One of the benefits of the quarantine is that we finally have time. We have time to rest, to cook, and to treat ourselves with a cup of herbal tea, to be sipped while reading a good book.

What are the best herbal teas for the quarantine? Let’s find out.

We all need to unwind. Paradoxically, now that we do not have to run here and there any more – or maybe as a consequence of that – we all share feelings of anxiety, restlessness, worry for our present and for our future.
A cup of calming, relaxing herbal tea is what we need now. We can use the following herbs, individually or mixed together: camomile, tilia (linden), passionflower, hawthorn, lemon balm, orange blossoms.

If you have tachycardia or palpitation, make sure you use hawthorn.
If you have insomnia, indulge in orange blossoms in your infusion.
If you have anxiety-related digestion issues, do not leave lemon balm out. Do not let camomile sit for too long, or it will wake you up instead of calming you down.

During this time it is also a good idea to cut down on caffeine and theine drinks. As you are spending most of your day at home, you do not need the adrenaline boost coming from stimulant drinks. Instead of coffee, black tea and regular green tea (which is rich in theine), consider drinking Kukicha or Hojicha (aka roasted bancha) teas.

These are two types of japanese tea obtained from camelia japonica: the kukicha is obtained from 3-year old stems, stalks and twigs and is completely caffeine-free; the hojicha is obtained from the dried and roasted leaves and has very little theine, which gives it a more intense flavor. Neither of these contain as many antioxidants as regular green tea, but they both contain calcium, iron, niacin and A vitamin. They are also ph regulators and in general they are a very healthy, balanced drink: as a matter of fact, kukicha tea is the recommended drink for all macrobiotic meals, including dinner.

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This article is written by Elisabetta Torricelli, naturopath and owner of the herbal medicine “L’Antologia” in via Molino delle Armi 3 in Milan: https://www.facebook.com/erboristerialantologia/

Elisabetta offers naturopathy consultancy, and sends herbal products by courier to Milan and on request to other areas of Italy.