Anti-Anxia-Tea with Lemon Balm
A delicious blend of soothing herbs, this tea with lemon balm is the perfect way to end a stressful, hectic day. It gently relaxes, improves sleep, and eases digestion. Five more lemon balm recipes are included for more ideas!
While lemon balm is extremely versatile and delicious in a host of recipes, one of my favorite ways to enjoy it is in a simple herbal infusion. Combined with a few other soothing herbs, you end up with an herbal tea that’s perfect for the end of the day!
A warm drink like an herbal infusion is such a great way to melt away the stress from a busy day. During the day, I love sipping on my coffee. Once the sun starts setting, though, it’s time to get the herbal tea brewing!
An infusion is a more technical term for an herbal tea. In an infusion, herbs are steeped in freshly boiled water for 10-15 minutes to extract both their flavor and their medicinal qualities. Some infusions, like this one, are best infused while covered so that any volatile compounds stay in the infusion instead of evaporating into the air.
Lemon balm is a fantastic herb for a stress-relieving tea because it gently relaxes the nervous system and also soothes digestion, putting both minds and tummies at ease. Chamomile, lavender, and catnip add to the calm with their relaxant and/or mild sedative properties. The herbs in this blend create a flavor that is mild, enjoyable, and even great served cold.
The next time you feel stress and anxiety wanting to take to over, brew up a cup of this calming lemon balm tea, take some time to pray, and focus your mind on the blessings of God.
Please note that this tea is not a substitute for prescribed anxiety medications and is not intended to treat chronic anxiety. If you are suffering from frequent, persistent anxiety and/or anxiety attacks, it’s really important to talk with a doctor about treatment options. Options certainly include herbs and other holistic measures, but professional insight is warranted.
Anti-Anxia-Tea with Lemon Balm
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Ingredients
Measuring herbs by weight gives greater accuracy since volume can vary so much between herbs. A simple digital kitchen scale is a great tool to use when making your own herbal blends.
- 10 g dried lemon balm leaves
- 5 g dried chamomile flowers
- 5 g dried lavender buds
- 5 g dried catnip
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients and store in a glass jar away from heat and light. The blend can be briefly pulsed in a food processor or clean coffee and spice grinder to make the herbs more uniform in size.
- To brew the infusion, place 1-2 teaspoons of the blend in a mesh tea ball or muslin tea bag and pour 1 cup of freshly boiled water over the blend. Cover the mug or tea cup, and allow to steep while covered for about 15 minutes.
- Remove the cover, sweeten with honey if desired, and enjoy. You can also serve this over ice for a stress-soothing cold drink.
5 More Lemon Balm Recipes
If you’d like more ideas for using this versatile herb, try one of these recipes:
- Strawberry Frozen Yogurt with Lemon Balm is featured at the end of this post, and it looks like the perfect way to enjoy lemon balm in the early summer!
- Chicken gets a boost of flavor with this Oven Roasted Chicken with Lemon Balm Herbal Butter. It’s definitely on my list to make this season when I have fresh lemon balm.
- A Lemon Balm Simple Syrup allows you to add the lemony, herby, and minty taste of lemon balm to any drink or dessert easily.
- Lemon Balm Cookies may be just the right treat to pair with my Anti-Anxia-Tea!
- A healthy dessert is a breeze when you make a Lemon Balm Fruit Salad with fresh lemon balm and seasonal fruit.
Are there lungs to the tea ingredients? I do not see any. I’m curious as to where to buy the dried herbs for this tea.
Thank you.
Hi Barb, so sorry I forgot to include links to herbs here! I recommend buying herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs since they value organic growing and sustainable herb practices. They carry all the herbs you need for this tea.
Are all of these herbs safe while nursing?
Hello Brooke. Great question! Yes, all of these are safe while breastfeeding. In fact, I often drink a tea like this in the evenings if I have a little one who is a bit fussy or colicky. The relaxing herbal compounds can pass through breastmilk and benefit baby! Some sources will contraindicate catnip during pregnancy, but with such a small amount in the blend and with the mild preparation as a tea, this would even be fine in moderation during pregnancy.
Kristen,
What about the lemon balm? I think I read somewhere it can decrease milk supply? Thanks, Kari
Oh and do you drink it in the evenings to get to baby? Or would it be better to drink it in the morning so that by the time it goes through your milk it’ll be evening for the baby? I currently have a newborn who likes to Nurse constantly to sleep and I’m hoping this might help him go longer stretches at night. Thanks Again, Kari
Plant compounds from teas will enter breastmilk at different rates, but likely if you drink it in the late afternoon or evening it’ll be beneficial for your little one. When I have newborns, I find a simple catnip and chamomile blend really helps them be more restful, so I try to drink it often in the evening. If you can’t find all the herbs in this blend, that’s another great option. But either will be great!
Hi Kari! No, lemon balm is believed to decrease milk supply in nursing moms. It’s breastfeeding safe!
I make an anti-stress tea that has the same herbs, except it has rose petals and oat straw instead of the catnip. Catnip is one herb I have never bought, but need to! These herbs really do make a difference in managing stress. Can’t live without them! 🙂