HEMP TEA 101

One of my passions is to spread the word and educate about cannabis, hemp and hemp tea. And if you don’t know the difference, you’re about to find out! I will answer 3 essential questions you’ve been asking yourself (and me!) about hemp tea. That information is easy to apply to your life and to your consumption of hemp tea and will support you on your journey to self-love as you explore botanical self-care.

QUESTION 1: WHAT IS HEMP TEA?

First I need to tell you what hemp is. This might surprise you: hemp is cannabis. The word hemp comes from the Germanic word hamp, which literally means cannabis. Hemp is actually the legal term used to refer to cannabis that has a THC content (THC is the cannabis compound known to get you high) that is within the legal limit. For example, in Europe, it is considered legal if it has a THC content below 0.2%. In Switzerland, it’s 1%, and in the US right now it’s 0.3%.

People generally refer to weed or marijuana (which is a term I personally don’t use as it’s deeply rooted in racism — a story for another time) when referring to cannabis that makes you high (and therefore containing a higher percentage of THC). Really, it all means cannabis. When you hear/see hemp tea, it implies that the THC content is within the legal limit and therefore your tea is legal.

I’m insisting on the fact that hemp is cannabis because I really want to demystify the plant and end the stigma surrounding it. There are many strains/types of cannabis, and some have a high level of THC, which will get you super high, and some have a high level of CBD which will not get you high because CBD doesn’t get you high. Some will be balanced. It just varies, and it’s up to us to educate ourselves and find what works for us. In short, cannabis is so much more than getting high’.

To sum it all up, when you drink hemp tea (which yes, is cannabis tea) you don’t get high because the levels of THC are only trace amounts, but you still get all the benefits of the plant. Hemp is naturally-occurring in CBD and other cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids which all contribute to the benefits of the plant. Hemp can be blended with other plants of course (as I do with my creations), multiplying the benefits of your beverage.

Hemp is at the base of all of my teas (available on my website) because it’s an amazing freaking plant. Truly, I think cannabis is magic and it’s really important for me to have it as the base of all my tea blends. I am not allowed to make medical claims about cannabis and encourage you to google the benefits of the plant, including in tea form.

QUESTION NUMBER 2: WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING HEMP TEA?

The number one thing to consider when buying hemp tea is that the hemp has been grown organically. I only use organic hemp & herbs in all my tea blends and it goes hand in hand with the healing and self-care intention I infuse in them. On top of that, Cannabis is an extremely absorbent plant. It’s being used for example around the grounds of Chernobyl to clean the soil and absorb radioactive waste. You can only imagine if it’s treated, how much of that shit is going to be absorbed and how much of that is going to pass into your tea. And into your body. So always buy organic hemp and CBD that’s extracted from organic hemp.

The second important point is that hemp contains all these great things I mentioned before: cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids. Other plants contain these as well, so by marrying them, you get really powerful benefits. The best way to go at this is to look for blends that will answer a specific need that you have. For example, if you struggle to get to sleep. If you look online (again, I can’t make medical claims), you’ll see that CBD oil has helped a lot of people with sleep issues, including my own mother in fact (although you won’t find that online). Identify the reason and the intention behind your herbal tea and then go for a blend that will work really well for you.

If you’ve been eyeing my tea blends, and you’re not sure which one to go for, I have a really fun quiz that’s just gone live. It will help you to figure out what form of self-care you need the most right now, and the results include the perfect tea blend to help with that.

Something important I want to mention before moving on to question three is: remember that everybody’s different. Everybody will have a different reaction to a certain blend, to a certain taste, to a certain smell, even to a certain visual. So bear that in mind and try things out for yourself. Give a new blend 3–4 weeks and tweak if necessary.

QUESTION 3: HOW DO YOU MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR HEMP TEA BLEND?

You know how cooking your own food means it will taste better? Blending herbs is no different! If you buy your blend ready-made (and organic), make sure you’re 100% present when you’re making your tea. See it as a ritual: it’s the visual, the smell, the putting it together for yourself, the boiling the water, the pouring … It’s the whole self-care ritual that goes with it. Doing that will also ensure you’re getting the most out of your hemp tea blend. Not doing it while on the phone, or checking your emails. That for sure will mean that you won’t appreciate it as much because you won’t be present for it.

Most people think that making your herbal tea is just a case of boiling the kettle, pouring the boiling water over the herbs, waiting for it to cool down, adding sugar and drinking it. Wrong. Sorry to break it to you, but it’s a little more complicated than that. When it comes to herbal tea (hemp or no hemp), don’t do that. The water for your infusion should be around 90 degrees. That means either stopping the kettle before it’s fully boiled (when the little bubbles appear on the surface), or, if it’s too late, pouring the water in your empty cup or teapot and let the water cool down for five minutes.

Pouring boiling water directly on your hemp will burn the leaves and the goodness inside. So as a general rule for herbal tea: water first, then herbs.

One last tip to make the most of your hemp tea blend is to cover it while it’s steeping. Doing this not only keeps the warmth, which is fantastic, but it also keeps all the goodness of the essential oils that are in the plants and that would otherwise evaporate. When you take the lid off, smell the tea, so you get that benefit that you would get with essential oils. It’s just a different layer and a different way of getting the benefits of the plant. Which adds to the whole herbal tea ritual, to the whole benefits of the plants, to the whole blend in itself.

If you’re looking for a really comforting, perfect hemp tea blend for the winter season, treat yourself with our winter tea box. It’s a wonderful gift idea too. It comes in a really pretty red box with a beautiful mug and a bespoke tea blend, all limited edition for this season only.

So tell me, has any of those tips surprised you? And, will you try them out?

Much love,

Amandine xo

P.S. Want to give a go at hemp tea? You can try our organic handcrafted herbal blends here.