Cannabis and tea have both been used for thousands of years in holistic medicine as well as spiritual practices. If you’re looking for a way to get the benefits of cannabis, cannabinoids, and terpenes into your diet and enjoy longer-lasting medicinal effects, cannabis-infused teas are a great option. Use weed tea to boost your mood, improve your sleep, and add whole-body nourishment to your day to day life. Here are a few ways to make soothing and healing cannabis tea with stems, whole flowers, and cannabutter along with some information on the benefits of adding cannabis tea to your diet.
What is Weed Tea?
To put it simply, weed tea is just ordinary tea that has been infused with cannabinoids and terpenes from the cannabis plant.
Cannabis tea comes is made in a few different ways. For cannabis tea to be officially considered tea, the cannabinoids and terpenes must be infused with actual tea leaves. However, many types of cannabis-infused “teas” don’t contain tea at all. You can make cannabis tea with cannabis flowers and stems, though they will need some doctoring to taste good instead of tasting like wet grass and green material. We’ll talk more about that later when we dive into the recipes.
Tea offers many health benefits thanks to the unique set of terpenes found within the leaves that promote anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. Many of these terpenes are also found in cannabis plants. The difference between cannabis and tea is that cannabis contains cannabinoids like THC and CBD which help regulate our bodies and improve things like mood and level of pain.
When terpenes come into contact with cannabinoids, they can boost the effects of each other. THC makes the health benefits and effects of terpenes like Phytol (commonly found in green tea leaves) more effective within the body in a phenomenon known as the Entourage Effect. Likewise, terpenes also make cannabinoids stronger. When you add cannabis terpenes and cannabinoids to the terpenes found in ordinary teas, you can boost the calming or muscle-relaxing effects of the tea too.
Weed tea can be made in a couple of different ways depending on the effects you want to achieve, which can either cause a mild high or just taste like weed. By boiling cannabis stems to make tea, you can get a good dose of THC and a mild high. Using actual flowers can also make cannabis tea, though it usually won’t get you high. It will just be a cup of hot water that tastes like weed, which means it’s full of terpenes and plant materials that are beneficial to the body without the high. You can also infuse cannabis with butter, milk, or oil and add it to your cup of tea to create the perfect mix of physical effects and a good cerebral effect.
Benefits of Cannabis Tea
Like most teas, cannabis-infused teas come along with a whole host of potential therapeutic benefits. Thanks to the extra cannabinoid and terpene content found in cannabis teas, they come with a few extra benefits that ordinary teas don’t. Some of the benefits of drinking cannabis tea include:
Reducing chronic pain
Cannabinoids like THC and CBD have pain-fighting properties. When ingested, you’ll be able to experience the pain-reducing and anti-inflammatory properties for a longer time than you would if you simply smoked and metabolized them quickly through your lungs. Weed tea makes it possible to enjoy extended pain relief.
Possibly relieving anxiety and depression
Studies show that cannabis contains powerful neuroprotective properties and plays a major role in regulating emotions. Cannabis contains antioxidants that help repair cells and protects DNA from damage. It also acts as a potent anti-inflammatory, which can help with brain swelling and associated mental health disorders. Best of all, cannabis and cannabis terpenes are shown to improve your mood.
Possibly improving lung health
Cannabinoids enhance rather than inhibit lung function. Unlike tobacco, cannabis acts as a bronchodilator rather than a bronchoconstrictor. Cannabis decreases resistance in the respiratory tract and increases airflow. It may also be a viable treatment for certain lung cancers. Researchers from Harvard University found that THC reduces tumor growth in lung cancer by 50 percent. THC also reduces the ability of cancer cells to grow and spread.
Possibly supporting a healthy heart
According to a study published in the journal Pharmacological Research, cannabinoids lower blood pressure and improve circulation in human tissue. This could help you lower your risk for blood clots, blocked arteries, and high blood pressure which can cause heart attacks and heart disease.
Easing symptoms of nausea
Chronic nausea is a symptom of many chronic health conditions, so managing it is important. THC has shown to relieve nausea and stimulate the appetite, making it a viable option for maintaining your health after chemotherapy.
Alleviating symptoms like cramping, constipation, and diarrhoea
Cannabis teas can aid in gastrointestinal relief. Research suggests that cannabis interacts with the endogenous cannabinoid receptors in the digestive tract to reduce muscle spasms, pain, and improve motility, making it a great option for treatment-resistant forms of IBS and Chron’s Disease.
Helping to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease
A preclinical study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease revealed small doses of THC slowed the production of beta-amyloid proteins, which are a hallmark characteristic of Alzheimer’s Disease. Cannabinoids found in cannabis have neuroprotective properties.
How to make cannabis tea with flowers
Cannabis tea can be made with hot water and cannabis flowers by grinding them up and using them with your loose-leaf teas. Just boil and steep. Keep in mind though that this method doesn’t give THC a fat to bind to,
so this method is more for users who want terpene benefits versus cannabinoids benefits. However, if you want a psychoactive tea with cannabis flowers, try this recipe.
Ingredients:
- ½ gram ground cannabis flowers
- ½ teaspoon butter
- 1 ½ cups water
- Honey, to taste
- Metal tea ball or reusable tea bag
How to:
- Combine ground flower and butter and add it to the tea ball.
- Add the water to a saucepan and bring it to a simmer on medium-high heat, don’t boil.
- Simmer the tea ball in the water for 25-30 minutes, watching the heat closely and reducing it if the water starts to boil. Add more water if it gets low to keep it from going dry.
- For tea that does not taste like pure cannabis use a tea bag
- Remove the mixture from heat, remove the ball, and allow it to cool for 5 minutes.
- Add honey or sugar to taste.
- Wait an hour before drinking more tea
How to Make Weed Tea with Stems
Cannabis tea can be made with leftover stems by simply grinding them up and using them in place of loose-leaf tea. Just boil water, steep with stems, cool, and enjoy. You can also add it to your favorite tea blend or bag. However, this method doesn’t give THC a fat to bind to, making it more of an herbal blend and a great way to introduce terpenes to the body versus a psychoactive edible.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup cannabis stems (more or less depending on your desired potency)
- 1 cup half and half
- 3 cups water
- Loose-leaf tea or tea bags
- Sugar
- Honey
How to:
- Grind the stems into a powder
- Add the half and half to a saucepan and bring to a boil
- Add the ground stems to the milk and boil for 6-8 minutes, stirring often
- Strain the milk and herb mixture into a cup using a filter.
- Brew 3 cups of your favourite tea and mix into the milk
- Sweeten to taste and enjoy.
Cannabutter Tea
Cannabutter tea is the most psychoactive and potent form of tea on this list since the THC is pre-infused to the fat in the butter. If you want to make cannabutter or oil, be sure to check out our recipe for that, too.
Ingredients:
- 1 tea bag, any flavor
- 1 teaspoon cannabutter or oil
- 1 cup water
- Honey, lemon, sugar, milk, or cannabis terpenes (for flavor)
How to:
- Add the cannabutter and tea bag to a mug and add boiling water.
- Steep for 3-5 minutes until the butter has dissolved and the tea has been extracted from the leaves.
- Add milk or sugar to taste and enjoy!
