Lemon Verbena, fondly called Lemon Beebrush, is a perennial, aromatic shrub native to South America. The ‘lemon’ in its name comes from the delicious lemony odour that the shrub’s leaves exude. The plant was introduced to Europe in the 17th century and has found many uses since then. From being used in soaps and fragrances to medicinal purposes, lemon verbena is most popularly brewed as a bright yellow cup of citrusy tea. Although known as a tea in common parlance, it is an infusion. Are you curious about this delicious brew made from the evergreen shrubs of the Lemon Verbena plant? Keep reading to find out all about it.
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What Is Lemon Verbena?
Lemon verbena was discovered by Philibert Commerson, a French botanist, in the 1760s. The woody shrub has pointy, sharp green leaves and a stem containing lilac flowers and can grow to a height of 3 meters. Its leaves emanate the characteristic scent of lemon. Lemon verbena has been cultivated for its oil. Another common usage is in herbal teas. Lemon verbena tea is popular mainly because of its refreshing lemon flavour. Let’s find out more about this tea below.
How to Make Lemon Verbena Tea?
Lemon verbena tea can be consumed sweetened or unsweetened. Its striking feature is that it gives off such a strong, lemony scent without containing any lemon or being sour! The tea can be served hot or iced with a prep time of just one minute. It does not contain caffeine so that it can be enjoyed by almost anyone.
Ingredients Required
- Lemon verbena leaves
- Water
- A sweetener in the form of honey or sugar (optional)
The Recipe
- In a pot, boil some water.
- Pour the hot water over the leaves of lemon verbena.
- Cover the pot and let it steep for 10 minutes.
- Add a spoonful of sugar or honey if you like your tea sweet.
- That’s it. Now, enjoy the delicious brew. You can let the leaves remain in the cup or remove them.
- To enjoy lemon verbena iced tea, cool the leftovers and store them in an airtight container in your refrigerator for five days. After this period, take them out and enjoy them as is!
Benefits of Lemon Verbena Tea
Lemon verbena tea is touted for its health benefits. Let us find out how it helps our bodies.
1. Helps Reduce Stress
Lemon verbena tea calms the nervous system and helps relieve muscle tension. It contains verbascoside, a polyphenol compound with strong antioxidant properties. Studies have found it to have anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties. It also reduces anxiety. Consuming tea at the end of a long day can help you feel refreshed inside and out.
2. Promotes Digestive Health
Lemon verbena tea has anti-spasmodic qualities, which enable it to relieve digestive issues like bloating, indigestion, and flatulence. As mentioned above, the tea has anti-fungal properties, which help remedy interference with nutrient absorption. The leaves of lemon verbena contain mucilage. They protect the stomach membrane from corrosive acid levels.
3. Prevents Muscle Damage
Lemon verbena contains many compounds that protect against cell damage, making it suitable for those who engage in vigorous exercise. Consuming the extract of lemon verbena in the form of tea or in any other way has been shown to reduce muscle damage and lead to quicker recovery. As such, lemon verbena tea is ideal for athletes as it protects against exercise-induced muscle damage.
4. Promotes Better Sleep
With its citrusy aroma and scent, Lemon verbena tea has a soothing effect. It helps people fall asleep faster. The plant has been historically used to treat sleep disorders like insomnia. This is because it contains melatonin, a hormone found in the human body that increases during the night. The tea regulates the production of this hormone, which in turn helps us fall asleep. Consuming tea before bedtime immensely improves the ability of those with insomnia to fall asleep. It also increases total sleep time and quality of sleep.
5. Relieves Joint Pain
Lemon verbena tea can help relieve joint pain because of the chemical component verbascoside. This anti-inflammatory compound has been used as an alternative treatment for joint pain. Consuming this tea regularly can reduce joint pain and stiffness. Taking the tea or lemon verbena extract in conjunction with an omega-3 fatty acid supplement has been found to reduce joint comfort and improve joint mobility. This has been attributed to the antioxidants found in lemon verbena, which neutralise the body’s free radicals.
6. Boosts Immunity
Lemon verbena tea contains high amounts of phenolic compounds. These antioxidants reduce oxidative stress, thereby strengthening the immune system. The antioxidant activity in lemon verbena is similar to that of green tea. However, it tastes better than green tea, which is popularly consumed. The tea also has some free-radical-scavenging properties, which make it ideal for promoting better immunity.
7. Helps Combat Fever
Lemon verbena has been used as a traditional medicine in South America for centuries. The herb has been used to reduce fever. The plant is diaphoretic, so it can stimulate sweating. Drinking it during a fever helps lower the body’s temperature.
8. Effective for Weight Loss
It is an herbal tea often recommended to those on a weight loss journey. The organic compounds inside the tea help reduce fat accumulation. Taking lemon verbena extract and hibiscus extract for about two months has been shown to reduce ghrelin, the hunger-promoting hormone. It causes feelings of satiation, which helps people manage their diets.
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Summing Up
Lemon verbena tea is a refreshing drink with tons of health benefits. From improving sleep quality to reducing weight and relieving joint pain, there seems to be nothing the wonderful concoction can’t do. Preparing it takes hardly a minute. Now that you’ve learned about the tea’s magical properties make yourself a hot cup of citrusy brew and toast to good health!
