Like a lot of people my age, I’ve struggled with tummy issues for most of my life. I have a lot of food sensitivities and find my guts feeling really uncomfortable from time to time. Now that I’m studying to become an herbalist, I’ve found some wonderful friends to help me ease that discomfort when it arises and to heal the underlying causes. My primary ally? Cold infusion tea.
Cold infusion tea is the best way to work with many herbs and to aid the healing of certain health concerns. In this article, we are going to go over what a cold infusion is, why we make cold infusion tea, and how to make them. Plus, get a warming cold infusion recipe at the bottom of the page.
This article is part of a series where we discuss tea making and all the different ways we can work with medicinal tea.
Disclaimer
This article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to treat or diagnose any health conditions. There are no federal organizations to test herbal products or license herbalists, so the herbs discussed are not FDA regulated. All the herbs discussed in this article are generally regarded as safe, but you may have adverse interactions with particular herbs, just like we can all have reactions to different foods! And remember, your health is always your own responsibility.
What is a Cold Infusion?
A cold infusion is pretty straightforward: it’s tea made with cool water! When you think of tea, you probably picture someone pouring hot water over a tea bag in a mug. But that’s not the only way to make tea–and it’s not the best way to make tea with some herbs! When making a cold infusion, all you do is combine room-temperature water with the herbs you’re working with and let it sit, usually for at least three hours, if not overnight.
Why Make a Cold Infusion?
As I briefly mentioned above, hot infusions aren’t the best way to work with some herbs. There’s a group of herbs called demulcents that need cool water to infuse. Demulcent herbs (ex. marshmallow, linden, slippery elm, mullein, violets, and even cinnamon!) have this wonderful, slimy property about them that makes them incredibly soothing and moistening to the body. The constituents in the demulcent herbs that give the herb those soothing properties are polysaccharides (aka a complex sugar molecule) that will only break apart from the plant in cool water. Hot water will keep those compounds bound up.
Demulcent herbs usually help aid in a few particular areas of health. First of all, they are incredibly hydrating. If you struggle to stay hydrated, drinking cold infusion tea with demulcent herbs will help you out with that. Second, they are very moistening to certain tissues. Which tissues they’re soothing to will depend on the particular herb you’re working with. However, most demulcents are very moistening to the GI tract, the skin, the urinary tract, and the nervous system. So, if you’re looking to work with demulcents for hydration and soothing the body’s irritated tissues, then cold infusions are the way to go.
Making a Cold Infusion
Making cold infusions is super easy. Let’s go over the tools you’ll need and the steps you need to take to make yourself a nice cold infusion.
Supplies You’ll Need
To make a cold infusion, you’ll need just a couple of things. First, you’ll need a container. I like using mason jars with tight-fitting lids to prevent debris from getting in with the tea is steeping, but you can use anything.
Then, you’ll need something to strain the cold infusion. For most demulcent herbs, you can use a regular old Mesh strainer. However, some herbs are going to make the tea very viscous and it may be difficult to strain the tea with a mesh strainer alone. You may need to use cheesecloth or something you can squeeze.
Cold Infusion instructions
Making a cold infusion is really easy. Take the jar or container you’re using, place about a half inch of dry herb or an inch of fresh herb into the jar, fill the jar with room temperature water, and leave it to steep. The steep time will vary depending on the herb, but the minimum amount of time is usually 3 hours. However, the longer you can let the tea steep the better. I usually make my cold infusions at night and will drink them in the morning.
Once it’s done steeping, all you have to do is strain and drink. As I said above, a lot of demulcent herbs will create a pretty thick tea. In those cases, you may want a cheesecloth or something you can squeeze.
With most herbs you cold infuse, the tea will last for a couple of days on the counter or a week in the fridge!
Herbs to Include and Where to Get Them
There are many demulcent herbs you can include in your cold infusions. My favorites to work with are mullein leaf and flower, marshmallow root and leaf, malva, linden, cinnamon, violets, and slippery elm (although, elms aren’t doing very well right now because of Dutch elm disease, so it’s best to avoid this one!)
Even if an herb isn’t demulcent, you can still make cold infusions with many of them, especially plant parts that are delicate like leaves and flowers. Cold infusions aren’t the best way to extract the constituents from non-demulcent herbs, but they can be added to cold infusion blends for flavor. For example, peppermint is often added to marshmallow cold infusions to add that light, refreshing flavor to the tea and more digestive health benefits.
When looking for herbs to buy, I recommend looking first at your local herb farms and apothecaries. Buying directly from your local herb farm is the best way to ensure high quality, cheap prices, and that money stays in your community’s economy. Apothecaries are the second best place to shop. However, they may be buying herbs from all over the world. If you don’t have any farms or apothecaries near you or they don’t have the herbs you’re looking for, then check out Mountain Rose Herbs. They’re the largest herb distributor in the US, but their quality is always amazing.
Cold Infusion Experiment
Don’t take my word for it, try it out yourself!
Find two herbs–one demulcent herb and one non-demulcent herb–and make four preparations. First make two hot infusions, one with the demulcent and the other with the non-demulcent. Then do the same with the cold infusions. And compare!
Compare the non-demulcent hot and cold infusions: which is darker, which smells stronger, and which has the richer taste? And then compare the demulcent hot and cold infusions and ask yourself the same questions.
Once you’ve completed the experiment, come back and share your results in the comments below!
Cinnamon Cold Infusion Recipe
If you’re looking for a cold infusion recipe to try out, check out this cinnamon cold infusion recipe. In this article, you’ll be walked through both how to make this infusion as well as all of the wonderful health benefits of working with these herbs in this way.
Or you can download the cinnamon cold infusion recipe card by putting in your email address below!
Summary
When I want help soothing the gut irritation I sometimes deal with, I often turn to my cold infusion tea. Now you have this tool in your herbalist tool belt so you can reach for it when you need it, too!
In this article, we discussed what a cold infusion is, how to make a cold infusion tea, and why they’re important. Plus, you now have a warming tea recipe you can try out sometime!
To learn more about medicinal tea making, check out this article on brewing tea. In this article, we go over a dozen ways to make tea and the different benefits each method provides.
Did you try out the cold infusion experiment? Or do you have a cold infusion tea recipe you love? Leave any questions or thoughts of yours in the comment section below, I would love to hear from you!
Thanks for reading and happy tea making!
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