Sage is a common woodland herb that is used in cooking and cosmetics. This soft grayish-green perennial plant is also useful when brewed in tea for its medicinal properties.
Sage tea is made by infusing the dried or fresh leaves of the sage plant (Salvia officinalis). Sage can be easily grown in the garden for homemade tea blends in several growing zones. Sage tea can be used to boost oral health, improve cognitive brain function, and promote wound healing.
Sage is a useful addition to your tea garden once you know how to grow and prepare it. Read on to learn more about this woody perennial herb and how to brew it for tea.
What Is Sage Tea?
Sage tea is a tisane made from the leaves of the sage plant, Salvia officinalis. Of the different herbs commonly grown in the tea garden, sage is one of the easiest teas to grow yourself. Since sage is a perennial herb, growing a patch of it for tea means that you’ll have fresh sage year after year.
What Does Sage Tea Taste Like?
Because sage contains the essential oils camphor and thujone, sage tea has a strong piney flavor that some tea drinkers may find too strong or bitter. To help balance out the sage, lemon and honey are typically added to give the tea a more mellow flavor.
Because sage’s flavor and aroma overpower other milder herbs, it tends to be brewed alone rather than as part of an herbal blend.
Is Drinking Sage Tea Good for You?
Very few people drink sage tea for its flavor, which lends itself better to cooking than brewing. However, the real reason most people drink sage tea is for its medicinal properties. Sage is associated with many positive impacts on bodily health, such as the following:
- Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties: Sage tea is a good tea for people who deal with chronic inflammation in the form of arthritis, gout, and irritable bowel syndrome. The antioxidants and polyphenols in sage are associated with preventing degenerative diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
- Skin care and wound healing: A popular application for sage is as a skin care supplement since the chemicals in sage can help injuries heal faster and keep skin clear of infections and breakouts. Sage has similar benefits when ingested as a tea. The chemicals in sage that promote healing and skin care are camphor and carnosol.
- Blood sugar control: Sage is a good tea to drink for diabetics since it can help control blood sugar levels and acts as a preventative against type 2 diabetes. The reason that sage is useful in controlling blood sugar is because it acts similarly to insulin in the body.
- Improved cognitive function: Along with acting as a mood enhancer and a means to increase concentration, sage also helps protect cognitive function in other ways. The rosmarinic acid in sage can help prevent the degeneration caused by cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.
- Reduction in hot flashes: A preliminary study showed that a daily preparation of fresh sage was effective in reducing hot flashes in menopausal women.
Sage has plenty to offer as a medicinal tea since it can have a positive impact on several of the body’s systems. However, it can also cause side effects in some people.
What Are the Side Effects of Sage Tea?
While sage is generally considered harmless to ingest and is commonly used in cooking, it can cause some mild side effects in people who are sensitive. Side effects of sage tea include the following:
- Mild digestive upset
- Mental agitation
- Wheezing or shortness of breath
- Skin rash or hives
These symptoms can be a sign of allergic reaction to sage. If you experience any negative symptoms after ingesting sage tea, quit drinking the tea and consult a physician to rule out a sage allergy.
How Often Can You Drink Sage Tea?
Studies showed that on average you can drink between 3 to 6 cups of sage tea per day without worrying about ill effects from the naturally occurring essential oils, camphor and thujone.
How to Grow Sage Tea
A benefit of drinking sage tea is that it’s easy to grow common sage at home in your own herbal tea garden. These are the growing conditions for growing sage at home :
- Grows in Zones 5-8 as a perennial and Zone 9 as an annual
- Grows best in medium to full sun
- Grows well in the garden, in containers, or indoors (needs a sunny window)
- Does best in loamy, sandy, well-draining soil
- Drought-tolerant (do not overwater)
- Space plants 24 inches apart to allow for their full-grown size
In the garden, sage can be planted as a companion plant to broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and carrots. The strong aromatic properties of this herb help drive away insect pests and protect vegetables from damage.
How to Brew Sage Tea
As a tisane, sage tea is easy to brew. You can use either dried crushed sage or fresh sage to steep for tea, though fresh sage will not steep as quickly unless the leaves are torn or muddled to access the aromatic oils within.
To brew a pot, follow this easy sage tea recipe :
- Boil water for the tea. The amount of water you’ll boil will depend on how much tea you intend to make, but most people brew around 8-10 ounces of tea at a time per person. Heat the water until boiling. You can use either a pot on the stovetop or an electric kettle.
- Add sage to a teacup or mug. Use two fresh sprigs per cup or a tablespoon of dried sage in a tea infuser.
- Steep the tea. The longer you steep sage in boiling water for tea, the more aromatic and strong the brew will be. The sage should be left in the tea for at least fifteen minutes. Agitating the tea infuser or muddling the fresh leaves can help shorten steeping time without making the tea weaker.
And there you have it! Making a cup of sage tea is as simple as picking some sage and boiling some water. To enhance the taste of the tea, try adding a little lemon juice and fresh honey to soften its sharper pine flavors.
Sage Tea Can Help Protect Your Health and is Easy To Grow
Even if you aren’t crazy about the flavor of sage in tea, there’s no doubt that drinking sage tea regularly can do wonders for your physical and mental health. Try adding this green brew to your rotation of herbal teas to see improvement in both mind and body over time.
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