A Step-by-Step Journey to Perfect Bay Leaf Tea

In today’s tutorial, I will show you how to make bay leaf tea from scratch. We will be using a couple of simple ingredients including fresh bay leaves. This is a super nutritious tea that you can enjoy on its own or with many accompaniments.

And this is also a very versatile recipe. You can play around with additional add-in ingredients, the amount of tart and sweet flavors you help develop, and, of course, the strength of the overall flavor.

What Do You Need To Make Laurel Leaf Tea?

Laurel tea, more commonly known as bay leaf tea, is a popular herb-based tea found in several different cuisines. Most notably, this tea is popular in Indian and Mexican cuisine. You can also find some recipes from the Mediterranean regions where this leaf originated.

Now, many people go searching far and wide for the “ultimate” guide on how to make bay leaf tea. In reality, this is one of the easiest loose-leaf teas you can make at home!

All you need are bay leaves and water. That’s it! I incorporated some fresh mint leaves and ginger into my recipe. They add an extra kick and a refreshing undertone. But, they are completely optional.

Then, you can also serve your homemade tea with sweetener and milk if you’d like. Again, these are optional and completely up to your personal tea-drinking preference.

Is This Tea Good For You?

Bay leaves are a surprisingly nutritious herb. Thus, there are many benefits you can get from drinking this tea.

This tea is very high in vitamins A, B6, and C. All of these are associated with boosting your immune system.

Then, it can also help aid with digestion and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

All in all, it’s very healthy. But, as I always say, everything in moderation is good.

Optional Add-Ins: How To Make Bay Leaf Tea 

There is an endless amount of ingredients to add to your boiling bay leaves. Most of them are aromatics and spices.

Some spices that will work great in a tea include black pepper, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom, and fennel. Cinnamon will also work depending on what other ingredients are present.

If you want to create an even more herbaceous tea, try a combination of thyme and rosemary.

You can also use some lemon zest or juice with this bay leaf tea recipe. And if you want the citrus flavors without the acidity, try oranges instead.

Tips And Tricks On How To Make Bay Leaf Tea 

• Using fresh bay leaves for tea is loads better than their dried alternative. They will have more nutrients, a better flavor, and give the tea a better color too. But, if you can only find dried bay leaves, that’s perfectly fine too.
• If you use dried crushed bay leaves, place them into a tea strainer ball. It will make it much easier to remove any smaller pieces floating around. You even get large tea balls that can hold the ingredients together.
• The bay leaves have to boil on their own for 3 minutes before you add any other ingredients. Generally, tea shouldn’t be made with boiling water. But, because bay leaves are so robust, they first need to be softened before they are steeped.
• Steeping tea for a long time can be nice to some people. It helps deepen the flavor a lot! But, it also brings out some tart flavors in the herbs. So, if you don’t like the bitterness of herbal teas, don’t steep it for longer than 5 minutes.
• If you do want a stronger flavor without steeping the tea longer, you can simply add more leaves. Don’t add more water.

FAQs

How do you serve this herbal tea?

This bay leaf tea won’t pair very well with milk, especially if you boil it for quite some time and don’t drink it very sweet. But, it will still benefit from a spoonful of honey or other sweeteners. This tea will go well with a variety of meals, especially very heavily seasoned ones.

You can try it alongside my Mexican Steak With Potatoes Recipe, or this Mexican Potato Noodle Soup. Trust me: it goes together great!

Is bay leaf tea good for weight loss?

In a sense, yes, it is. While it won’t necessarily make you lose weight directly, bay leaf tea can aid digestion. It helps your digestive tract absorb more nutrients more efficiently, which ultimately helps you gain weight much slower. 

How much bay leaf tea is safe to drink?

Many dieticians say it is okay to drink bay leaf tea twice daily. There aren’t any extremely hazardous nutrients that cause major side effects with the amount you are ingesting. But don’t overdo it.

Are there any side effects to drinking bay leaf tea?

Luckily, there aren’t any major side effects from drinking too much bay leaf tea. But, an excessive amount can cause drowsiness or sleepiness. This is especially dangerous when you take sleeping medications. So again, never consume anything in excess. For bay leaf tea, two cups a day is enough.

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