Chickweed is a wild flowering shrub that grows in lawns and open spaces all around the world, mostly in North America and Europe. Chickweed has small star-like white flowers which are in bloom from March to October. Chickens feed on chickweed, hence its name. Also referred to as tongue grass, adder’s mouth, satin flower, chick wittles, and winter weed, chickweed is popularly brewed into an invigorating herbal tea.

Chickweed Tea and Traditional Medicine

What is chickweed herbal tea good for?

Chickweed tea is quite the popular old wives’ remedy for weight loss. Even today, many people are learning how to make chickweed tea for weight loss.

Chickweed has long been used in traditional medicine to treat inflammation and purify the blood. The plant, in itself, has proven to be effective in the treatment of sinus discomfort, chronic coughing, digestive irregularities, and a number of skin problems.

Chickweed is a known source of calcium, magnesium, potassium. It has also profuse amounts of vitamin C. Its nutritional value and medicinal properties make for much of chickweed tea’s growing popularity among tea lovers. (Photo Credits)

Directions for Making Chickweed Tea

You can use either fresh or dried chickweed herbs in making chickweed tea. Both can easily be found in local health food stores.

Given the choice, it is best to use fresh chickweed herb when making chickweed tea. Fresh herbs tend to retain the plant’s nutritional values better. Fresh herbs generally offer better organic chickweed tea health benefits. If fresh herb is unavailable to you, then it’s perfectly fine to use dried herb, or even powdered chickweed in making your tea.

When preparing the tea, use 3 tablespoons of fresh chickweed herb or 2 teaspoons of dried chickweed herb for every 1 cup of water. Preparations slightly differ when making tea out of fresh ingredients and dry ingredients.

Here’s how we generally prepare chickweed tea using dried herbs.

We boil the water in a saucepan. After boiling, we remove the saucepan from heat and pour the water into a cup.
We then add dried 2 tablespoons of dried chickweed herb into the cupful of hot water.
We let the mixture steep for at least 5 minutes.
Best to strain out the chickweed herb while the tea is still hot.

And here’s how you make tea out fresh chickweed ingredients.

Put 3 tablespoons of fresh chickweed ingredients in a cup.
Boil a cupful of hot water in a saucepan.
Once boiled, pour hot water into the cup containing fresh chickweed herbs. Let the mixture steep for 15 to 20 minutes.
Best to strain out the chickweed herb while the tea is still hot.

Chickweed has been known to have potent diuretic properties. As such, it is best not to drink too much chickweed tea at a time so as to avoid dehydration. Always be on the safer side and consult with your doctor before consuming chickweed tea, or any other tea for that matter, for medicinal purposes.