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You remember honeysuckles, don’t you? That wonderful little flower that you would pluck off and then suck the sweet nectar out of.
Well, those same wonderful little plants can be used to craft a wonderful and healthy herbal infusion that can take you back to those spring days of youth. Let’s explore what honeysuckle flower tea is all about.
What Is Honeysuckle Flower Tea? Honeysuckle flower tea is an herbal infusion derived from the flower of the honeysuckle shrubs. The flowers are dried and then infused in hot water to draw out the flavors and oils and create the herbal infusion.
Read on to find out more about this amazing herbal infusion. From its great benefits to its unique taste, we will cover just about everything you need to know about honeysuckle flower tea.
Everything You Need To Know About Honeysuckle Tea
A Look At Honeysuckle Flowers
There are hundreds of species of honeysuckle plants. Many of the honeysuckle species of North America and Europe are considered to be weeds and pests. However, some of these plants are cultivated for the creation of tonics an herbal infusions.
The Japanese honeysuckle or white honeysuckle(Lonicera japonica) is often used for these infusions(source). It is also used in traditional Chinese medicine.
This is the type of honeysuckle that you will most often find dried and sold in herb stores I’m the one that you can use to make herbal infusions.
How To Make Honeysuckle Tea
I think you’ll find that when crafting your cup of honeysuckle flower tea factors that go into it are quite a bit more lenient than they would be with something more delicate, like a sencha green tea for example.
Most of the time these factors that I’m going to lay out our very subjective and you can interpret them however you want in order to get your perfect cup of honeysuckle flower tea.
Think of these factors as a starting point for your experimentation into crafting the perfect cup of honeysuckle tea for yourself.
Use The Right Type Of Water Water
Using the right type of water is probably one of the few truly objective parts of making a good cup of tea. And even then there is some wiggle room on how much the water will affect the flavor for you personally.
For honeysuckle flower tea I recommend using one of two types of water. Either used to filter tap water or a good quality balanced pH bottled Spring Water.
Either one of these Waters is going to give you the truest flavor of the TV because there’s not a lot of added minerals or Metals in the water to affect the taste.
They are balanced enough that they won’t make your tea taste flat and Bland because the water is to distilled.
The Best Water Temperature For Honeysuckle Tea
Water temperature is another very important aspect of crafting a cup of tea. It should not be overlooked in its importance.
For some of your more delicate teas, you can absolutely destroy the flavor of the tea by pouring boiling water or close to boiling water over your tea leaves. You can literally burn the tea leaves. Green tea is particularly susceptible to this.
Fortunately, herbal flower teas tend to be a little bit harder and are much tougher to burn by using water that’s too hot. It can still be done but you really have to try to do it.
For honeysuckle flower tea I like to use water that is just under the boiling point. Let your water cool for a quick minute or two before pouring it over your honeysuckle flowers.
That way you get a nice hot water temperature they can draw it all the oils and flavors without scorching the flowers too much.
That being said if you pour boiling water over it you probably not going to hurt the flavor of it too much. But I urge you to try steeping it with the slightly lower water temperature just to see how it tastes to you.
I find that a 205°F/96°C water temperature is just about perfect for a cup of honeysuckle flower tea. You can find a handy conversion table for Fahrenheit to Celsius right here.
The Amount Of Honeysuckle Flower Tea
Oftentimes the right way to make a cup of tea is based solely on personal preference. The amount of honeysuckle flowers that you put into your tea is very much in that mold. It comes down to personal choice.
So think of this as a starting point for your honeysuckle flower tea. You want to add one to two teaspoons of dried honeysuckle flowers for a typical 8 to 10 oz cup of tea.
I feel like this gives you the best representation of the flavor of the tea without it being too weak or too strong.
Personally, I use around 2 teaspoons of flowers for my honeysuckle tea. So I tend to be on the higher end of that range.
Ideal Steep Time For Honeysuckle Tea
Steep time another very subjective aspect to making a cup of honeysuckle flower tea. You want to make sure that you let it steep long enough to draw as much flavor as you can but not too long that it starts to become astringent.
Luckily with honeysuckle tea, over steeping it’s not really much of an issue. With some more delicate teas like green tea over steeping is a real problem and you can really hurt the flavor of the tea by doing so.
But I find it anywhere from five to 10 minutes is great for getting the most flavor out of your honeysuckle flowers.
You can certainly go longer if you want. as long as you’re all right with the finished product then the steep time is really up to you.
Tea Steeping Instructions Quick Recap
- Use Filtered Tap Water Ot Bottled Spring Water
- Steep for 5-10 minutes depending on your individual tastes. You can go longer if you want, steep time for herbal flower teas is much more lenient than with green teas.
- The ideal temperature is F/C for a great cup of honeysuckle tea
- Use 1-2 teaspoons of dried honeysuckle flowers. You can always add more if you want a stronger tea. It is personal taste really.
- Always cover your tea while steeping it
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What Does Honeysuckle Flower Tea Taste Like?
Honeysuckle flower tea has a slightly sweet and floral flavor to it. But I think the overwhelming flavor note would be the honey-like flavor that is in the tea.
It is not nearly as pronounced as it is in the raw flowers but it does make up the base of the flavor of the honeysuckle flower tea.
There is also a very slight bitterness that is barely detectable and a subtle earthy flavor that is common among flower herbal teas.
You can find a deeper look at the flavor profile of honeysuckle flower tea in my full article of its flavor.
The Aroma Of Honeysuckle Flower Tea
The aroma is very similar to the taste of the tea. I think the smell is a little bit stronger overall than the actual taste of the infusion.
This is often the case with flower teas. The flowers are very pungent but tend to diminish a little bit once you steep them in water.
A Few Honeysuckle Flower Tea Blend Ideas
No matter how great a tea is by itself blending in with other teas is going to make a brand new flavor experience for you.
A lot of these blends are not very good but you need to do a little bit of experimentation to find the great ones and separate them from the average ones.
Here are five honeysuckle flower blend ideas to get you started. There are potentially hundreds of others that you can try that you might like better than me or that might not tickle your fancy.
The most important thing is to just experiment with these blends to find new and interesting flavor combinations.
Hibiscus And Honeysuckle Tea
This is a pretty complimentary tea blend. Hibiscus has a slightly sweet floral flavor. honeysuckle flower tea has a slightly sweet floral flavor. They’re not identical but they are similar with the honeysuckle flower being a little bit more honey flavor than the Hibiscus.
With this one that you are really blending two similar teas and the result is a good version of both of them. But it’s not a really drastic change from the overall flavor of each of the individual teas.
Mixing one teaspoon of hibiscus flowers with one teaspoon of honeysuckle flowers is going to give you the best results from my perspective. As always experiment with the number of flowers to get the taste that you want for your specific cup of tea.
You can also find hibiscus tea bags to use in this blend. Simply add a few honeysuckle flowers to the steeping cup of hibiscus tea.
Anise Seed And Honeysuckle Tea
The licorice flavor of Anise seed tea does a nice job of complementary in the flavor of the honeysuckle flower tea.
I think anise tea works better than a licorice root tea because it the licorice flavor is a little bit more subtle in the anise tea.
Fennel seed would also work pretty well I think.
This blend is going to be really susceptible to an individual’s taste. If you don’t like the taste of licorice than this will definitely not be for you.
But if you don’t mind or even like the flavor of licorice in this can really bring a nice flavor combination that many people wouldn’t have considered.
Simply add some honeysuckle flowers to a steeping cup of anise seed tea and you’ll have yourselves and outstanding new flavor experience to try.
Honeysuckle Flower And Ginger Root Tea
Ginger root blends with just about any herbal tea and honeysuckle flower tea is no exception. The spicy peppery flavor of the ginger really complements the sweet honey flavor of the honeysuckle flower tea.
Be careful not to put too much ginger in or will start to cover up the taste of the honeysuckle flower because it is so potent. But when used in moderation a honeysuckle Ginger Tea is a nice little treat.
Add a slice of fresh ginger to the boiling water and use the ginger-infused water to steep the honeysuckle flower tea.
Honeysuckle Flower and Sencha Green Tea
The delicate flavor of a good sencha green tea is great by itself. But when you had a little bit of the sweet honey flavor of a honeysuckle flower tea it becomes a whole new taste experience.
Most of these teas are great on their own but when you put them together they create a nice little tea blend that many people may not consider when thinking of teas to combine.
The best way to make this green tea blend is to take one teaspoon of sencha green tea and one teaspoon of honeysuckle flower tea and steep them together with an infuser or just loosen the water.
Chamomile And Honeysuckle Tea
Chamomile is one of those teas that blends well with a lot of different herbal infusions and other teas. Because chamomile’s flavor is so mild it really invites the other flavors to create a much more interesting experience in that cup of blended tea.
Honeysuckle flower tea really brings a lot to this blend. It brings that nice slightly sweet honey flavor that really makes the chamomile much smoother and more drinkable.
This is a great way to flavor chamomile tea for someone who’s not particularly fond of chamomile tea. A 50/50 split is the best way to measure out the flowers for this herbal infusion.
The Benefits Of Honeysuckle Tea
This list is by no means comprehensive. I’m going to list five of the wonderful benefits of honeysuckle tea and honeysuckle in general.
I think they give you a good idea of just how powerful this herbal infusion can potentially be for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
As always with these herbal infusions, a lot more study needs to go into them to really understand the true benefits of these teas and infusions.
Honeysuckle tea is no exception.
And because it is at one of the more obscure herbal fusions there’s less known about it than something like a green tea or a chamomile tea.
Honeysuckle Tea Aids Digestion
Honeysuckle tea can help aid in keeping your digestive tract in good shape. It has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties that can help sort out are some of the ailments that may affect your overall digestive system.
Much of the evidence is anecdotal as it always is with these types of herbal infusions but there does seem to be some correlation between this wonderful herbal infusion and a healthy digestive system.
More study is needed to understand the relationship between digestion and honeysuckle tea.
Honeysuckle Tea Helps With Nausea
Honeysuckle tea has been shown to help alleviate nausea and vomiting in some cases. It is particularly effective for hepatitis C patients in alleviating nausea(source).
It Is Loaded With Antioxidants
There are numerous benefits of antioxidants and honeysuckle flower tea is loaded with them. Antioxidants fight free radicals and help maintain good cellular health(source).
These antioxidants that make honeysuckle tea such a healthy beverage to drink on a regular basis.
Mixing it with other herbal flower teas can increase the variety of antioxidants that you intake from these wonderful herbal infusions.
It Has Antiseptic Properties
Honeysuckle has a wide range of antibacterial and bactericidal properties. It’s been shown to work well as a gargle to help clear out bacteria when you have a cold.
And also works wonders in your digestive tract because of these antibacterial properties that can help sort out many of the issues related to bacteria in your intestines.
When combined with anti-inflammatory properties of honeysuckle it can really alleviate some of the pain associated with these digestive issues.
Honeysuckle tea has been used to treat colds and coughs for some time now. And while it does seem to help, more study is needed to really understand the true effects of honeysuckle tea on treating a cold(source).
Honeysuckle Has Anti-inflammatory Properties
Honeysuckle has been shown to have a variety of anti-inflammatory properties. Honeysuckle oil, in particular, seems to help with some skin issues, sunburns, and blemishes(source). It has been shown to help alleviate headaches.
Side Effects Of Honeysuckle Tea
Honeysuckle flower tea seems to have very few side effects. As always you should check with your doctor before using any of these herbal supplements especially if you are pregnant or could become pregnant in the future.
Be sure that you’re not allergic to honeysuckle flowers before drinking the tape.
One last thing I will add is that while the honeysuckle flowers themselves are fine to use in your herbal infusions, the fruits from this plant are poisonous to humans(source).
Frequently Asked Questions About Honeysuckle Tea
People always have questions about herbal teas. Especially ones that they might not be as familiar with.
Honeysuckle flower tea certainly falls into that category. It’s not a hugely well-known herbal tea and people a lot of questions about it.
So I put together a quick little FAQ about honeysuckle tea. These are just some very basic questions and hopefully, they’ll answer some of your questions as well.
Does Honeysuckle Tea Contain Sugar?
Honeysuckle tea does not contain any sugar. There is a slight natural sweetness to it but no actual sugar.
This is important since sugar does have quite a few detrimental effects on your health. So you get a nice little sweetness without the negative effects that Sugar brings.
Does Honeysuckle Flower Tea Have Calories?
Honeysuckle tea does not have a measurable amount of calories. There is a negligible amount in the actual tea.
But it is so minuscule that often times you won’t even see it on the nutritional information on the back of a box of honeysuckle tea or honeysuckle flowers.
Not having any calories means that you’re not adding in calories from your beverages. This is great for a lot of diets where you want to keep your calorie count down and even a simple soda can add 150 calories of just pure sugar to your diet.
Replacing sugary drinks with honeysuckle tea or another calorie-free herbal tea is a great idea for any diet.
Does Honeysuckle Tea Have Caffeine?
Honeysuckle flower tea does not have any caffeine in it. It is an herbal infusion and not a true tea and therefore doesn’t have the caffeine that a black tea or a green tea would have.
Caffeine can be a bit of a mixed bag. There are some benefits as well as some issues if you overuse it(source).
Honeysuckle tea being caffeine-free means that you can drink at any time of day without having to worry about upsetting you are asleep schedule if you drink it too late in the evening
Does Honeysuckle Tea Break A Fast?
Honeysuckle flower tea should be just fine on a fast. Typically the infusions don’t have any calories or carbohydrates or sugars unless you add them in afterward.
This makes herbal infusions including honeysuckle tea a great option for people who are in a fasted state.
I will add that the flowers themselves do have calories and carbs and should not be eaten if you are trying to practice intermittent fasting or are in a fasted state.
Just the infusion would be acceptable for you to drink while fasting. So make sure that you get all the flowers out of your tea before you drink it just to be on the safe side.
Does Honeysuckle Flower Tea Have Any Carbs?
It is surprisingly tough to find nutritional information on honeysuckle tea. As far as I can tell there are no carbs in the actual tea infusion.
But like most herbal infusions that come from flowers you’re not going to find a measurable amount of carbs in the tea. This opens up the possibility to drink honeysuckle tea for a wide variety of diets.
Is Tea Honeysuckle Tea Keto Friendly?
Honeysuckle tea should be pretty keto-friendly. As long as you don’t add any sugar, cream or milk or anything is going to add sugars or carbs to the tea.
Honeysuckle flower tea shouldn’t be used as a full replacement for water during a keto diet, however. You want to make sure that you don’t overdo it with your tea or coffee because they can act as a diuretic.
Where To Buy Honeysuckle Flower Tea
Honeysuckle flower tea has become popular enough that you can find it at a wide variety of tea shops both online and off. It hasn’t quite reached the mainstream saturation needed to get into most of the big Supermarket but it should be well on its way.
Here are 3 great brands of honeysuckle tea and where you can find them online. These are just some of my suggestions and you should experiment to find which honeysuckle tea you like the best.
- Starwest Botanicals Organic Honeysuckle Flowers(*affiliate link) – Starwest Botanicals is one of my favorite places to get herbal teas. Their products are always the highest quality. Their honeysuckle flower tea offering is no exception. This is the one to try if you only try one.
- Green Hill Tea Honeysuckle Flower Tea(*affiliate link) – This loose-leaf honeysuckle flower tea is available on Amazon. The flowers are high quality and well packaged and give you a great honeysuckle tea experience.
- Elitea Honeysuckle Flower Tea(*affiliate link) – Available on Amazon. Elitea’s honeysuckle tea offering is another great example of this flower herbal tea. While I prefer Starwest Botanicals, Elitea acquits itself nicely with high-quality flowers and a good flavored tea.
The Honeysuckle Flower Tea Finish
That brings us to the end of our look at honeysuckle flower tea. There is still going to be a lot more to learn about this wonderful herbal infusion. But this should get you started. The rest of it is going to be up to you.
First and foremost you got to try some to find out if you even like this herbal infusion. And then you can move on from there and decide whether you want to put honeysuckle flower tea into your herbal tea rotation.
It has great benefits. It has a nice subtle sweet flavor. There’s really a lot to like about this wonderful flower herbal infusion.
I hope you enjoy your next cup of honeysuckle flower to you whether it’s the first one you ever going to have or whether you are a long-time drinker.
It’s just another example of how great these herbal infusions can be and how varied and wonderful these new flavor experiences can be for each of us.
Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day.