Calming Tea: 7 Best ingredients and Flavors

For centuries, people have found comfort in a warm mug of herbal tea. Whether for medicinal effects or just for the enjoyment of a warm beverage, herbal teas have a long history. 

While most of us can attest to the soul-touching pleasure of a warm beverage when you’re having a cozy, quiet morning or bedding down for the night, some people believe that herbal teas can take it a step farther and contain certain properties that can help improve your mental health.

So, let’s spill the tea on herbal teas. Here are the best ingredients and flavors to look for and stock up on for colder months or the “Self Care Sunday” dates you have scheduled with yourself. Knowing the best ingredients can help you decide what herbal teas offer the benefits you’re looking for to help your mental health or as a gift for someone you care about.

Just remember that what works for one person isn’t guaranteed to work for someone else. Finding an herbal tea or a blend that you like and feel benefits you may take some taste-testing and time.  When you consider the benefits of tea, you may find that it’s suited to you.

Remember to discuss adding anything new to your routine, such as herbs, with your doctor because interactions are possible. You may also find that other options like supplements fit your lifestyle or tastes better.

What Are The Benefits of Tea?

Managing stress and soothing anxious feelings requires a layered approach. There isn’t any solution that will eliminate stress, but techniques can help take the edge off of how you’re feeling healthily. 

Some common pieces of a balanced approach to stress management include:

• Establishing a sleep schedule and routine
• Eating healthy
• Exercising regularly
• Meditation
• Calming supplements
• Deep breathing techniques
• Herbal teas
• Yoga
• Time management
• Organization

Herbal teas can be a complementary part of maintaining balance, relaxing, and managing your feelings that come from stress and anxiety. In addition to the relaxing feeling that can come from a warm cup of herbal tea, some people partake in herbal teas to help them with:

• Improving their sleep quality
• Soothing digestion troubles
• Easing menstrual cramps
• Maintain healthy blood pressure levels
• Ease discomfort from nausea and morning sickness

Seeking medicinal effects from plants and herbs has an ancient history and comes from centuries of application to help soothe discomforts and promote good health. Based on those life lessons, some herbs outshine others. Here are some of the best ingredients and flavors.

Chamomile

Scientific name: Matricaria chamomilla

Chamomile is probably the most famous herbal tea. It is particularly popular for soothing anxious feelings, helping with sleep, and quieting the mind. 

Chamomile is a member of the daisy family, and it has earned its rank over the years as a soothing herbal tea. According to a modern study, it’s shown promise at easing anxious feelings for some who have frequent anxious feelings. However, it seems to work best when used regularly.

As a tea, it is a great way to end a hard day or to help alleviate discomfort from an upset stomach. You may also find it tastier as part of an herbal blend. 

Peppermint 

Scientific name: Mentha Piperita 

Peppermint is a delicious and classic flavor. You might associate this flavor with the winter holidays, but this classic plant is not just popular for its flavor. It’s also popular for its aroma. 

The aroma of peppermint has shown promise in studies for helping enhance memory, alertness, and information processing. It’s also a calming scent that can have a positive impact on your mood.

As a tea, peppermint can help soothe your stomach, comfort you with anxious feelings, and invigorate you when you feel tired. 

Lemon Balm 

Scientific name: Melissa Officnalis

Lemon balm is a lemon-scented mint plant. It works to help elevate mood, soothe restlessness, and promote better sleep quality. 

Lemon balm seems to be effective because it boosts the gamma-aminobutyric acid the brain makes and helps relieve stress.

As a tea, lemon balm has a refreshing taste that can help promote sleep and an elevated mood before bedtime.

Passionflower 

Scientific name: Passiflora Incarnata

Passionflower is originally from South America and the Southern United States. The flower has been used quite commonly for medicinal purposes. 

For a long time, passionflower has been used to improve sleep and help alleviate the discomfort of anxiousness. 

As a tea, passionflower can help the tea drinker drift off to sleep, and it may even help soothe the occasional upset stomach. 

Holy Basil 

Scientific name: Ocimum Sanctum

Holy basil is also referred to as tulsi, and it is related to basils from Europe and Thailand.

Research is still ongoing for this herb, but it’s shown some promise at supporting the minimization of anxious feelings. It’s also used on occasion for stomach pain, coughs, and joint pain. 

As a tea, Holy Basil has a flavorful and aromatic taste. 

Ginseng 

Scientific name: Panax Ginseng

Ginseng is heralded by many for its uses. It’s been suggested that ginseng can help with all sorts of ailments. While it isn’t a cure-all, ginseng does have research support that suggests it does have some benefits.

Ginseng can help soothe away stress and help reduce its effects, and it may help minimize the feelings of fatigue. 

As a tea, ginseng is relatively bitter, and it may take a spoonful of sugar to help swallow it down.

Rhodiola 

Scientific name: Rhodiola Rosea

Rhodiola has typically been used to aid in the management of stress. This flowering plant from the arctic regions of Europe, North America, and Asia has a bitter taste with a subtle sweetness.  

As a tea, it has a reputation for helping to fight fatigue and support an overall sense of well-being. It is still being researched so we can better understand its uses.

What Can You Do If Herbal Tea Isn’t Your Cup of Tea?

Not everyone is destined to be a tea drinker. Thankfully, unlike people centuries and even decades ago, you don’t have to force yourself to like herbal teas to add the ingredients into your life in an easy way. 

For example, the Complete Calm System has gummy supplements for the daytime and bedtime to support elevating your mood, helping you fall asleep and stay asleep, and calming your mind with many of these ingredients as part of their formula. 

You can have your cup of tea in a simple, tasty gummy each day for the benefits associated with the key ingredients of this convenient supplement.

Summary 

Herbal teas have been a comforting part of human existence for centuries. Many have been believed to have medicinal properties from their history of use. We can more clearly understand why the herbal teas that seem to work are effective in modern times. 

In addition to understanding the effects of certain herbal teas, we’ve also learned how to make them taste better and even put them in a more palatable form like a gummy supplement for those that don’t particularly care for hot tea.

Sources:

Historical review of medicinal plants usage | ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 

Long-term chamomile | pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov