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What Is Echinacea Tea And What Is So Special About It Anyways?
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What Is Echinacea Tea And What Is So Special About It Anyways?

General Health

Author:

Anthony Stockton

If you are anything like me, you probably hadn’t heard about echinacea tea until quite recently. In fact, I had never heard of it before being assigned to write this article. And my long term life plan is to one day own a book shop/tea shop with my beautiful and talented girlfriend. So I consider myself a little bit of an expert when it comes to tea and the different varieties. I literally write about different blends of tea professionally for a living. So if you are just now finding out about echinacea tea don’t feel bad. It’s literally my job to know about tea, and I hadn’t heard of it before today.

But don’t worry, I did the research for you and compiled it here in this article for your convenience. If you want to know more about echinacea tea, and all the surprising benefits it has for you, please scroll down to the article below and read at your leisure.

Echinacea is different from other teas because it comes from an entirely different plant.

What Exactly Is Echinacea Anyways?

And Why Do They Blend It With Tea?

Echinacea, like most of the tea flavors you will stumble across, is just an herb. Echinacea angustifolia has long been used as a traditional medicine. In fact it is believed to have been widely used by North American idigenous people as a form of folk medicine. With archaeological evidence existing that dates back to at least the 18th century. However, it is believed it was used for a very long time before we have the first concrete piece of historical evidence that proves it’s usage conclusively. But it was known to have been used for hundreds of years to treat ear infections and also as a natural pain reliever by Native American tribes.

Technically echinacea is in the daisy family of flowers. The Asteraceae family specifically. But Echinacae itself has ten subspecies of flowers that are commonly referred to as “coneflowers.” And they only grow in North America. Specifically, if you must know, they are only found in the eastern and central parts of the country. They don’t flower on the west coast.

But of those ten species of echinacea, there are really only three main types of echinacea  that are used when it comes to making tea.

  1. Echinacea purpurea. This variety of echinacea has reddish purple flowers. It is also known for its immune boosting properties in much of Europe
  2. Echinacea pallida. This variety of echinacea has flowers that are the palest colored flowers of any of the three types. It can easily be identified by it’s pale rose color.
  3. Echinacea angustifolia. This variety of echinacea has the largest leaves of all three varieties. And the flowers are known for their vibrant violet color.
Echinacea tea is made from three different varieties of echinacea coneflowers.

So if Echinacea Is Used As A Natural Medicine, Why Would You Want That Medicine In Your  Tea?

Don’t Worry, Just Because It Works Like Medicine Doesn’t Mean Echinacea Tea Taste Like Medicine

Echinacea tea has a very storing flavor profile. In fact it is a much stronger flavor than many people are accustomed to in their average cup of tea. So be sure to keep that in mind when you go to brew some. And remember the longer you leave the tea to steep in the hot water, the stronger that flavor profile is going to become.

It is known for having a very floral-like taste. And a very floral like aroma for that matter. With its strong flavor profile and floral taste, it is known to leave the consumer of it with a tingling sensation occurring in their lips and their mouth after drinking it. But many people find the sensation quite enjoyable, and consider it to be one of the upsides of drinking echinacea as it is described as being quite refreshing and invigorating on the part of the drinker. It is common for there to be a mix of lemongrass or mint to smooth out the sharp fresh taste of pine needles that is underpinned by the full mild flavor of meadowsweet.

Most brands of echinacea tea are going to have mixed in a plethora of other spices and herbs to add some sweetness and to temper the more aggressive notes of the flavor profile. On top of being paired with herbs and spices, it is also quite common for echinacea tea to be mixed with elderberry to enhance both the flavor of the tea, as well as the health benefits you get from drinking it.

Echinacea tea is known for its very strong, yet pleasant and invigorating, floral taste and aroma.

So What Health Benefits Do You Get From Drinking Echinacea

More Than You Might Initially Think!

One of the unique things about echinacea tea is that it is one of the few types of tea that is made from a plant that is not the tea plant (Camellia sinensis). Instead it is made from the flowers discussed in the first section of the article. And because of this it offers a completely different set of health benefits compared to the majority of the other blends of tea.

So just what are these supposed health benefits? Well not to worry, I composed a quick reference tool for you to look at anytime you can’t remember all the positive impacts adding echinacea tea to your diet can have.

Prevent the Common Cold

Taking echinacea  by mouth i.e., drinking it in tea form, before the onset of a cold or flu may help prevent the onset of the disease in some adults. However, unfortunately echinacea tea can’t do nearly as much for you if you wait until you are already sick to start drinking it. Try to introduce it into your routine before the cold season gets in too full swing in the winter.

Overall echinacea  is noted for its overall beneficial effects on the body’s immune system. As a matter of fact, a review was conducted of 14 of the studies that have been done on echinacea health effects. And it was found that echinacea may lower the risk of developing colds by more than 50%. Which is astoundingly high in my opinion.

High in Antioxidants

Even though echinacea  comes from a different plant than most other teas, it does share one thing in common with the popular tea styles. And that is that it is in fact very high in antioxidants. And trust me, you want as many antioxidants as you can get for a bunch of health reasons.

Lowers Blood Sugar Levels

Some studies have shown that echinacea might actually help to lower the level of your blood sugar. It is believed this is caused by echinacea suppressing the enzyme your body uses to digest carbohydrates. Which means you are digesting less of the sugar you are consuming, therefore lowering the amount in your blood system.

Lowers Feelings of Anxiety And Stress

There are several compounds that have been isolated in the echinacea plant that have been linked to a reduction in feelings of anxiety, nervousness and stress.

And Finally, Anti-Inflammatory Properties.

Echinacea, like many teas, helps your body fight inflammation. Which doesn’t sound like a big deal. But your body is really battling with inflammation all the time. And anything you can do to reduce the inflammation will help alleviate all the little annoying  aches and pains that you experience on a daily basis. Which isn’t only just healthy for you, it is also straight up a quality of life upgrade.  

The health benefits from echinacea tea can reduce inflammation, reduce stress and anxiety, and invoke a sense of calmness in the consumer.

There you have it. That was everything you need to know about echinacea tea. I have to admit that after writing this article I’m going to have to order some for myself because now I’m quite interested in trying out it’s strong and unique flavor. I enjoy black, white, and green teas so I imagine echinacea is delicious too.

But just remember, if you are drinking echinacea tea for the health benefits make sure to use filtered water and organic tea. There’s no point in drinking tea to be healthy if it’s full of the chemicals in your pipes and pesticides. Kind of defeats the whole purpose and for every potential health benefit you get from the tea you are opening yourself up for a potential health detriment from the unclean water or the chemicals that were used on the tea while it was being grown.  

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