Tea: Herbal Teas

Herbal teas can be made from herbs and spices deriving from all parts of a plant, whether leaf, flower, fruit, or root. They are also made of the bark of woody plants.

Although herbal drinks have long been regarded as medicinal, enjoyment of herbal teas mainly as beverages received considerable impetus during the natural food movement of the 1960s. In the later twentieth century, herbal teas became popular with consumers who wished to avoid caffeine. In earlier centuries, herbal teas were drunk as beverages during wartime, when other tea was not available, or as protest beverages—“liberty teas”—during the Revolutionary period. During this time, teas made of chamomile, loosestrife, ribwort, currant leaves, and sage were known.