7 Healthy Herbal Teas & Beverages You Should Start Drinking

For many people, a trip to the beverage aisle of a grocery store can be an overwhelming experience. The modern beverage market has a seemingly infinite number of choices ranging from juices to flavored seltzers. However, most of these drinks are laden with sugar, preservatives or unnatural ingredients. 

The good news is that there’s plenty of healthy options in the form of herbal teas and drinks. At Golden Nest, we pride ourselves in our diverse lineup of refreshing herbal beverages, each combining both flavor and health.

What are Herbal Teas and Herbal Drinks? 

First, herbal teas are technically not teas. A true tea is brewed with the leaves of Camellia Sinensis,better known as the tea plant. These include green, black, white or any of the various styles of teas consumed around the world.

Herbal teas are basically any blend of edible leaves, fruit, bark, flower or roots infused with water. For herbal drinks, there is no true definition, but it’s usually referred to a cold beverage made from similar ingredients. The key factor for both drinks is an emphasis on health and nutrition.

Ginseng Drink

This light and delicious ginseng drink from Golden Nest is packed with the natural sweetness of honey and the medicinal punch of ginseng. In fact, ginseng is often considered a superfood and one of the healthiest ingredients on the planet.

Ginseng root has many benefits and is a highly-prized ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine for its phenomenal medicinal properties. The root has incredible cooling abilities and is fantastic when dealing with a cold or flu. Ginseng is also amazing for strengthening the immune system, preventing nausea, colon inflammation, gastritis, digestion and appetite loss. Finally, ginseng is notable for stress relief, which is a key factor for general health.

Red Dates Tea

Golden Nest prides itself on making the finest swallows nest beverages. But these beverages also come in a variety of flavors and one of the tastiest ones is the Red Dates Tea. This drink blends swallow nests with the mellow sweetness of Chinese red dates and goji berries. 

Chinese red dates are the dried version of the jujube fruit. Native to south Asia, the jujube has an apple-like flavor when eaten raw. In Chinese cuisine, the fruit is mostly served dried, producing a final product that’s chewy and sweet. Nutrient dense, both Chinese dates and goji berries are incredibly high in antioxidants. Red date health benefits also include high amounts of fiber and is eaten in traditional Chinese medicine to aid ailments spanning digestion to insomnia.

Goji Berry Drink with Coconut Water

Brilliantly red goji berries are fantastic when made into an enticing herbal beverage. Goji berries are incredibly nutritious, containing plenty of vitamin C, anti-oxidants and an excellent source of protein for fruit. In Chinese medicine, goji berries are used for a myriad of health benefits including, kidney and liver health as well as improving eyesight. This Golden Nest Goji Berry Drink also includes coconut water, a natural thirst quencher filled with electrolytes and fantastic on a hot day.

Longan Drink

This herbal drink is made by mixing swallow’s nest with real longan fruit juice, boosting a fragrant and floral sweetness. The flesh of the longan fruit, called “dragon eye” in Chinese, is similar in both texture and color to lychees. Although longans are smaller and less floral in flavor. Traditional Chinese herbalists believe longans possess a relaxing quality as well as beneficial in the building of energy (Qi) and add both luster and beauty to skin.

Loquat Tea

Another tasty fruit drink by Golden Nest, this beverage features honey and the prized Chinese fruit, loquat. The loquat, which resembles a small apricot, is a very popular fruit in China. It can be difficult to find the fruit in America as raw loquat bruises easily during travel. Curious customers can find the loquat fruit at specialty produce purveyors. Nutritionally, they’re supercharged with antioxidants, magnesium, potassium and rich in beta carotenes. From the traditional Chinese medicine standpoint, doctors have long sought out loquats for its soothing benefits to the body.

Turmeric Drink

This delicious and healthy drink by Healthee is fragrant with spices and just a touch of sweetness from natural cane sugar. The earthy, slightly bitter and peppery flavor of this drink is the result of its star ingredient –– organic turmeric root. This vibrant orange root is widely used throughout Southeast Asia and India. Turmeric benefits include anti-inflammation and is an excellent source of antioxidants. Turmeric also aids in the production of enzymes in the liver and can help remove toxins in the body.

Ginger Tea 

There’s nothing quite like the invigorating flavor of delicious ginger tea. However, the spicy flavor of ginger can sometimes be too harsh. This can be tempered with the addition of honey or brown sugar. Nutritionally, ginger is a health superfood and great for reducing gas, helps with digestion and relieving nausea. Ginger is also used to help fight colds and flus. In 2013, researchers determined that fresh ginger had a positive effect on the respiratory system.

How to Choose Herbal Teas and Herbal Drinks  

With health being such an important factor for herbal drinks, it’s important to know your ingredients. Choose drinks that emphasize its ingredients clearly on the label and without the presence of difficult to pronounce words usually found in chemistry textbooks. For natural sweeteners, honey or pure cane sugar is preferable to corn syrup.

Sourcing is also critical. Where does the fruits, herbs and spices in the beverage come from? Is it sustainable? Is it organic? These are all great questions to ask when choosing herbal teas and drinks. Educate yourself on the health benefits of each ingredient and customize what you need on different days.

This list is only the beginning –– there’s essentially an infinite variety of ingredient and flavor combinations for herbal teas and drinks, each featuring different spices, herbs and fruit. At Golden Nest, we believe in producing only the most delicious, creative and healthy herbal drinks, all made with the best sourcing available.