Herbal Tea History

The first recorded used of herbal tea dates back to the Ayurveda texts of ancient India. These texts are more than 6000 year old and document the use of herbs for curing disease and maintaining health. Herbal teas also have an ancient and motivating history. Herbal tea was consumed by ancient Indians, Sumerians, Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and people in the Middle East. In India, the ancient Ayurveda system used herbal remedies. Medieval Europe used the traditional herbal knowledge of Greeks and Romans. In recent times, herbal tea has again acquired great popularity for its obvious health benefits.

Role of Plants as Healers in Medicine

• Any student of medicine/practitioners will point out that throughout the world; healers have gone into the wilderness to come across plants that can ease the illnesses of mankind, or to generate wonderful drinks for the sheer pleasure of their favors. These healers found a treasure trove of botanical materials that give us breathtaking drinks and restorative medicinal brews. To comprehend the role of herbal teas in medical history, you should know that contemporary science is still carefully evaluating its relationship with the ancient knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
• The thinking of healers is very well-documented and very diverse when it comes to scientific thought, but there have been numerous instances of medical practices being able to serve patients and infrequently better than others medicine. While science has produced the best surgical practices in the world, some practices of herbal tea healing frequently provide the better relief from lesser ailments!

Role of Plants as Alternative Medicine

• Despite the progress in orthodox medicine, interest in alternative medicine, including herbalism, is on the increase in the West-and for 80% of the world herbal medicine is still the only kind to which ordinary person's ready access has.
• Plants have been used for medicinal purposes for as long as history has been recorded. China, India, Egypt, and Assyria appear to have been the places which cradled the use of herbs, but herbalism was common in Europe by medieval times.
• A great variety of plants are used for medicinal treatments. Either the dried plant, or a specific part of it (root, leaves, fruits, flowers, seeds), is formulated into suitable preparations compressed as tablets or made into pills, used to make infusions (teas), extracts, tinctures, etc., or mixed with excipients to make lotions, ointments, creams, etc.
• Activities of herbal medicines are often described in very general terms - such as carminative, laxative, demulcent, antitussive, expectorant, sedative, antiseptic, or astringent.

Use of Plants as Herbal Teas

• Herbal tea has been used in virtually every culture and in every period of history. Folklore passed from one generation to the next preserved the knowledge of the healing properties of herbs.
• In our modern world we have drugs for curing disease, but sometimes these drugs have very extreme effects and can harm the body. Although herbal tea is no substitute for modern medical care, the use of tisanes can be a safe supplement to other forms of therapy.
• Herbal tea also called tisane - can be made from a variety of plants. They can be used individually or combined with other herbs for a huge selection of tastes and medicinal applications.
• Herbal tea is made by infusing or boiling the leaves, flowers, roots, stems, seeds, and bark of various plants. Herbal tea can be served as is or with additional sweeteners such as honey or sugar.
• Despite its many health benefits, herbal tea is used by most people simply for its pleasing taste. Herbal tea is a refreshing, soothing drink that tastes great and offers a healthy alternative to caffeinated drinks like coffee and tea.
• As a caffeine-free drink, herbal tea can be consumed at any time of the day or night. It does not keep us awake the way that caffeine can, and some herbal tea is specifically formulated as a bedtime beverage that promotes sleep.
• Many people like to grow or gather their own herbs for making herbal tea. This can be an economical alternative to buying herbal tea, but care must be used in selecting the proper plants. Some herbs are hard to identify, and it is possible to mistake poisonous plants for beneficial herbs.

Why Herbal Teas?

• Herbal tea proffers a sweetness that is hard to find in nature. The leaves of the Camilla plants have a certain frail flavor unique in the world, though it is frequently improved with the addition of sugar. The classic green tea is certainly astringent and occasionally bitter, although hints of floral and grassy sweetness remain vibrant on the palate, not to mention the lift from the slight dose of caffeine that it contains.
• In distinction, herbal teas present a wide-ranging range of tastes, from mouth-puckering lemony to zesty raspberry. Herbal teas are found all over the globe, spanning the length and breadth of the continents. These are always used both medicinally and as simple beverages. Herbal teas often merge the two purposes, as in the case of chamomile tea, a tea made from a flowering daisy that has very grassy flavors over a nice sweet undertone, and recognized worldwide for an evenly sedative effect.

Herbal tea history - how did herbs exist to human life?

• The gathering of herbs already existed 3000 years ago. Egyptians and Babylonians had used herbs like cinnamon, turmeric, and garlic as offerings to the gods and emperors.
• The uses of herbs and spice in cooking and treating illnesses gradually travel to India, China, and Greek.
• Later the Romans started to expand the knowledge of herbs and spices' uses by writing at 40 books about all kinds of herbs.

Herbal tea history - the role of Romans

• Romans began to build large ships and sailed them across the Indian Ocean for Asia. But when the Roman Empire weakened, the Arab merchants secured this spice trading routes and became monopoly in the spice industry at that time.
• By 11th century, Europeans discovered the potential of herbs and spice trades, took control of this trading routes. Venice then became one of the most bustle trading center in the West. Every merchant had things to sell or people wanted to buy things had to make a trip to Venice.
• Later, France and England also participated in the race for spices. The East India Company of England secured its prominent place in the herbs industry for awhile before it lost its suppliers to other competitors.

America joined the race of importing herbs?

• When America won its independence from England, it also built its own ships (often called clippers) to transport tea, herbs, and spice from the East back to America. Gradually, herbs reached Africa and South America.
• Today, herbs are abundant in quantity as well as varieties. To choose a herbal tea that suit your taste isn't not so difficult. You just have to search around and experiment a bit, I'm sure you will find the herbal tea that you like...