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Best Herbal Teas For Congestion That Help Ease Symptoms

Best Herbal Teas For Congestion That Help Ease Symptoms
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Got a cold coming? Feeling the flu? These warming immunity-boosting tea for colds are age old recipes to keep the flu at bay and make you feel better. 

Best Teas for cold . Herbal teas for cold
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Achy body, sore throat, watery eyes and blocked sinus can be extremely annoying and tiring.

Trying to stifle that cough or sneeze while you cook, talk and walk, wishing you could stuff your nose with tissues rather than wipe them every second and look like a red-nosed reindeer!!

OOhh well !! Sadly there is nothing we can do to make cold disappear in a day, but what we can do is relieve the annoying symptoms by reaching into our cupboards and sipping a soothing cuppa!!

Old mama’s cure strongly recommends drinking herbal teas that are good for colds.

Below is a list of best teas for sinus congestion, stuffy nose, cough and sore throat that you can try to gain relief.

What Tea Is Good For Cold And Cough

You know you have flu coming when you experience pain in the back of your throat, feel tired and groggy.

Resorting to comfort food when feeling down in the dumps can be uplifting.

Soups come closest to cold friendly comfort food but that can be a whole meal!

Thankfully, there is a choice of different types of tea for colds that helps provide relief from the annoying symptoms of sore throat and may also help loosen mucus.

Reaching out for warm caffeine drinks may not be as beneficial as the herbal counterpart due to the many health benefits of herbs and spices.

In ancient Ayurveda, spices and herbs have played a very important role as a natural remedy for cold, flu and other health ailments!

Hot teas made with warming herbs and spices either dried or fresh have many benefits that help bring relief to some symptoms related to cold and flu.

7 Best Herbal Tea For Colds

It may not always be possible to go to a health store looking for specific premier tea blends with health benefits! 

Once cold hits, you may not have the time to go to a store or wait for the arrival of online order.

The best option is to look for ingredients that may already be there in your fridge or spice cupboard!

Here is a list of 7 easy to make herbal teas, good for soothing an achy throat or a runny nose with everyday warming herbs and spices!

And in case you do not have them, luckily, they are available at any local superstore!

1. Ginger Lemon Tea

Ginger has high levels of anti-oxidants while lemon is an excellent source of vitamin C!

They both together work as a natural antibiotic against cold.

Grate or crush ginger root and add to boiling water. Strain, add honey and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

2. Sage Tea

Sage has diaphoretic, astringent and expectorant properties.

In simple words, it means that sage as a herb when consumed helps to expel phlegm and naturally increase sweating which aids in the faster removal of cold-causing toxins.

Tear few fresh sage leaves about 5 for a cup and either brew or boil it in water. Drink tea with or without any additional natural sweeteners.

3. Clove Tea

Cloves like sage is also an expectorant.

That is it makes it easier to cough up congestion in your lungs, a tea made with cloves can help make breathing easy by opening the sinus!

Take whole cloves and add it to boiling water. Or roughly crush few cloves and brew it for 5 minutes.

4. Cinnamon, Pepper and Honey Tea

Honey has anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-microbial properties.

While cinnamon contains anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Topping it, is nutrients loaded peppercorn which has vitamin C, flavonoids, antioxidants and antibacterial benefits. So there you see just a cup or 3 of this tea is your superhero against cold!

Add whole cinnamon and peppercorn into the water and boil for 6 – 8 minutes. Add honey and drink up.

5. Licorice Tea

While it may not be the easiest spice to get hold of , but this tea does wonders for your cold and hence has made it to the list.

You can buy licorice root from a health store but I have also used natural licorice candy bought off a supermarket shelf while on holiday and made tea with it! ( prevention is the mother of all invention, especially when it comes to a stroppy bunked up 2 years old toddler)

With a delicious naturally sweet flavor, licorice supports the immune system while reducing throat soreness.

Another fantastic herb for calming spasms in your lungs while thinning mucous so it’s easier to cough it out.

Licorice tea the best tea to feed fussy kids!

Cut the roots of licorice or in my case, I chopped the candies and boiled it in water for about 10 minutes. Strain and keep.

6. Mint and Ginger

Mint contains menthol which helps break up congestion and gives you a calming effect, soothing headache and nose block, while the anti-oxidants in ginger beats cold symptoms.

Crush or grate ginger and break few mint leaves, add it to boiling water and let it boil for about 8- 10 minutes.

7. Indian Masala Chai

This is the famous Indian Spice Tea!

A bit different than any of the teas above as it contains a mix of different anti-oxidant and antiviral spices to your liking.

I would avoid adding milk and sugar but instead add honey or palm sugar to an Indian Masala Chai recipe

Is Tea Good For Colds

Although there is not enough study on the benefits of drinking tea for congestion relief but there is enough research to suggest that the drinking herbal teas are good for colds, as the ingredients help to ease some of the discomforts associated with runny nose and sinus pressure.

Cold is a virus, which means antibiotics won’t work on them and reaching for over the counter pills like Ibrufen and paracetamols provide only temporary relief.

Besides, administering medication to kids and toddlers is best avoided.

Those who believe in natural medicine, swear by drinking herbal teas for colds, below are come of the reasons why is tea considered good for cold and congestion:

  • The medicinal properties of the herbs and spices used help support the immune system.
  • The aroma inhaled from freshly brewed steaming herbs and spice tea soothes irritated sinus and lungs.
  • The warm liquid relaxes the inflamed and swollen mucous membrane of the throat.
  • A freshly brewed homemade herbal tea is a delicious medicine that gives children and adults alike, the extra fluid required to fight flu.

I think the benefits of sipping a cup of hot tea are reasons enough to treat the cold with some warm steaming love and fight the flu!

herbal tea for colds

How To Make Homemade Herbal Tea For Colds 

There are two ways you can make herbal teas to treat your cold, either by using the infusion method or the boiling method.

BOILING TEA METHOD

This is where selected herbs and/or spices are boiled in water for about 10 mins.

Method for making 1 cup:

  • Put 1 and a half cup of water in a pan.
  • Add the selected spices and herbs
  • Boil at a low temperature for 5 -10 mins
  • Strain the spices and serve

INFUSION METHOD 

Infusions usually use more herbs or spices than regular herbal teas and are steeped for longer periods of time.

You can use a convenient and handy tea infuser teapot like this one here from Amazon.

If you do not have an infuser teapot then a loose tea infuser also works for infusing single cups of herbal tea.

Check out this funky  Dino tea infuser one I found online.

If you have none of the above then a regular pan with a fitted lid will also do.

Method for making 1 cup:

  • Put the selected herbs and spices in a pan, or the infuser part of the teapot.
  • Pour a cup of boiling hot water in the pot.
  • Cover the pan with a tight lid and infuse the spices for a minimum of 8 – 10 minutes.
  • Strain the herbs or remove the infuser and serve hot or warm.

Tips for Making Herbal Tea at Home

Although the method of making herbal tea at home is quite simple and easy, I suggest following the tips below to get the best flavours and benefits out of the tea:

  • Use whole spices and whole herbs where possible for making herbal tea.
  • Gently pound or crush whole spices in a mortar pestle to release its oils and flavours.
  • Tear or rub herbs between your palms to release flavour before adding them.
  • If the taste of herbal tea is too strong or bitter for your taste, reduce infusion or boiling time and/or add honey or palm sugar. Adding normal sugar does more harm than good if consumed during those mucous stuffed days!   

What are Your Favourite Teas to Beat the Cold?

The above 7 cold bashing spice tea recipes are few that I have tried and tested and can swear by their benefits.

Do you have any of yours that has worked for you and your family? Would love to hear your thoughts on herbal teas.

Please share this article if you think it may help others keep healthy and flu-free this season!

Below is a recap of the 7 best tea for congestion relief

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Ellie Davis
3 years ago

It’s interesting to know that some of the medicinal properties of the herbs will help to boost your immune system. My husband and I are thinking about how to improve our immune system, and we are looking for advice about what to do. I will let him know about your recommendations to choose the best treatment to boost our immune system.

Jen | My Healthy Homemade Life

One of my favorites is licorice tea. I love the flavor and it’s so soothing on a sore throat!

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