What are your favorite herbs to use in a tea?
I'm curgently experimenting with white pine and thyme blends. Flavorings for this blend I like so far are cloves and nutmeg. I tried lemon balm but wasn't excited about that one.

Much as I like the idea, I'm just not much of a hot tea drinker. I do like iced tea, so should probably work more in that direction.

I rarely drink teas, either, but will be interested to read what others might use.

I only drink them during the colder months unless I need something to deal with something ng unexpected or want to try a new herb for taste.
You can steam the herbs into the air and get the benefits. I do this when my husband needs the benefit of herbs. He won't drink tea of any kind.
He will use a lotion or salve but I don't always have one made.

I use teas to thin out my smoothies. Some that I use are dandelion, Hawthorne, ginger, and milk thistle.

Chamomile tea is my bedtime tea.
I don't grow it, but use commercial tea bags.

One of my lifestyle goals is to get control of my insomnia (for whatever reason I seem to wake up at 3 am almost every night). I've tried various bedtime teas, but again, just not much of a tea drinker, so I've never quite gotten a habit established (nor do I notice any particular result). As we speak, I think I'll make up a small jug of it and put it in the frig - maybe taking it as iced tea before bed would be helpful. I could also keep a glass at my nightstand. Worth a whirl...

Besides chamomile you can try these herbs
Lemon balm
Valerian
Lavender
Passion flower
Catnip
Ginger
Purslane
Hawthorne
Bergamot and Rose leaves together

Deb since you aren't fond of tea you might have better luck making a lotion to apply during your getting ready for bed routine.

Mindy, great idea, and I love making lotions. Next in my list. Where would one put the lotion - pressure points?

That would be a good place to start. You can always try somewhere else if those don't work.

I am an avid tea drinker , both herbal and regular.
I have several herbs in my garden for tea

..Lemon balm - because it is good for me , don't really like the taste so it is mixed in other teas
..Lemon grass - a must for me I add it to almost any fruity or citrus type tea. It dries well and grows large so I only grow it every other year.
..Mint - I like chocolate mint best maybe the name I drink this hot and cold and use it as a hair rinse in the summer .
..Chamomile- hot usually mixed again dont care for the flavor alone unless I put a ton of honey in it ,..I also use it for seed starting spray.
... stevia for adding some sweetness to teas

I have more but they would be my most used

I'm not fond of lemon balm as a tea either. It's great in a salve for cold sores and fever blisters though.

Mint... I don't like any of them as a tea on their own but I like spearmint for use in blends
I use peppermint in an oil blend for my hair.
I love lemon verbena by itself.
I use lavender, Rosemary, lemngrass and cloves together.
I like chamomile but not well enough to drink a lot of it.

I am an iced tea drinker. I use regular green tea and chamomile tea bags. While my tea is steeping i add lemon balm spearmint and peppermint then throw in some rose hips. Its really good.In my neck of the woods we dont do cups of tea. We do gallons. I am so excited about the herb forum. I am just getting into herbs but hungry to learn more.

Wouldn't be able to pick just one favorite.
"Jamaica Tea" which is good hot or iced:


For hot tea mix it up; basil, various mints, lemon zest.

My DD will grab random mints and make what she calls miscellaneous mint tea which she pronounces as "Misk Mint Tea"...

For sleep, try making a small pillow filled with dried Lavender flowers; place the pillow near the head of the bed for a more restful night.

Lemongrass
Nettle
Red Clover
Mints
Often, I mix them with black and green tea. I like ice tea mostly with some hot tea also. Mints can also be added directly to a glass of iced tea.

OK
a tea question?
I have seed several herbal teas that have hibiscus , is the photo above the type of hibiscus used?
Has anyone grown any hibiscus for tea?

I have tried the red hardy hisniscus flower in tea by itself. Not crazy about it.
Hibiscus has a component that works like aspirin. It can be used in place of willow as a pain reliever rhat is said to not irritate ulcers.

I like nettle and
am lucky to have it growing wild here.

This post is to answer the question by @gardengus.

The photo I posted is the Hibiscus sabdariffa after the flower dies back. . If allowed to remain on the plant the seeds inside would ripen and could be planted next season. But to make tea we harvest sooner. Only the outer part is used for tea, the calyx, not the seed pod inside.

I don't know what the Tropical Hibiscus contains as I have never used it. Roselle/Jamaica Tea/Sorell/Hibiscus sabdariffa is what I use and it is tasty, bright red and very tangy. Yes, I have grown it here in Savannah.
Here is a photo of the plants I grew in pots just in case I had to bring them in the house when the cold weather arrived.

The bright red calyx is the part used for tea.
The bloom looks like this:

Here is the Wikipedia link showing what I drink; it shows the dried calyx used to make the tea; a photo of a bag of Flor de Jamaica calyces. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

This link explains that "Hibiscus Tea" is made from Hibiscus sabdariffa:
https://www.organicfacts.net/h...

When companies make "Hibiscus Tea" and put it into a box and add some artwork, they often put a "wrong" photo on the box.
Here is an example of misinformation on the internet...
http://lcimag.com/2014/08/hibi...
...the article talks about Hibiscus sabdariffa...but look at the photo! It looks like this one:

C'mon, y'all know that is a tropical Hibiscus bloom...which is NOT what is inside the box. So why do tea companies do that? Because the red Tropical Hibiscus looks prettier than the Roselle/Jamaica Tea/Sorell/Hibiscus sabdariffa!

Video of a cute kid harvesting the pods:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Peeling the calyx from the seed pod can be a pain, very time consuming. Here is my favorite video made by a very inventive woman; she used a broken umbrella handle and invented a fast, easy way to remove the pods while leaving the calyx intact for a better appearance and more salable product (the audio in not in English):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Thank you
I have wondered about that plant . I believe I grew the plant you have there few years back (not hardy here) and was confused about the color so I thought I had the wrong plant . Now I understand it is the red calyx that is used.

Thanks, Greene! I'm pretty sure that's the plant I have! I was wondering if I should bring it indoors tomorrow before the frost, and now I believe I will.
My favorite tea is made from Chocolate Mint. I steep the mint in hot water and pour it over ice. I don't add any sugar, but honey brings out the flavor a bit better.