Top 5 Most-Viewed Styles of Herbal Tea on RateTea

Some of the readers of this blog are die-hard tea purists, and have little interest in herbal teas, but to me, herbal teas are actually as interesting as, if not more interesting than tea. Herbal teas, particularly those made from fresh herbs grown in my garden, are actually one of the main driving forces behind my interest in tea, as I explain in my post how I became interested in tea. Accordingly, RateTea has a tremendous amount of information on herbs, in addition to tea.

Note: for explanation of why I use the term "herbal tea" even though some people consider it to be technically incorrect, you can read my post: Is Herbal Tea Tea?



This post highlights the five most-viewed styles of herbal tea on the site:

1. Hibiscus Tea - A tangy herbal infusion with a deep purple-red color, demonstrated in controlled clinical trials to be an effective treatment to lower blood pressure and treat hypertension, hibiscus is a popular herbal drink on its own right, and a major ingredient in many herbal tea blends. This article explains all these things in depth.


2. Tulsi / Holy Basil - This herbal tea is one that I personally find most interesting, which is reflected in the extent of this article. Tulsi is important in Ayurveda and also holds spiritual significance in Hinduism. There is growing scientific evidence for it having a broad range of medicinal uses, including positive impacts on the mind, such as preventing or treating anxiety, Alzheimer's, and depression, as well as other medicinal uses, such as treating type 2 diabetes. And it tastes really good.


3. Rooibos / South African "Red Tea" - Rooibos is sometimes presented as the herbal tea that most closely resembles black tea; it is oxidized in a process much like the process used to create black tea. This article is also pretty extensive, and if you haven't yet read it, I'm pretty sure it contains some things about Rooibos that you are unlikely to know already.


4. Chamomile Tea - A widespread and popular relaxing herb in western tea culture, chamomile is one of those herbs that I also found had a lot to it, when I started researching it. This page includes discussion of different species of chamomile, medicinal uses, and even some potential cautions such as drug interactions and possible allergic reactions.


5. Mint Tea - I've been hoping to at some point break out this post into different pages on the individual types of mint, especially peppermint and spearmint, but possibly others, as they are quite different, but for now I have them lumped into this single article.

What do you think? Surprised? I'm not at all surprised...chamomile, mint, and rooibos are the three most popular pure herbal teas that would come to my mind. Hibiscus is very popular globally, and both hibiscus and tulsi are popular topics for people searching for information related to herbal medicine.