Although this is not my first run-in with stinging nettles (a million childhood memories come to mind) this is my first try at nettle tea. I’d heard that unlike the prickly painful leaves, nettle tea can be rather sweet and delicate. When Bion sent me a box of tea samples including nettle tea, I was both excited and nervous about trying it!
Before I get started, I’m sure you’re worried about the sting.
Cooking or steaming the leaves will destroy the tiny hairs that cause the sting, so brewing a hot cup of nettle tea with boiling water will make it safe. I always rip open a tea sachet when I’m reviewing a tea to poke around in the loose leaf – I didn’t see any hairs and I wasn’t stung either, so I believe Bion have at some point steamed or heated the leaves to get rid of the hairs before drying and packaging them.
Dried Nettle Tea at a Glance
- Blend: Nettle leaves and stalks from Cyprus
- Flavour: fresh, warming nettle with notes of mint, earth and liquorice
A great cup of nettle tea that perfectly highlights the unique flavour of nettle. It brews into a flavourful tea that tastes fresh and wholesome. No stale herbs here!
Full Review - Bion Herbs Nettle Tea
- Type: Tagged pyramid sachet
- Ingredients: Nettle leaves and stalks
- Health Benefits: Flushes through the kidney and bladder, soothes urinary tract infections
- Flavour Notes: Warm, spearmint, liquorice sweetness, fresh, earthy, woody
- Aroma: Sweet herbs, grassy, liquorice, musty, woody
- Milk or Lemon: Lemon, honey or mint
- Where to Buy: Bion Official Website, Amazon
The fresh nettle plants have very little natural aroma, even when they’re flowering in the ditches by my house. This tea, however, has a strong aroma. Dry, the nettle sachet smells sweet, slightly herby and grassy with a liquorice edge to it. These notes come together to create nettle – that’s the best way I can describe it.
Once the water hits the tea sachet, it instantly turns a very pretty and pale yellow-green colour. As it brews it slowly turns a dark brown green. It’s like watching green tea oxidise when it’s left sitting in your mug, but on fast forward. Although the colour isn’t appealing the tea ‘soup’ is very clear.
It takes on a spearmint quality when hot and musty, woody notes start to appear in the aroma. The flavour is warming and herbal with a spearmint edge (without the menthol) and liquorice sweetness. The flavour is strong! It’s fresh and earthy and flavourful.
Even though the flavour isn’t something I particularly enjoy, I can tell that the nettle is fresh, well-preserved and well-packaged.
How to Brew Nettle Tea
1 tea sachet per cup, then pour over freshly boiled water and leave it for up to 3 minutes. The recommended brew time from Bion is 3 to 5 minutes but for me, that’s a bit too strong. I’d brew for 2 minutes if I had this tea again.
Honey or lemon would go nicely with this tea. Or even mint. I recall seeing Twinings nettle and mint tea bags a few years back and now I can see why that flavour combination would work so well.
Why Bion?
Bion is a tea company from Cyprus, bringing natural and organic herbal teas to the UK and rest of Europe. I like the quality – although the nettle pieces (both stalk and leaf) were chopped into small pieces, they smelt and tasted fresh.
There’s nothing stale about any of the teas I’ve tasted from Bion – compared to Pukka, they are far more flavourful and refreshing.
My only concern is that the card boxes that the tea arrived in aren’t airtight in the slightest. The plastic bag inside isn’t sealable either. If you’re buying this tea, I’d recommend buying a metal tea caddy for storing it in once open.
Nettle Tea Health Benefits
Nettle tea is a diuretic, meaning it makes you pee a lot! It’s great for flushing out water from your bladder and kidneys. In a way, it can speed up your natural “detoxing” by pushing more liquid through your kidneys and out of your body. If you have a urinary tract infection, nettle tea can supposedly soothe that too.
There’s also a little evidence to suggest that nettle tea could help curb the symptoms of allergies too. Running noses, red eyes, and irritation could be soothed by a cup of this nettle tea.
WebMD can give you the full rundown of nettle tea health benefits and risks. Best speak to your doctor about taking nettle tea if you’re pregnant or have blood pressure issues.
Summary
I highly recommend Bion Nettle Tea for anyone who knows they enjoy nettle tea, are looking for a new herbal tea to try, or need a diuretic for medical reasons. It’s not the kind of tea you instantly select for pleasure, but it has its place in the tea cupboard!
Tea Recommendation
If you’re looking for a simple green tea base you can blend with Bion Nettle Tea (or any herbal tea) I’d recommend starting with Ahmad Green Tea Pure.
