6 Herbs To Grow For A Cozy Indoor Tea Garden

Whether hot or iced, a cup of tea is a refreshing beverage for just about any time of year. There are so many amazing varieties of tea, each of which has plenty of nutrients and antioxidants in addition to being delicious. If you're a fan of herbal flavors, then tisane is the herbal "tea" type you should know. Though not technically a tea, herbal infusions either steeped in hot water or cold brewed are often misnomered as tea, and have a bevy of benefits similar to actual tea.

For those with a green thumb, growing your own herbs indoors can be a great way to have fresh flavors on hand when cooking. This is also the case if you want to be able to make your own herbal tea varieties with herbs like basil, sage, marjoram, lemon balm, ginger, and mint, all of which can be grown in your home kitchen.

These herbs each have wonderful qualities as far as nutritional and medicinal uses. Whereas some can soothe the throat, others can help to settle an upset stomach, and all of them can provide a sense of restorative calming and satisfaction in every sip. Even if you're not the most well-versed at growing herbs, these six plants are relatively simple to take care of and yield useful leaves, sprigs, and more.

This fresh herb can be used for so much more than a mere Caprese salad. In fact, there are several different types of basil and ways to use each one. For making tea, tulsi or holy basil is a good choice for its strong aromatic properties and traditional uses in Ayurvedic medicine. A 2017 systematic review published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine indicated benefits that include improvements to blood sugar and cholesterol levels as well as reduced stress and anxiety. 

You can grow basil indoors by setting up a planter near a large window that gets at least six hours of sun per day, keeping in mind that basil is sensitive to the cold. You'll want to have good drainage for your soil and water your plant at the roots when the soil feels dry to the touch. Pluck the leaves as needed, making sure that you leave at least ⅓ of the plant to continue producing. 

For a single serving of basil tea, you won't need more than ½ cup of leaves to 1 cup of water. Either steep the fresh leaves in boiling water or, time permitting, dry them in the oven at around 170 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour or two first to deepen the flavor. Combine your leaves with boiling water and steep for about five minutes, adding lemon and honey or your preferred sweetener if you wish.

Sage has been more than a culinary staple for thousands of years. It's known to have anti-inflammatory properties and indications for promoting oral health in addition to being a rich, earthy seasoning for many dishes. Sage is an ideal addition to your kitchen herb garden and can be used in its freshly plucked or dried form. The sage plant is drought-tolerant and requires less frequent watering than other herbs.

Depending on the size of your pot, a good rule of (green) thumb is to water your sage plant around every seven to 10 days, checking the soil periodically if it gets dry to the touch. The plant will require about six to eight hours a day of bright sunlight, which can be supplemented with an LED grow light if needed. You should also keep sage away from particularly humid indoor environments.

Pinching leaves from the top of the plant will help promote new growth on the sides of it. To make a single cup of sage tea, you'll need about 1 tablespoon of leaves per cup of water. As with most herbal infusions, simply pour boiling water over the leaves, steep, and strain, adding sweeteners and other additions to your liking. Sage goes particularly well with lemon juice or zest and fresh minced, grated, or thinly sliced ginger.

A relative of the mint in close proximity to oregano, marjoram is sometimes overlooked in the grand scheme of herbs. This bright and aromatic bit of greenery is characterized by a combination of floral, citrus, and woodsy notes. In addition to possessing a variety of culinary applications and indications for health benefits including anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties, this herb is surprisingly easy to grow indoors. 

Use a container that is shallow and wide with well-draining soil and place your potted plant in an area of your home that gets bright sunlight. Marjoram will need at least six hours of sunlight a day, which, like sage, can also be supplemented with an LED light. Allow your marjoram plants to grow to at least four inches tall before harvesting, noting that the sprigs can be easily plucked early on, but upon maturation will require the use of scissors to avoid causing damage. 

Most marjoram tea recipes require the leaves to be dried, which you can either do on your windowsill or in the oven. You will need no more than ¼ teaspoon of dried marjoram to 1 cup of boiling water for a single serving of tea. Enjoy this with your choice of sweetener or on its own to really taste the full flavor of the herb.

With medicinal roots traced back all the way to ancient Greece and Rome, lemon balm continues to have a variety of uses to this day, including calming anxiety, soothing digestive distress, and more. Growing lemon balm indoors is fairly easy. It requires regular watering — taking care not to overwater — well-drained soil, and at least six to eight hours of sun a day. Lemon balm is also relatively pest-resistant and will produce a pleasant and lemony scent, indicating that it's thriving. 

One risk factor to keep an eye out for is powdery mildew, though this can be easily treated by excising the infected leaves and treating the plant with apple cider vinegar or mild fungicide. Be sure to wash treated leaves thoroughly before using them. For a single serving of lemon balm tea, you'll need about five fresh leaves or ½ tablespoon of the dried herbs to 1 cup of boiling water. Steep your tea for about 10 minutes and add fresh slices of lemon for an enhanced citrus flavor and any sweetener if you prefer. This also makes an especially refreshing iced tea for the warmer months.

This spicy plant is found throughout a number of tropical climates around the world and has a great deal of uses in cooking sweet desserts, savory dishes, and much more. Ginger also has myriad medicinal purposes, including soothing nausea and indigestion as well as helping to reduce menstrual pain. In addition to its many uses, ginger is also particularly easy to grow indoors, making it an ideal addition to your home tea garden. When grown indoors, ginger needs direct sunlight all day and regular watering with soil that has good drainage.

Harvesting your ginger is as simple as reaching into the soil to break off pieces as needed for cooking, baking, or making tea. Be sure to thoroughly clean your homegrown ginger before thinly slicing it to steep for tea. You will need about a 1-inch piece of ginger that you've either cut with a mandolin or thinly sliced by hand to add to 1 cup of water in a saucepan over medium heat. Knowing that ginger is a warming spice, you can also get creative and add other complementary spices to your tea including cinnamon or turmeric. Fresh ginger is also ideal for use in a golden milk or haldi doodh recipe.

Mint is an herb with lots of flavor and even more applications for both cooking and soothing. Possessing a fragrant aroma and cooling sensation, mint is an especially good choice to include in your indoor herb garden. With over 600 varieties of mint plants in cultivation, it's important to note that pennyroyal mint is toxic to humans and animals and should not be consumed. Peppermint and spearmint are two popular varieties that are safe to eat, as is chocolate mint, which makes an excellent flavor of tea. 

To grow mint indoors, you'll need to place your plant in a bright and sunny room with a temperature above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Well-drained potting soil and regular watering is also a must. To make mint tea, you can use either fresh or dried leaves depending on your taste preferences and time. Use about seven to eight fresh mint leaves or 1 teaspoon of dried mint to 1 cup of boiling water for a single serving. Mint tea makes an excellent mix with citrus for iced tea and can be sweetened to your liking. Peppermint tea is especially useful after dinner, as it helps freshen breath and promotes relaxation.