Seasonal Support Tea

I never really thought of myself as someone with seasonal allergies. Then came one particularly brutal Santa Ana wind season.

My eyes were dry, itchy, and miserable. I tried eye drops. I tried waiting it out. Benadryl worked well enough, but I hated the way it made me feel. At a certain point, I would have tried just about anything if someone told me it might make my eyes stop itching.

That was how I ended up making this tea.

I started with nettle, one of the herbs most commonly associated with seasonal allergy support, then added chamomile, eyebright, and peppermint. I wasn’t expecting anything dramatic. It was tea. I figured that at worst I’d have a pleasant little afternoon ritual while the Santa Ana winds tried to sandblast Southern California.

Instead, I noticed that one cup every afternoon seemed to help far more than I expected. My eyes were more comfortable, I wasn’t constantly thinking about them, and the whole miserable allergy experience became much easier to live with.

That is, of course, my experience rather than proof that this tea treats seasonal allergies. Bodies are complicated, allergy seasons vary, and a cup of herbs is not a controlled clinical trial. But it worked well enough for me that this blend earned a permanent place in my cupboard whenever the air starts misbehaving.

The Seasonal Support Tea Blend

Mix equal parts of:

• Dried stinging nettle leaf
  Nettle is traditionally used for seasonal allergy support and is the backbone of this blend. It has also been studied for allergic rhinitis, although the human evidence is still limited and mixed.
• Dried chamomile flowers
  Chamomile brings a soft, soothing quality to the tea and contains plant compounds studied for anti-inflammatory activity. It also helps mellow the greener, more herbal flavors in the blend.
• Dried eyebright herb
  Eyebright has a long history of traditional use for irritated eyes and upper respiratory discomfort. Research on eyebright exists, particularly in eye preparations, but drinking the herb as tea has not been shown to directly treat itchy eyes.
• Dried peppermint leaves
  Peppermint gives the blend a brighter, fresher flavor and adds the cooling sensation associated with menthol. That sensation can make breathing feel more open and comfortable, even when it is not actually reducing nasal congestion.

How to Make It

Combine the dried herbs in equal proportions and store the blend in an airtight container away from heat, moisture, and direct sunlight.

To make one cup:

• Use 2 teaspoons of the tea blend per 1 cup of water.
• Pour just-boiled water over the herbs.
• Cover and steep for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Strain and drink warm.

I usually drank one cup in the afternoon during the worst part of allergy season.

What It Tastes Like

This is a very green herbal tea, but it is surprisingly pleasant.

Nettle and eyebright give it a grassy, slightly vegetal base. Chamomile adds a little softness and natural sweetness, while peppermint lifts the whole thing and keeps it from tasting like someone steeped the lawn.

If you prefer a sweeter tea, a little honey works beautifully here.

A Note About Chamomile and Allergies

There is one bit of irony worth mentioning in an allergy tea: chamomile itself can cause reactions in some people, particularly those who are sensitive to ragweed and other plants in the daisy family.

If ragweed is one of your known allergens, you may want to skip the chamomile or try the other herbs separately before making the full blend.

Herbal Tea as Support

I think of blends like this as supportive rather than curative.

Seasonal allergies can range from mildly annoying to genuinely miserable, and herbs do not replace appropriate allergy treatment when you need it. But sometimes small things make the body more comfortable while it deals with whatever the environment is throwing at it.

For me, during one particularly awful stretch of Santa Ana winds, this little cup of seasonal support tea became one of those things.