Honeybush is one of the most beneficial herbs that can be used to brew a cup of tea. The flowers of this herb are large in size and are either yellow or red in color. It is a genus of some 20 species of flowering plants in the legume family. Fabaceae of the subfamily faboideae.
However, herbal tea is the new trend. People all over the world are busy sipping their favorite herbal tea to stay healthy. With effective health benefits of honeybush tea, this appetizing fruity tea is an wonderful substitute for your regular tea and coffee.
Herbal teas are good for health and of course that’s not a marketing gimmick.
Different types of herbs are used to prepare the herbal tea.
Tastes like honey, honeybush tea has some similarity with the Rooibos tea when it comes to flavor and it’s taste.
The leaves of this herb are sweet smelling and can be infused in hot water and consumed as tea. The best thing about honeybush tea is that it is free from caffeine and can be infused along with other herbs.
In this article, we have discussed the health benefits of honeybush tea for health, history, preparation method, and side effects of honeybush tea. Scroll down to get started.
What Is Honeybush Tea?
Honeybush is a herb with woody stems that produces trifoliate (three-part) leaves, bright yellow flowers. This tea is an herbal infusion from South Africa. It is made by steeping dry honeybush leaves in boiling water, and it has gained worldwide popularity due to its several medicinal and therapeutic properties.
Common Name: HoneyBush, Heuningbos, bergtee, or mountain
Botanical Name: Cyclopia spp
Family: FABACEAE
In the following section, we will look at the health benefits of honeybush tea.
Honeybush Tea Health Benefits
Like most other herbal teas, honeybush tea too comes with a lot of health benefits. Some of them are:
1. High Level of Antioxidants
This relaxing tea has many essential nutrients and anti-oxidants that are required by the body. Some of them are: vitamins, iron, calcium, minerals, potassium, sodium and copper.
2. Boost Metabolism Rate
This health drink is helpful in
increasing the Metabolic System of the body and helps in lowering the fat content in the bloodstream.
3. Prevents Cancer
The most indefinable problem, cancer can be taken care of by drinking honeybush tea. This is possible because of the anti-oxidants present in it that defends the body from harmful free radicals, which cause cancer.
4. Relieve Asthma
With so many medicinal properties, it is used to treat asthma.
5. Treats Cough & Cold
It can be consumed by people suffering from cold and its antibacterial properties are efficient in fighting off germs and sickness.
6. Prevent Stomach Problems
It also works effectively for intestinal and stomach woes .
7. Relaxes Body
The taste of the honeybush drink is pleasing. This brew can be consumed to gain relaxation. Though the benefits are for all to enjoy, honeybush tea is good mostly for women.
This healthy drink can be consumed daily and 1 or 2 cups of this tasteful drink can provide immediate relief from uncomfortable symptoms that are caused due to menopause. This tea is safe for people of any age. So enjoy this tasty drink and stay healthy!
8. Prevents Bacterial Infections
It prevents the growth of bacteria and harmful yeast in the body that cause several ailments.
9. Treats Osteoporosis
It takes care of the major health problems faced by women like depression, osteoporosis , anxiety, mood swings, hot flashes and panic disorders that usually sets in the later stages of menopause.
10. Better Sleep
Drink honeybush herbal tea. It calms the body and makes you sleep easily.
11. Strengthens Liver
With varied medicinal benefits, this herbal tea can be taken to strengthen the liver.
12. Heals Sore Throat
This herb, along with honey and a little lemon, can be taken to heal a sore throat.
We have seen the health benefits of honeybush tea. What about taking a peek into its history?
History Of Honeybush Tea
Honeybush also known as Heuningbos in Afrikaans. Referred to as “Red Tea”, this plant is known to have originated in South Africa. Residents to South Africa have been interested in it’s medicinal benefits for centuries, but the use of honeybush probably originated with the indigenous people of Khoisan.
It grows only in small areas in the Eastern and Western Cape region of South Africa and has several similarities with rooibos. It is know as Honey-bush, because the flowers smells like honey and the taste of honeybush tea is similar to that of rooibos, but a little bit sweeter.
The taste of honeybush is described by tea drinkers as floral, lightly roasted, and similar to honey.
Even as it is often compared to rooibos tea, honeybush is usually sweeter and fuller bodied. Even though, it is often compared to rooibos tea, honeybush is usually fuller bodied and sweeter. Some say, it taste “less medicinal” than rooibos tea. However, the taste of the honeybush you drink at home will depend on the particular tea leaves you buy and the method of cooking.
In the next section, we will look at the method of preparing honeybush tea
Honeybush Tea Preparation
Method
Step 1. Put one teaspoonful of honeybush leaves tea (dried) in the bottom of a six to eight ounces of teacup.
Step 2. Heat water to 212º Fahrenheit. If you do not have a temperature-controlled tea jug, bring the water to a boil and then allow it sit for a minute to lower the temperature slightly.
Step 3. Pour water on the tea leaves
Step 4. Let the tea boil for as long as you want, usually about five minutes or seven minutes.
Step 5. Strain loose leaves from the cup before drinking. Honeybush tea leaves may be reboiled and used for a second time
Follow the same instructions, to make iced honeybush drink, but pour the finished brew into a tall glass tumbler and add ice. You can also put the tea to cool in the refrigerator to enjoy at another time.
Many tea drinkers add a bit of honey to enhance the flavor and the potential health benefits, even though honeybush drink already has a sweet taste. You can also buy a Flavored honeybush drink in many tea shops. Fruit flavored honeybush teas (peach or apricot, for instance) are common.
Where To Buy
You can find Honeybush tea bags in tea shops, grocery stores and online. Simply follow the instructions on the package to prepare, if you buy honeybush tea bags. You can also buy honeybush tea leaves and steep them at home to make a hot or cold beverage.
Is Honeybush Tea Caffeine Free?
Honeybush tea is not a “tea” in the traditional sense, it is an herbal tea. Unlike green tea or black tea, it is not made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant and is made from only a fraction of the honeybush plant that contains no caffeine. And this makes honeybush tea completely caffeine-free.
Human Studies On The Health Benefits Honeybush
It is unfortunate that human studies are lacking to support these claims. But researchers are investigating the health benefits of honeybush in vitro studies and with animal.
in 2010 a study published in Nutrition and Cancer found that consumption of unfermented honeybush tea inhibited tumor growth in rats, leading researchers to suggest that further research should examine the chances that the same effect may carry over to humans.
In 2015, vitro study found that honeybush tea could have beneficial effects on bone health. Vitro studies are performed in a lab, with a test tube or culture dish. These studies do not provide conclusive information about the effect of a substance on human body, but it helps researchers investigate potential benefits. The authors of this honeybush study suggest that more research be done to further study the benefits of honeybush tea. The authors of the study said that the principal polyphenols in the honeybush include xanthine mangfarin. According to a 2007 review of the health benefits of rubibus and honeybush, flavonones hesperetin and isokuranetin.
They stated that both teas provide immune-boosting, cancer-preventative and potential antioxidant benefits based on evidence provided by lab studies and rodent studies. However, they add that human studies are lacking.
Before you start drinking the honeybush tea, it is important to be aware of its side effects as well.
Side Effects Of Honeybush Tea
There are no consequential side effects reported for honeybush tea. However, it is always best to consult you doctor to make sure that it does not interfere with your current medications or management of a medical condition, before taking any herbal tea or using any herb for treatment.
Hope you liked our post on benefits of honeybush tea. Do you enjoy your daily cup of herbal drink? Which is your favorite herbal tea? Have you tried the honeybush tea? Did you like it? Do share with us in the comments section below.
