Herbs Jamaicans like to make for tea

Jamaicans are similar to Asians when comes to hot beverages. We like our teas and to make it even more authentic we like our "bush" tea. (Get a Teavana coupon here for fresh quality teas.)

Herbal tea is known as "bush" tea in Jamaica and some people...just like my fiance, will not drink anything but. No coffee, chocolate or any 'fancy' stuff can entice them away from their herbal concoctions  I  myself am a coffee lover but I do love a nice bout of herbal tea, especially before bed.




We have a lot of herbs here in Jamaica which can be used to brew up a nice cup. Here is a list:

• Cerassee: a vine that bears a small yellow fruit which is edible. Surprisingly the fruit is sweet as opposed to the vine which is bitter. The tea is made with the vine.
• Mint: There there three types of mints.(1) the pepper mint which have tiny leaves and is used to make the peppermint extract (2) The spear mint which can be used in many dishes as flavoring and garnishes (3) The collon mint which is hardy shrub and also used for garnishes.
• Rosemary is used to make a soothing tea. Good for sinuses and for relaxing after a hard day's work.
• Lemon Grass popular world wide and is also used in many Asian dishes
• Gross Stake is a tree that is used to make fence stakes. The leaves are often used to make tea. Good for colds.
• Strong back is a shrub that grows very low to the ground and is used with others to make tonic.
• Shamey Macka is a shrub that has prickles and grows very low to the ground.
• Medina is another shrub which is proven to be good for menstrual cramps.
• Spirit weed is good for fevers
• Mary gold is more like a flower and can be grown in the garden but must be controlled. Can be used to make wines as well.
• Wild hop is good for back pain, gas pains or any pain at all.
• Rice and river bitters are great for flushing the system. Also great for diabetes as well.
• Lime leaves make a great cuppa.
• Hemp leaves soothes and relaxes
• Love bush is a parasitic shrub. It doesn't seem to have a root and survives only above ground on other plants or fences. It is yellow and thread-like with no leaves. Good for gas pains and belly aches.
• Thyme...well everybody knows thyme which is a herbal seasoning. Thyme is good for female infections and sinuses.

All the herbs we use are good for some medicinal purpose but can be used as normal daily breakfast tea herbs. There are other plants used as well such as:

• Ackee leaves which is good for the nervous system
• Ripened breadfruit leaves for cataracts (must be made with milk)
• Soursop leaves are good for high blood pressure

Will update with other herbs as I find them them. I'm on a Jamaican herb hunt!