Allergy Season Tea Guide: Best Teas For Congestion, Sinus Support And Sore Throats
Winter delivers relief to many of those who suffer from seasonal allergies. Plants lie dormant, their pollen locked up inside pine cones and tiny flower buds on bare branches. Along Colorado’s Front Range, widespread broadcasting of pollen doesn’t normally get started until April.
But this year, it’s different. Winter barely made an appearance in Colorado. As we write in the middle of March, temperatures are hovering in the 60s, with forecasts predicting high temperatures in the 70s and maybe even reaching 80.
Ugh, say the allergy sufferers. Some of them—the wise ones!—will start reviewing tea options for contending with allergy season.
Others might get confused.
“Too early for pollen,” they’ll think, between sneezes and nose blowing. “Maybe I’ve got Covid-19? The flu?”
The perplexed ones may need to think again. Because while the volume of daylight plays a huge role in signaling to trees when to release their pollen, it’s not the only factor. Temperature matters, too. And this year, the temperatures have already compelled some trees to start the spore-distribution dance.
Steel thyself for the onslaught of yellow dust. And get ready for it—with tea.
Our favorite beverage can soothe sore throats, and calm hyperactive sinuses. It can open nasal passages, making everything feel less glued together. And some herbs, too, can bring about much needed calm—seasonal allergies tend to put people on edge.
At least in the American West, now is the time to start building a tea arsenal for allergy season. Because—sorry, friends—it’s already here.
Allergy Teas: Congestion Tea
Here’s a perfect tea for allergy season. This blend of eucalyptus, elderflower and peppermint works wonders on those nasty allergy symptoms. Peppermint provides a delicate sweetness. Elderflower brings quite a number avantages, including support for combating sinus pressure, drippy nose and irritated throat. And eucalyptus —well this plant is famous for helping to unclog those stuffy noses, throats and heads. Pro tip: Add a little honey if the throat is sore!
Allergy Teas: Immortal Tea
This tea gets its grandiose name in part from a key ingredient—jiaogulan. The potent antioxidant, a sweet-bitter herb from the cucumber and gourd family, yields adaptogenic effects similar to those people experience from ginseng. It’s so revered in China for its vivifying properties that it’s called the “herb of immortality.”
Among other things, consuming jiaogulan might help cool down inflammatory overreaction and mitigate swollen, congested and inflamed airways. Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine turn to it for lung support and to bolster the upper respiratory tract.
But Immortal Tea also contains ginseng, another powerful and widely celebrated adaptogen—in this case, a root rather than part of a vining plant. To round out the blend, we also add peppermint. We highly recommend sipping our Immortal Tea during allergy season—for sinus and congestion help, as well as energy and vigor!
Allergy Teas: Organic Throat Elixir Tea
All of that sneezing. Those hacking coughs—far too many of them. The sinus clearing, the constant nasal drip—it’s all bad news for the throat. Time for some Throat Elixir! This throat balm has got it all: licorice, ginger, anise, fennel, orange peel, elderflower, eucalyptus, marshmallow root, cinnamon, chamomile. Most of these ingredients represent classic herbs for making sore throats feel better. Either way, all of them deliver wallops of bright flavor, from the citrus zip of orange peel to the sultry layering of anise and fennel to the soothing massage of licorice. When seasonal allergy symptoms attack your throat, this is the tea for you!
