Herbal teas are one of the things that we came to know as introduced by the Chinese. Different kinds of it are now known in the market. The most popular ones are the green, red, white, and black teas, ginseng, and oolong. Since garlic has also proven its worth as an herbal medicine, another way of consuming it has been discovered and that is by taking it in the form of a tea. There are various ways in which you can prepare garlic tea such as with honey and lemon extract, with your favorite tea or just by itself. The benefits you can get from it? Well, it is highly recommended for respiratory problems like cough and colds and any other illnesses since it also has antibacterial and antifungal properties. The following are the steps on how to prepare them.
With Lemon Juice and Honey
Grind or chop 3-4 cloves of garlic after removing its skin. Make sure that it has been finely chopped or grinded so as to activate the allicin content in it. Wait for 5-10 minutes before boiling it in 3 cups of water to completely activate the said ingredient which is known to be responsible for its healing properties. Turn off the heat once the water boils and add up ½ cup honey and ½ cup of lemon juice into the mixture, then strain.
With Your Favorite Tea
For this preparation, follow the steps above, but instead of putting it in a saucepan, you can put it in a mug with your favorite tea like a bag of green tea. Pour on it hot water, letting it sit for 3-5 minutes. To add more cooling effects and kind of lessen the garlic taste, you can also mix some mint leaves into it.
If you are the kind of person who can tolerate the smell and taste of garlic, then you really do not have to add up anything to it, only hot water will do. You will just have to follow the steps mentioned above. Anyway the ingredients added to it may or may not potentiate the effects of garlic tea, but also adds flavor to it. It is advised to drink it at least 3-4 cups a day for more or less 7 days to totally get rid of that cough or colds or whatever it is that you are trying to cure.
Wondering what you will do with the rest of the mixture you made? Storing it in the refrigerator will keep it consumable for at least the next day. So don’t let that minor cough or colds bother you or get even worse. Sip up on a cup of your home-made garlic tea and make it go away!
If you boil crushed or chopped garlic, will d healing property not be harmed?
I know I’m way late to the party here (4 years late!) but wanted to answer this in case anyone else is wondering the same.
That’s why they say to wait 5-10 minutes before boiling. The two chemicals in the garlic (alliin and alliinase) have to combine to form allicin in order to get the best health benefits. Heating them prevents this chemical reaction from happening. But if you allow the garlic to sit after mincing, the chemicals combine nicely and the heating process doesn’t cause any damage to the allicin’s healing properties.