aren’t just a growing trend, they’re an ancient tradition! Many of them have been used, both as beverages and as medicines (often with a fine line between the two) for hundreds of years in cultures ranging from western Europe to indigenous cultures across the globe.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that there’s a huge amount of possibility for taste. The same is true for the health effects, which is not just a great benefit but can be a point of caution as well. Some herbs and plants are benign, mostly just a flavoring, many are weak medicines, safe for general use and sometimes with substantial health benefits, and others are powerful drugs with highly specific uses and, like any drug, potential side effects that warrant caution (and consultation with medical professionals like doctors and herbalists). I think the big important thing about herbal teas–when it comes to herbal teas, don’t generalize!
=)
March 8th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Thanks for the feedback.
You make an excellent point about herbal teas being an ancient phenomenon. Certainly, even in western culture, there has always been an underground awareness of herbal remedies that never quite surfaced once the industrial revolutions began and modern western medicine emerged. Eastern medicine and culture has certainly had a mainstream awareness of herbal remedies that Western culture has not.
The increased mainstream awareness of herbal remedies in Western culture is a fairly recent phenomenon – last half century or so. Hence, a growing trend.
In my own lifetime just a review of the awareness of different teas is a great indicator of the expansion of the awareness of the breadth of the tea/herbal tea varieties.
For example, as a child it was highly unlikely one would see more than a Lipton tea in the market. Now one sees an explosion of more gourmet choices, along with herbal teas not imagined even 10-15 years ago. They were there but it was an underground experience where tea purists sought out specialty tea shops to find these exotic teas. I imagine that the European experience was different, my experience in the U.S. was as I’ve reported. (Given coffee’s predominance in American culture, I’m not surprised.)
As to your point about not generalizing – I agree. Look to tomorrow’s post for more information on the purported health benefits of herbal teas. While not encyclopedic in scope I believe you will find it more specific. It also echoes your notes of concern on the potential hazards of herbal remedies.
I hope you enjoy it.
March 12th, 2010 at 8:46 am
Herbal teas can be made with fresh or dehydrated flowers, foliages, seeds or roots, more often than not by spouting stewing H2O through the plant life pieces and allowing them steep for a a couple of minutes. Seeds and stems can also be boiled on a kitchen range. The tisane is then filtered, sweetened if so desired, and served. Many companies grow herbal tea bags for such infusions.
March 13th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Thank you for adding this information.
ABCKID