Herbal tea infusions are so nourishing.
They’re a wonderful way to help support your body and get a good dose of readily available vitamins and minerals. They count towards your daily water intake too!
During the colder months I like to support my body with warming and immune boosting herbs. One thing I love about this tea is that my Little Love and Tiny Love will drink it and really enjoy it. They’ll drink a full mug, and even more if I add a reusable straw to it.
My favorite herbs to use to support the immune system are elderberries, nettle, red raspberry leaf, oatstraw, astragalus root and cinnamon.
Elderberries are known to help boost and support the immune system. They’re high in vitamin A, C, and bioflavonoids. Red raspberry leaf and oatstraw provide calcium, manganese, iron and selenium. Nettle is highly nutritious and is full of usable vitamin K + lots of minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, selenium, potassium and zinc. Cinnamon provides a warming effect + supports digestion. Last, but not least, one of my favorites – astragalus root which is known for helping support the immune system.
Elderberry Herbal Tea
Elderberry Herbal Tea
Yield 1 quart
This recipe is measured in parts so you can make up a batch of the dried herbs and store the rest for later use.
Ingredients
- 2 parts dried elderberries
- 1 part red raspberry leaf
- 1 part nettle
- 1 part oatstraw
- 1-2 astragalus root strips
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 cups filtered water
Instructions
- Combine all dry herbs in a medium size bowl or mason jar. Stir to combine and store extra herbs in an airtight glass mason jar.
- Bring water to a boil in a medium size saucepan or tea kettle. Remove from heat.
- Add 4 tablespoons of the herb mixture, 1-2 astragalus root strips and 1 cinnamon stick {1 tablespoon herb mixture per 1 cup water} to a quart mason jar. Pour hot water over herbs, COVER and allow to steep for a minimum of 30 minutes to 4 hours for maximum benefit. The longer you steep it, the stronger the flavor will be.
- Strain tea. Reheat tea if needed to desired temperature.
- Serve as is or sweeten with raw honey or unrefined sweetener of choice.
Notes
Store extra tea in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Drink 1-4 cups daily.
Are you on Pinterest? I pin lots of yummy real food recipes + more there. I have a board just for Beverages too. Come follow along.
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Disclaimer: ALL information you read on Recipes to Nourish is purely for informational and educational purposes only. I love to share and share with love, but I am not a health care practitioner. Information is not intended to treat, cure or prevent any disease. Statements within this site have not been approved by the FDA, meaning information and statements regarding health claims on this blog have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. All blog posts are solely my personal experiences and opinions and should not be interpreted as an attempt to offer a medical opinion. If you have questions about food, diet, nutrition, natural remedies or holistic health, please do your own research and consult with your health care practitioner. For more information please see all of my disclaimers and disclosures.
Sounds delicious. One of these days I might be able to pick my elderberry plant–that is if I beat the bird from eating the flowers!
That’s awesome that you have one! Little critters and animals always seem to want to get some too. 🙂
Yummy blend! My girls would love this! Thank you!
I love that your girls love herbal tea infusions too 🙂 xo
Yum! I’ve tried most of these herbs separately, but not together. What a fun idea!
They are all wonderful herbs, I love them together too 🙂
I have all of these on hand except the astragalus. I have elderberry powder, but assume I can infuse the powder. Looks so inviting!
I hope you get to make some 🙂 I have never used the powder, but I’m sure it would work the same way.
Powdered herbs will rarely work the same way as fresh or frozen elderberries.
For the best results, it will be better to purchase whole berries.
Thanks Carol 🙂
I love my elderberries! I like the other herbals you included in this tea. Always looking for new ways to use nettles.
I love them too 🙂 So nourishing.
I’ll have to try this next time we’re starting to feel a bit under the weather. We make elderberry syrup but I’ve never tried elderberry tea.
I love elderberry syrup too 🙂
I love that recipe, its nutrition and how PRETTY the dry herbs look in the dish together.
I’m so glad you think herbs look pretty too 🙂 Nature’s beauty.
Beautiful blend! Pinned.
Thank you Linda! 🙂
We love our elderberries. What a great blend.
Thanks Jess 🙂
A fantastic blend for the cold and flu season!
Thanks Sylvie 🙂 I love it.
I’ve never had this before but I’m interested in trying.
I hope you get to. I love herbal tea infusions.
I just have atragalus powder – can I use? And if so, approx. how much?
I have never used the powder before, so I’m not sure. You can make the tea without it 🙂
Hi Emily,
I just hopped over from Real Food Fridays! I’m so glad you shared elderberry tea! Just in time for cold and flu season! I can’t wait to make this recipe!
Thanks for stopping by Deborah! Have a wonderful weekend 🙂
Hi Emily,
Thanks for providing this wonderful herbal tea recipe and providing all the health benefits. It sounds quite tasty. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays. Pinned & tweeted!
Thanks Marla! 🙂
Hi Emily – Thanks so much for sharing this with the Let’s Get Real party.
Thank you! 🙂
I tried the blend and it is delicious- thank you for sharing!
I was wondering if I can give this tea to my two years old.
I have also a one year old baby. What is the minimum age for this wonderful tea.
I read that you give to your kids but I wasn’t sure on their ages.
Thanks!!! And let me know
Oh that’s wonderful to hear! Thanks for sharing that with me. xo Yes! You can for sure, my youngest loves this tea and had it all the time when she was 2, she’s 3 now. For a one year old, my biggest caution would be no honey for sure. These are very gentle herbs that I felt comfortable sharing with my older baby, but that’s my own personal experience. If there are any sensitivities to oats or cinnamon, I would avoid or omit those ingredients. Aviva Room, MD is also an herbalist and has wonderful information on safety of herbs with babies, I would check that out to see what fits for you. I LOVE her books for caring for little ones, if you haven’t seen them, I highly recommend them – especially Naturally Health Babies & Children.
I’m wondering if it’s ok to omit the oat straw as I’m gluten free and very sensitive or do you have a replacement suggestion I could use? Maybe Burdock root? Wasn’t sure what it added to the mix as I’ve never had oat straw…
Thanks,
Susan
Hi Susan, I completely understand the concern. I have a true gluten sensitivity too. You can omit the herb for sure if that gives you more piece of mind, that’s what I would do. I did some research about using oat straw and talked to my herbalist friend about it and for me I’m comfortable using it because it doesn’t seem to react the same way. The tea will still be delicious without it 🙂
Thank you 🙏 looking forward to trying this ASAP! Just got all the teas needed & subscribed to your site. Really enjoyed the immune boosting tea… it’s very sweet for me. Will use 1/2 the licorice root next time. I’m adding water to it now like it’s a concentrate & it’s delish! Great gift to my friends & family for the holidays…Thank you!
Hi Susan, that’s great! I’m happy to hear you’re enjoying the tea. 🙂 Which one are you taking about that has licorice root? I don’t recall any recipes on my site that have licorice root.