Juniper berry tea is part of the family of herbal teas that have been consumed for hundreds of years to provide a variety of medicinal benefits.
This healthy herbal tea is recommended by healthcare practitioners to help treat several illnesses and has been used since the time of the ancient Greeks.
Juniper berry tea is made by combining hot water and smashed fresh or dried juniper berries. Keep reading to learn more about how to make your own juniper berry tea at home and the health benefits associated with it.
What Is Juniper Berry Tea?
Juniper berry tea is an herbal tea that uses the essential oil from juniper plants, or Juniperus communis, to provide health benefits. These plants are found in North America.
Juniper berries are found in the seed cones of female trees of the juniper tree. This evergreen shrub contains volatile oils that are valuable in traditional medicine practices.
Recent studies have shown that essential oil from organic juniper berries can aid with stomach problems, bacterial infections, parasites, and more.
How to Make Juniper Berry Tea
The process of making juniper berry tea is a simple one. To make it, you’ll need the following supplies :
- Dried or fresh juniper berries
- Water (heated to boiling)
- Tea infuser
To make juniper berry tea, place the fresh berries or dried berries in the tea infuser, then place the juniper berries in a mug of water that has been heated to the boiling point.
Leave the berries in the hot water to steep for fifteen minutes or longer.
The longer you steep the juniper berries in the tea, the stronger the juniper tea will taste from the released essential oil in the berries.
The berries’ coloring will give the tea a darker tint depending on how strongly it is steeped.
How Many Juniper Berries Are Needed for Juniper Berry Tea?
One tablespoon of dried juniper berries or two tablespoons of fresh muddled juniper berries is a good amount to use when making juniper tea.
More or fewer juniper berries can be used depending on how strong you want your cup of tea to taste.
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How to Prepare Juniper Berries for Juniper Berry Tea
Whether you use dried juniper berries or fresh juniper berries, it’s a good idea to smash the berries up with a mortar and pestle or another heavy blunt kitchen tool.
Grinding up the juniper berries helps release the essential oil that they contain, making your juniper berry tea more potent.
What Does Juniper Berry Tea Taste Like?
Juniper berries have sharp notes of citrus and pine that make juniper a popular flavoring agent in botanical gins.
Juniper berry tea has a unique spicy and sharp flavor profile that is unique and not easily replicated by other herbal tea blends.
How Are Juniper Berries Used?
Along with being packaged in tea bags to make juniper berry tea, juniper oil is also used in aromatherapy diffusers and can be added to tea as an essential oil rather than whole berries.
Whichever way you consume juniper berry tea, these berries are an excellent way to help maintain good health.
Health Benefits of Juniper Berry Tea
The main reason most people drink juniper berry tea is to take advantage of its various medicinal purposes. Below you’ll read about some of the potential health benefits of drinking this herbal tea.
Juniper Berry Tea and Heart Health
Juniper berry tea contains chemical compounds called flavonoid antioxidants that have been associated with reduced incidence of heart-related disorders in current studies.
Along with protecting heart health, antioxidants eliminate free radicals that can cause degenerative diseases that lead to stroke, cancer, and diabetes.
Juniper berry tea lowers blood cholesterol levels, which in turn puts less strain on the circulatory system and results in less incidence of related disorders.
Juniper berry tea also helps reduce blood sugar levels, which can prevent diabetes. Since diabetes puts extra strain on the heart, this helps to protect both metabolic and heart health.
Antibacterial Properties of Juniper Berry Tea
Juniper berry tea contains both natural antiseptic and antibacterial properties that make this herbal tea an excellent choice for fighting off bacterial infections.
According to current research, juniper berry tea can help prevent and treat gastrointestinal infections as well as infections in the urinary tract and kidneys.
Juniper Berry Tea and Urinary Tract Health
One of juniper berry tea’s most popular applications is as a treatment for the urinary tract. Juniper berry oil is a natural diuretic that increases the rate of kidney filtration, helping to flush out and detoxify the kidneys.
Regular consumption of juniper berry tea can help prevent urinary tract infections as well as more serious ailments like kidney stones.
The benefits of juniper berries are especially useful if you suffer from inflammatory kidney disease due to the anti-inflammatory agents contained in juniper oil.
Juniper Berry Tea and Stomach Ailments
For people with digestive trouble, juniper berry tea can be used to treat several kinds of problems in the stomach.
The antibacterial properties in juniper berry tea can help combat bacterial infections of the digestive system.
The tea can also be used to treat intestinal parasites.
Does Juniper Berry Tea Have Side Effects?
According to the Food and Drug Administration, juniper berries are mostly harmless for consumption. In some cases, ingesting juniper berry tea might lead to stomach irritation and other minor symptoms.
If you’re worried about any potential negative side effects while drinking juniper berry tea, be sure to contact your healthcare provider and confirm that juniper berry tea is safe for you to drink according to your medical history.
Juniper Berry Tea Has Many Medicinal Properties
Even though it might not be as well known as some other types of herbal tea, juniper berry tea is a practical herbal tea to keep in your home apothecary, especially if you’re prone to stomach or urinary tract problems.
With just some dried berries and hot water, you’ll be well on your way to making an herbal tea that can protect your health on multiple levels.
While you’re out foraging for plants, why not also gather the supplies you’ll need for pine needle tea, another infusion made from a conifer.
