When people think about tea, it is most commonly associated with caffeinated black or green teas. While herbal teas, more formally known as tisanes, don’t include any leaves from the tea plant Camellia sinensis, they are still considered a type of tea.

With all of the different flavor options, caffeine free herbal tea makes the perfect soothing drink to warm you up without the stimulation of traditional tea. Herbal teas also boast many health benefits. There are so many different blends to try, there truly is something for every palate. In this herbal tea guide, I will help you decipher the different types of herbal tea and reach for a blend beyond your usual tried and true cuppa.Herbal teas are blended in almost limitless combinations, but the individual herbs themselves tend to fall into five categories: fruit, bush, flower, leaves, and spices. Each category has its own brewing behavior and flavor. You can choose your blends based on flavor preference, health benefit, or to try something new!

Fruit
Fruit teas are probably the most popular of the herbals. Just like the name implies, they are flavored with different dried fruits. These blends are often naturally sweet and familiar.

Fruit is an ingredient that is forgiving of steep times. You can steep these teas for 5 minutes or longer in boiling water. Fruit teas are likely the easiest place to start for an herbal tea novice – or for a more experienced tea drinker wanting to try something out of their comfort zone.

Floral
Floral teas make me think of calming herbal blends to drink before bedtime, but they are certainly delicious and soothing any time of day. Some flowers that are most often used in tea blends are lavender, chamomile, hibiscus, and elderflower.

When flowers are steeped, they let off a perfumed scent and a light, flowery taste. Hibiscus is the exception, as the stamen of the plant that is used is as tart as a lemon. Be careful not to oversteep floral blends unless you are aiming for a strong infusion, as flowers can get very bitter if left in too long. I would start with a 3-minute steep time in just-before-boiling water, and adjust to taste from there.

Leaves
This category encompasses a lot of plants, from the familiar mint to the more exotic tulsi and lemongrass. The flavors of leaves can range anywhere from sweet to refreshing to tingly to zesty to bitter to spicy – it all depends so much on the plant’s constitution and your tastes. This is a good category to experiment with. Pick a flavor you know you enjoy and find a blend that gets creative with it.

Herbal blends based on leaves should be brewed for 3-5 minutes in boiling water and adjusted to taste.

Spices
This section is for the plant parts that call for a longer steep time or decoction, including roots, seeds, and bark. These herbs are often used in warming, spiced teas as well as teas for when you are under the weather. The chai spices – ginger (root), cinnamon (bark), fennel (seed), and cardamom (seed) – are good examples.

Recommended steeping time is generally 4-6 minutes, but can be steeped longer for more warming spiciness.

Herbals have so many flavors and moods to them, so don’t be afraid to try something new or even something you wouldn’t normally consider trying.