What Is a Functional Tea?

What Is a Functional Tea?

When we set out to create our new line of caffeine-free, herbal teas, we wanted to offer something more than just caffeine-free and herbal. With hibiscus, rose and licorice, Everyday Wellness has a 3-herb combination is a powerful synergistic blend designed to cool and calm the whole system.

A Deeper Look at Everyday Wellness Premium Herbal Tea

When we set out to create our new line of caffeine-free, herbal teas, we wanted to offer something more than just caffeine-free and herbal. We wanted to offer a tea that is not only delicious as a daily beverage, but also good for you.

So, we teamed up with local professional herbalist and licensed acupuncturist, Nicholas Wismann, who studied Chinese Medicine at Bastyr University, to develop a line of five functional teas that we're releasing over the next few months. (See his bio at the end of this article.)

The first in this line is Everyday Wellness, made with three simple ingredients: hibiscus, rose and licorice. (Really, that's it! We don't use sugars, preservatives, additives or fillers, ever.) On the surface, hibiscus adds tartness and a beautiful red hue, rose adds complexity and aroma, licorice balances it all out with a naturally slightly sweet flavor.

Functional Benefits of Everyday Wellness

Beyond flavor, aroma and its unique color, Everyday Wellness has so much more to offer with its clean, simple ingredients. According to Wismann, "this three-herb combination is a powerful synergistic blend designed to cool and calm the whole system."

Whether it’s a hot summer day and you just need something refreshing (it tastes great iced), or you’ve been running on overdrive for too long, these herbs can help control inflammation, moderate stress and tension, smooth out digestive upset and constraint and have beneficial effects on blood pressure and the cardiovascular system.

The amazing thing about Everyday Wellness is each ingredient has a specific function, contributing to the power of this mighty cup of premium herbal instant tea. Made with Cusa Tea's patented process, which retains the nutrients of each ingredient in our teas, you get all that each of these ingredients has to offer.

Let's break down each one and why it's so vital to this formula.

Rose

It's a symbol of love, purity, beauty and passion. From the beginning of recorded history people have opined its virtues and placed it alongside their most revered deities. The juxtaposition of beautiful flowers above and harsh stinging thorns below has only added to this plant's allure. One only has to inhale the sweet fragrance to know rose excels at relaxing the body.

Used in Ancient Greece and Rome, China and the far east, by natives throughout the Americas, and all over Europe, rose is a very gentle herb with a wide variety of usage. The petals of the flower can relieve pain and cramping in digestion, soothe stress, and calm menstrual irregularities.[2,5,7] Rose has been used for its astringent and cooling nature to soothe burns on the skin, tighten pores and tissues and reduce sun damage and aging.[6] Wismann says, "Rose hips are extremely high in Vitamin C, and the petals and flowers have been used to help the immune system and calm an irritated sore throat.[3,4]"

Hibiscus

Hibiscus has been used throughout tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America for a very long time. The deep, rich red color of the tea is indicative of the properties it holds. Containing high levels of Vitamin C, hibiscus is considered a cooling herb and is said to reduce heat and toxicity in the body. Well known for reducing blood pressure, hibiscus also mildly promotes urination and has an antioxidant, cardio-protectant effect.[1]

According to Wismann, "This combination of actions provides great support to the cardiovascular system as a whole while not having the side effects of leaching minerals like many pharmaceuticals designed for a similar purpose." Furthermore, this herb aids digestion, can help soothe inflammation within the digestive and respiratory tract and has been shown to aid in cholesterol and blood sugar regulation. [1,8]

Licorice

The last herb in the trio, licorice, is an herb that is ubiquitous throughout the world and has been used in nearly every tradition of herbalism for over 3,000 years. It's a mighty herb with a might history, so it's no wonder it plays a role in this mighty cup of functional tea!

The sweet flavor of this root is very recognizable and has given rise to most people thinking of licorice as merely being candy. However, the licorice root itself is considered cooling in herbalism and has natural, steroid-like components that are helpful in controlling inflammation throughout the body, but especially for sore throats, heart burn and digestive upset. Licorice has even been shown to help heal ulcers within the digestive tract.[4,10]

Licorice is slightly moistening, or demulcent, so is very soothing for a dry, irritated cough and sore throat and can help as an expectorant for sticky mucus.[2,5] Licorice has effects on the adrenal glands and can have beneficial actions when someone is stressed out and exhausted.[4,10] Wismann says, "Overall, licorice is considered a balancing herb that harmonizes the actions of many other herbs and is a refreshing addition when trying to cool and calm the system."

Functional Tea Line

And there you have it! A deeper look into each of the ingredients we use to make Everyday Wellness shows that this new herbal tea not only packs a punch when it comes to flavor, but also function. While it can be beneficial for the body, it can also be consumed daily - or even multiple times daily.

Besides Everyday Wellness, we're releasing four other herbal teas in the next few months. Keep your eye out for news of the following:

  • Slim Savvy, which supports metabolism and cleanses the system
  • Deep Doze, which promotes restorative sleep
  • Immune Boost, which supports a healthy immune system
  • Mellow Movement, which helps provide relief for occasional and travel-related constipation

The best way to get news of the release of the other four functional herbal teas we're releasing is to sign up for our email list or follow us on Instagram or Facebook.

Nicholas Wismann - Professional Herbalist and Licensed Acupuncturist

Whether it was in undergraduate school studying Applied Physiology, or graduate school studying Chinese Medicine, Nicholas has always maintained a keen interest in the science of the human body. Originally, he desired to attend medical school and was working toward that goal; however, after studying and living in China he became fascinated with Chinese Medicine.

Upon returning to the United States he attended Bastyr University and became a Licensed Acupuncturist. Nicholas also attended school for massage therapy to become a Licensed Massage Therapist and has received training in Tuina (Chinese Massage), Craniosacral, Reflexology, Myofascial Release, Deep Tissue and Swedish Massage techniques.

See his website here.

Sources

  1. Badreldin H. Ali, Naser Al Wabel and Gerald Blunden. (2005) Phytochemical, Pharmacological and Toxicological Aspects of Hibiscus sabdariffa L.: A Review. Phytotherapy Research 19, 369–375.
  2. Bensky, Dan, Steven Clavey, Erich Stoger and Andrew Gamble. Trans and Ed. (2004) Chinese Herbal Materia Medica. 3rd Seattle, WA: Eastland Press.
  3. Boskabady, Mohammad Hossein, et. al. (2011) Pharmacological Effects of Rosa Damascena. Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences, 14(4). 295-307
  4. Damle, Monica (2014) Glycyrhhiza glabra (Liquorice) – a potent medicinal herb. International Journal of Herbal Medicine, 2(2), 132-136
  5. Grieve, Maude. (1971) A Modern Herbal. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
  6. Lin, T. K., Zhong, L., & Santiago, J. L. (2017). Anti-Inflammatory and Skin Barrier Repair Effects of Topical Application of Some Plant Oils. International journal of molecular sciences, 19(1), 70.
  7. Mahboubi, Mohaddese. (2016) Rosa damascena as holy ancient herb with novel applications. Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, 6, 10-16.
  8. Moore, Michael. (2003) Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West. 2nd
  9. N Mahadevan, Shivali and Pradeep Kamboj. (2009) Hibiscus sabadriffa Linn. – An Overview. Natural Product Radiance, 8(1), 77-83.
  10. Obolentseva, G. V., Al. Trans. from Khimiko-Farmatsevticheskii Zhurnal. (1999) Pharmacological and Therapeutic Properties of Licorice Preparations (A Review). Pharmaceutical Chemistry Journal, 33(8), 24 – 31.

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1 comment

Yolanda  Mantock

Yolanda Mantock

Love your teas, do you sell like a detox tea

Love your teas, do you sell like a detox tea

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