Some amazing and flavorful immune boosting tea options for your everyday vitamin-C and antioxidant dosage. I have a variety of fruity, earthy and spice-based traditional immune-boosting tea blends and tea recipes here. Enjoy sipping!
I was never a chai lover and maybe I never will be. Reason: dairy! My never-ending a love-hate relationship with milk is the major reason behind my not-so-friendly relationship with chai. That’s why I love my tea - whether green or Pu'er or even oolong. You name it and I have every tea variety in my pantry. Unlike my coffee affinity where I am a purist with my flavors, my venture with tea is very versatile. I customize my tea in the best and unusual possible way. Best because I always focus on the flavor and unusual because I add ingredients that are commonly not in use while making teas.
I am an avid tea collector. People who know me closely, and have seen my pantry, must know how many varieties of teas are stored in my little tea shelf. I have those gorgeous looking Bavarian mint, fragrant chrysanthemum varieties, and even those spiced tea blends. The ones I am sharing today and entirely homemade blends and you can actually store them for months and make tea whenever you want a cup.
These homemade tea blends are immune-boosting, because of their rich and healthy ingredients. In some, I have the organic green tea leaves whereas, in a few blends, I have mixed the organic Pu'er tea. You can add oolong, sencha or black tea based on your preference.
Types of Immune Boosting Tea:
There are literally endless varieties of tea options that can actually boost your immune system. Tea, especially the green, oolong, and sencha varieties, have a high percentage of antioxidants and active plant compounds that help in boosting the immune system.
Featured here are:
Pea Flower Tea w/ Lemongrass & Green Tea:
This warming and vibrant colored tea has a blend made from dried pea flowers, green tea leaves, and fragrant lemongrass. Mix equal amounts of tea leaves and lemongrass with two parts of pea flowers for the perfect tea blend. Use a teaspoon of the blend in a tea infuser and brew it in hot water for a minute for the right flavor. Sweeten this tea with stevia or maple syrup or honey.
Hibiscus Oolong Tea:
Sour and sweet - this red colored hibiscus tea is my personal favorite. The dried hibiscus flowers add the right amount of tang to the tea whereas the oolong leaves add depth in flavor with a hint of sweetness. For a tea aficionado like me, this is one perfect tea blend. I add a pinch of stevia to sweeten this tea and enjoy it hot or cold. Both hibiscus and oolong are rich in plant compounds, pigments and antioxidants perfect for our body. Mix both the ingredients in 2:1 version with a higher amount of the dried hibiscus flower. Steeping time is 1-1.5 minutes for a rich and tangy flavor.
Chamomile & Lavender Green Tea:
Both chamomile and lavender have calming properties and known to improve sleep. I highly suggest taking this tea in the late evening for a restful sleep. Dried lavender flowers are easily available in most grocery stores across the USA. Mix equal amounts of both ingredients and ¼ of green tea leaves for a perfect blend. The brew time is 2-minutes for this tea blend.
Black Tea w/ Turmeric, Ginger & Tulsi:
Tulsi or holy basil has cold-fighting and immune boosting properties. Turmeric, with its pigment and anti-inflammatory effects, acts as an immune-supporting herb too. The warming ginger has a positive effect on our digestive system and also has antibacterial properties. Unlike the other tea blends, this tea has a longer brewing time. Bring water to boil in a saucepan and add the tea blend when water boils vigorously. Turn the heat off and allow the tea and herb flavors to infuse in the water for about 3-4 minutes. If you want, you can add milk after the brew time and boil the concoction to get the desired consistency of the chai tea. Sweeten this tea with sugar or any sugar-free sweetener of choice while the mixture boils. Strain and serve the chai hot.
How To Make Immune Boosting Tea?
The ingredients for the immune boosting tea are outlined below.
Ingredients:
Pea Flower Tea: 1 cup dried pea flowers, ½ cup green tea leaves and ½ cup dried lemongrass
Hibiscus Oolong Tea: 1 cup of dried hibiscus flowers, ½ cup of oolong tea
Chamomile Lavender Tea: ½ cup of dried chamomile, ½ cup of lavender flowers, ¼ cup of green tea leaves
Turmeric Ginger & Tulsi Tea: ½ cup of black tea leaves, 1 tablespoon of ground turmeric or 2 tablespoon of dried turmeric strips, ½ cup of dried tulsi leaves, 1 tablespoon of dried ginger powder
Other ingredients: Boiling water as required Sweetener to taste (honey, maple syrup or stevia)
Method of Making Immune Boosting Tea:
- Take any of the tea blends in a tea infuser or in a cup.
- Add hot water and brew/steep as per the suggested time.
- If not using a tea infuser, strain the tea into a fresh cup and add sweetener of choice.
- Serve hot.
- Brew Time:
- Pea Flower Green Tea: 1-minute
- Hibiscus Oolong Tea: 1-1.5 minutes
- Chamomile Lavender Tea: 2-minutes
Turmeric Ginger Tulsi Tea: 5-7 minutes in boiling water for making chai or 3-4 minutes for black tea
Immune Boosting Tea
Ingredients
Pea Flower Tea
- 1 cup dried pea flowers
- ½ cup green tea leaves
- ½ cup dried lemongrass
Hibiscus Oolong Tea
- 1 cup of dried hibiscus flowers
- ½ cup oolong tea
Chamomile Lavender Tea
- ½ cup of dried chamomile
- ½ cup of lavender flowers
- ¼ cup green tea leaves
Turmeric Ginger & Tulsi Tea
- ½ cup of black tea leaves
- 1 tablespoon ground turmeric or 2 tablespoon of dried turmeric strips
- ½ cup dried tulsi leaves
- 1 tablespoon dried ginger powder
Other Ingredients
- Boiling water as required
- Sweetener to taste (honey, maple syrup or stevi
Instructions
- Take any of the tea blends in a tea infuser or in a cup.
- Add hot water and brew/steep as per the suggested time.
- If not using a tea infuser, strain the tea into a fresh cup and add sweetener of choice.
- Serve hot.
Brew Time
- Pea Flower Green Tea: 1-minute
- Hibiscus Oolong Tea: 1-1.5 minutes
- Chamomile Lavender Tea: 2-minutes
- Turmeric Ginger Tulsi Tea: 5-7 minutes in boiling water for making chai or 3-4 minutes for black tea
Ayngelina
Growing up in Canada I love tea, but have been experimenting more with non-black varieties. The pea flower looks too pretty not to try!
Angela
What a great assortment of teas! I can't wait to try them. I have been wanting to try turmeric tea for a while. This post is the push I needed.
Farah
So needed now!! And such vibrant and beautiful photos
Carrie Robinson
Definitely keeping this handy! I always drink a cup of warm tea in the afternoon, so why not try one of these immunity boosting ones? 😉
Liz
This tea sounds delicious! And obviously these days, I'll take any boost to my immune system that I can get! Thanks for this idea~
Elena
What a lovely find! I would love to try them all especially the blue one.