A Proper Cup of Tea

TEA

6/29/2026

The simplest piece of herbal medicine I know, and the small mistake that stops it working

If you only ever learn one piece of herbalism from me, let it be this one. It costs almost nothing, it asks for no special equipment, and you can do it tonight. It is the humble cup of herbal tea, made properly.

Most of us were taught to make it the way we make ordinary tea. A bag, a quick dunk, two or three minutes, and out it comes. For a builder's brew, that is fine. For herbs, it is the very reason so many people tell me herbal tea "does nothing" for them. They have simply never had a proper cup.

Here is the difference. A real herbal infusion needs three things: enough plant, enough time, and a lid.

So, the method. Take a good handful of fresh herb, or one to two teaspoons of dried, and put it in a mug or a small pot. Pour over water that has just come off the boil. Then, and this is the part almost everyone misses, cover it. A saucer over the top of the mug is perfect. Leave it covered for ten to fifteen minutes, longer if you can, then strain and drink.

Why the lid? Because so much of a plant's character, and a good deal of its benefit, lives in its aromatic oils. Those are the very things rising up in the fragrant steam. Leave the cup open and you are quite literally watching the best of it drift off into the kitchen. Cover it, and the steam gathers on the saucer and falls back in. Nothing is lost.

For this time of year, I would reach for lemon balm. It grows almost too enthusiastically in a Portuguese garden, and probably in yours too if you have ever planted it. Crush a leaf and it smells of lemon sherbet and high summer. It has long been used to settle a busy mind and lift low spirits, and on a long, bright day it makes a gentle, uplifting cup. If you grow your own, all the better. Pick it just before you need it.

One honest word, because honesty matters to me more than a tidy story. Herbs are gentle, but they are not nothing. If you take regular medication, or you are pregnant, please do check before you make any herb a daily habit, as even kindly plants can have opinions about the other things in your system. When in doubt, ask someone who knows.

This is the part of herbal medicine I love most. It is yours. Your hands, your kitchen, your own quiet act of looking after yourself. No appointment required. The smallest sovereign thing.

Next week I want to talk about something a little closer to the bone: what it means to be told there is nothing wrong with you, when your body is quite clearly saying otherwise.

Until then, feet up and put the kettle on.

Bo x

Bo-tanics Aroma-Herbary

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