Herbal Tea: Loose Herbs, Ready Blends and Brewing Gear

Eighty-one products sounds like a lot until you see that the range splits into three piles: single loose herbs, ready-made blends, and the infusers and mugs you brew them in. Decide what you want the cup to do first, then work backwards to the herb.

Not Really Tea At All, and That's the Point

Proper tea comes from one plant, Camellia sinensis, which is where Gunpowder Tea, Japanese Sencha and Earl Grey come from. Everything else on this smartshop shelf is an infusion: flowers, leaves, roots and barks dropped in hot water because people have been doing exactly that for centuries. Damiana was a Maya tonic long before Coca-Cola's inventor put it in a wine. Maca has been grown high in the Andes for at least 2000 years. Chamomile ended up in half the kitchen cupboards in Europe. None of it carries caffeine unless the herb itself brings it, which is why guarana and Yerba Maté belong in a completely different drawer from Sweet Dreams Tea Blend.

Quiet Evenings, Amazonian Barks and Blends You Don't Have to Weigh

The wind-down herbs are the biggest group: Valerian, Passionflower, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Skullcap and Wild Lettuce, the European cousin of damiana with just as long a folk history. Then come the South American plant teas, including Bobinsana as 20g of dried leaves, Mulungu as 80g of bark, Catuaba, Clavo Huasca and Sinicuichi. If measuring isn't your thing, our blends arrive balanced: Good Morning Herbs (lemongrass, hibiscus blossom, spearmint, liquorice root), Daydreaming Tea (blackberry leaf, lemon balm, mistletoe, rosehip, yarrow, mountain tea, rose petals) and Hot Shot Tea. Good Morning Herbs smells sharply of lemongrass and mint the second the water hits it, and the hibiscus stains the cup deep pink. Watch out if you drink pots of it, though, since it contains liquorice root, which isn't recommended in high doses for anyone with high blood pressure.

Water Temperature, Steeping Time and Grams Per Cup

Roots and barks want a proper simmer with the lid on, so the essential oils stay in the pot instead of leaving with the steam. Flowers and soft leaves want hot water off the boil and a shorter soak, or they turn bitter and grassy. Here's what the traditional preparations actually look like for the most-asked-about herbs.

Filters, Infusers and the Mug You'll Actually Reach For

Loose herb needs something to hold it back. The Tea and Herb Infuser handles leaf and flower, the Empty Tea Filter (T-Bar) lets you build your own bags, and the Stainless Steel Mesh Tea Filter with Handle sits over a single cup. A Metal Measuring Spoon saves you guessing, and the Metal Bombilla is there for Yerba Maté. Powders are the exception: calamus stirs in rather than steeps, so expect grit at the bottom of the cup no matter which filter you own. If it's a caffeine hit you're after rather than a slow herbal soak, Jetpackkratom Chai Tea or Gunpowder Tea will get you there faster than any of the flower blends. One practical tip: brew a new herb on its own the first time, note the taste and the steep, and only then start mixing it into a blend.