Herbal Infusions and Decoctions:
How to Prepare Medicinal Teas

In simplest terms, infusions are steeped; decoctions are simmered. Photo courtesy of Carmen Troesser

When I first began studying herbalism more than three decades ago, preparing medicinal teas was one of the primary ways I learned about the plants. I often drank a single herb, or simple, by itself so I could become familiar with its aroma, flavor, energetics, and effects on my body. It was a little like meeting someone for the first time. With repeated encounters, acquaintance grew into friendship. Decades later, those relationships with the plants have deepened—and so has my understanding of how to prepare and use them. In this article, I’ll show you how to prepare medicinal teas using two traditional methods—herbal infusions and decoctions—including when to use each method, suggested dosages, and important safety considerations.

An herbal infusion is made by pouring boiling water over relatively tender plant parts—typically leaves, flowers, and some fruits—and allowing the herbs to steep, covered. An herbal decoction is made by gently simmering tougher plant parts, such as roots, bark, medicinal mushrooms, and non-aromatic seeds.

In simplest terms, infusions are steeped; decoctions are simmered. The best preparation method depends largely on the plant part and the constituents you want to extract.

There are exceptions, of course. Aromatic roots and barks that are rich in volatile oils are often infused rather than decocted because prolonged simmering can drive off some of their aromatic compounds. Herbal medicine is rarely a one-size-fits-all affair, so I recommend researching the preparation and dosage of each herb you use.

We’ll explore both methods in detail below, including how much herb to use, which botanicals are best suited to each preparation, and what to do when an herbal formula contains ingredients that need to be both infused and decocted.

Medicinal teas have the added benefit of contributing to daily fluid intake, although some herbs have significant diuretic activity.

If you’ve ever made a cup of tea with a teabag, you’ve prepared an herbal infusion. But learning to make infusions and decoctions with bulk herbs opens up a much wider world of herbal medicine. You can formulate your own tea blends, adjust their strength, work with freshly harvested plants, and prepare more concentrated medicinal teas.

Buying herbs in bulk—or growing your own medicinal herbs—is also substantially more economical than relying on individual teabags. And then there are the sensory pleasures: the colors and textures of dried leaves and flowers, the fragrance released when hot water hits an aromatic herb, and the ritual of brewing a pot of tea by hand.

If you’d like to venture deeper into herbal medicine making, my book, The Healing Garden: Cultivating and Handcrafting Herbal Remedies, includes dozens of herbal tea recipes along with guidance on growing, harvesting, and preparing medicinal plants. The book also comes with bonus videos, including one on preparing herbal infusions and decoctions.

Tea is one of the most ancient forms of botanical medicine, and for many herbs, water is an excellent extraction medium. Medicinal teas are inexpensive, easy to prepare, and can be deeply comforting and pleasurable to drink.

Water is an excellent solvent for minerals, mucilage, volatile oils, and many other medicinal constituents, although it doesn’t readily extract resins or certain alkaloids.

For that reason, alcohol is often the preferred solvent for resinous herbs such as poplar buds or balm of Gilead (Populus balsamifera), pine resin (Pinus spp.), Cannabis (Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa), and propolis (honeybee-produced resinous mix).

Flavor is another consideration. Some medicinal herbs are intensely bitter, pungent, or otherwise challenging to drink in tea. In these cases, people may prefer tinctures or capsules. You can also formulate bitter herbs with tastier botanicals such as cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum and C. cassia), cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum), or licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra).

Keep in mind that pleasant-tasting doesn’t necessarily mean universally safe. Licorice, for example, has important contraindications and potential interactions and isn’t appropriate for everyone. See our Herbal Safety Guide and Ten Essentials of Herbal Safety for more information on herb-drug interactions, contraindications, and other important considerations when using medicinal herbs.

Medicinal teas have the added benefit of contributing to daily fluid intake, although some herbs have significant diuretic activity. Tea is also an excellent alternative to tinctures for people who prefer or need to avoid alcohol.

Ultimately, the best preparation depends on the herb, the constituents you want to extract, the desired dosage, and the person taking it.

If you use glass, choose a vessel specifically designed for hot liquids.

Whenever practical, I prefer to prepare medicinal tea fresh each day. I typically make a quart in the morning and sip it slowly throughout the day.

You can easily take your tea along in a thermos, stainless steel beverage container, or other heat-safe vessel.

As a general rule, I don’t leave herbal tea sitting at room temperature all day and then save it for later use. Like other water-based preparations, herbal tea is susceptible to microbial growth and spoilage. If you aren’t going to drink your tea within several hours, refrigerate it promptly in a clean, covered container.

Many people find it more practical to make a larger batch, refrigerate it, and warm a mug as needed—or drink it cold. Preparing tea in bulk, much like meal prepping, is a perfectly reasonable strategy if it makes the difference between actually drinking your herbs and perpetually intending to make them.

When in doubt, use your senses. Discard tea that develops an unusual odor, flavor, appearance, effervescence, or other signs of spoilage.

How to Make Herbal Tea Ice Cubes
Herbal ice cubes are one of my favorite ways to preserve tea. I love to have them readily available on busy days.

In the summer, I often freeze hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa) and schisandra (Schisandra chinensis) tea in ice cube trays. When I’m heading out the door, I can simply pop a few into my water bottle.

See our Herbal Ice Cubes recipe for more ideas on turning medicinal and beverage teas into refreshing herbal drinks.

To prepare an herbal infusion, pour boiling water over the herbs, cover, and allow them to steep for 20 minutes. Strain the herbs and drink the tea immediately, or cool and refrigerate it for later.

Covering the tea while it infuses is especially important when you’re working with aromatic herbs because it helps retain their volatile constituents.

You can prepare an infusion in a french press, stainless steel pot, or ceramic or heat-safe glass teapot. For a single cup, I like to use a stainless steel or bamboo tea infuser.

I don’t recommend pouring boiling water directly into an ordinary mason jar, which can sometimes break with rapid temperature changes, especially if they have any defects or cracks. I’ve known more than one person whose jar broke while making tea, sometimes resulting in burns. If you do use glass, choose a vessel specifically designed for hot liquids.

Scroll down to Herbal Tea Ratios: How Much Herb to Use per Cup of Water for guidance on proportions.

Which Herbs Are Best Prepared as Infusions?
Infusions are generally used for relatively tender plant parts, including leaves, flowers, and some fruits.

Highly aromatic herbs are also commonly infused rather than simmered—even when the medicinal part is a root or bark—because prolonged heating can cause some of their volatile constituents to evaporate.

Many familiar herbal teas are prepared as infusions, including peppermint, chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla and Chamaemelum nobile), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum), and violet (Viola spp.).

If you’re new to herbal medicine, experimenting with individual herbs as simples is one of the best ways to learn their distinctive flavors, aromas, energetics, and effects.

Dense plants and roots are commonly prepared as decoctions.

An herbal decoction is made by gently simmering herbs in water, typically for 20 to 30 minutes. Decoctions are generally used for dense plant materials that require more heat and time for adequate water extraction.

Place the herbs and water in a stainless steel or stovetop-safe glass pot. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and gently simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a tea strainer or fine-mesh colander.

Which Herbs Are Best Prepared as Decoctions?
Dense plant parts such as roots, bark, medicinal mushrooms, and non-aromatic seeds are commonly prepared as decoctions rather than infusions.

You can imagine why: hot water penetrates a delicate flower or leaf much more readily than it does a woody root or piece of bark. Simmering helps extract water-soluble constituents from these tougher plant materials.

Pro tip: You can simmer some decoction herbs more than once. As long as the plant material still produces a strong-tasting tea, you can prepare another batch. Use somewhat less water with subsequent decoctions, since the herbs will yield a progressively weaker extraction.

Refrigerate the strained herbs between preparations to reduce microbial growth.

Many herbal formulas contain both dense and delicate plant material. Fortunately, you don’t need to make two separate pots of tea.

When a tea blend contains herbs that need to be both decocted and infused, begin by simmering the decoction herbs. Remove the pot from the heat, add the infusion herbs, cover, and allow the entire blend to steep for approximately 20 minutes before straining.

In other words, start with the decoction and finish with the infusion—all in the same pot.

This method is particularly useful when you’re formulating your own medicinal tea blends. If you’d like to learn more about formulating and preparing herbal remedies, our Online Herbal Medicine Making Course covers infusions, decoctions, tinctures, infused oils, salves, syrups, and many other preparations in depth.

Stronger tea isn’t inherently healthier. Photo courtesy of Carmen Troesser.

A useful starting point for many herbal teas is 1 teaspoon of dried, cut-and-sifted herb per 8 ounces (1 cup) of water. For fresh herbs, a general starting ratio is about 2 tablespoons of fresh plant material per 8 ounces of water.

These are starting points, not universal medicinal dosages. Herbs vary tremendously in density, potency, chemistry, and appropriate dose, so research the individual botanical before using it medicinally.

The Folk Method: Measuring Herbs by Volume
For a larger batch, many herbalists use approximately one handful of dried herb or herbal tea blend per quart of water. A typical daily amount might be three to four cups of tea, depending on the herbs and the reason they are being used.

This wonderfully imprecise “folk method” works well for many gentle beverage herbs, but it isn’t appropriate for botanicals with a narrow therapeutic range or a higher potential for adverse effects—what herbalists sometimes call low-dose herbs.

Once you’ve worked with herbs for a while, you’ll become familiar with their relative strength and density, and preparing a daily tea blend begins to feel more like cooking than chemistry.

The Weight Method: Measuring Herbs by Grams
For greater precision, measure herbs by weight rather than volume. A broad range used in Western herbalism is approximately 0.5 to 5 grams of dried herb per 8 ounces of water, depending on the botanical and its potency.

That’s obviously an enormous range—which is exactly why a universal herbal tea dose doesn’t exist.

Research the recommended dosage of each herb you’re working with. When combining several herbs in a formula, the amount of each individual botanical is generally reduced accordingly.

Gentle herbs that double as foods or beverages—including chickweed (Stellaria media), hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa), burdock (Arctium spp.), violet (Viola spp.), nettles (Urtica dioica), rosehips (Rosa spp.), calendula (Calendula officinalis), and hawthorn (Crataegus spp.)—often allow more flexibility in preparation.

By contrast, intensely pungent herbs such as clove (Syzygium aromaticum), cayenne (Capsicum annuum), and black pepper (Piper nigrum) are generally used in substantially smaller proportions.
The amounts described here reflect common practices in Western herbalism. Other systems of traditional medicine, including Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, typically prepare substantially more concentrated medicinal teas.

In my own practice, I often use stronger preparations than are customary in Western herbalism, particularly in acute situations. But stronger isn’t inherently better. I recommend using the lowest effective dose, especially with herbs known to have common side effects, contraindications, or clinically significant interactions.

There is no universal medicinal dosage for herbal tea. Appropriate dosage depends on the individual herb, the plant part and preparation, the person’s age and constitution, the reason the herb is being used, and—in some cases—medications, pregnancy, health conditions, and other individual factors.

Some herbs are gentle enough to be enjoyed regularly as beverage teas, while others require considerably more precision. “Natural” doesn’t mean universally safe, and even familiar culinary and medicinal herbs can cause adverse effects or interact with pharmaceuticals.

Before using an unfamiliar herb medicinally, I recommend researching its dosage, contraindications, potential adverse effects, and known drug interactions. This is particularly important with low-dose herbs, during pregnancy and breastfeeding, for children, and for people who take prescription medications or have significant health conditions.

Our Herbal Safety Guide covers essential herbal precautions, including herb-drug interactions and common contraindications.

Always do research before using an unfamiliar herb medicinally.

Children generally need smaller amounts of herbal preparations than adults, but no single dosing formula fits every herb, preparation, age, or health situation.

Historically, herbalists have used several methods to estimate children’s dosages from adult doses, including formulas based on body weight or age. A commonly taught weight-based method assumes an adult weight of 150 pounds, divides the child’s weight by 150, and multiplies the resulting fraction by the adult dose.

For example, using that traditional calculation, a 50-pound child would receive approximately one-third of the adult dose.

However, a mathematical reduction of an adult dose should not be interpreted as proof that an herb is safe or appropriate for a child. Children aren’t simply smaller adults. Age, developmental physiology, body composition, hepatic and renal metabolism, the botanical being used, preparation strength, duration of use, and the child’s health and medications can all affect safety and appropriate dosing.

Some herbs commonly used by adults are inappropriate for infants or children altogether. Extra caution is warranted with infants and young children, concentrated preparations, low-dose herbs, chronic health conditions, and children taking medications. My favorite book on herbs and kids is Naturally Healthy Baby and Children.

Before giving a medicinal herb to a child, first establish that the specific botanical and preparation are appropriate for pediatric use, and then consult a reliable pediatric herbal reference or a qualified health care practitioner for dosing guidance.

For family-friendly herbal preparations and additional guidance, see Herbs for Kids: Safe, Simple Remedies to Make Together and our Ten Essential Rules of Herbal Safety.

Whenever possible, purchase medicinal herbs from reputable suppliers that emphasize botanical identification, quality, freshness, and responsible sourcing. If you’re fortunate enough to have a local herb farm or apothecary, buying locally is a wonderful way to support growers and herbal businesses in your community.

Mountain Rose Herbs
 – Bulk organic herbs, spices, and essential oils. Bottles, presses, strainers and infusers, seeds, extracts, books
Oshala Farm
– Bulk organic dried herbs, fresh herbs, spices, and other herbal products
Pacific Botanicals
 – Growers and suppliers of organic bulk herbs, ships fresh herbs
Frontier Natural Products Co-op – Bulk herbs, spices, bottles, presses, strainers and infusers

To support graduates of the Chestnut School, visit our Student Herbal Business Directory, where you’ll find herbal apothecaries, herb growers, and other plant-centered businesses.

You’ll find additional suppliers in our Herbal Resources, or download our free 100-page Budding Herbalist Guide, which includes resources for sourcing bulk herbs and tea-making supplies along with a wealth of information for beginning and intermediate herbalists.

A french press is a handy kitchen tool for infusions as it easily strains bulk herbs.

If preparing your own herbal teas has whetted your appetite for medicine making, our Online Herbal Medicine Making Course provides step-by-step instruction in preparing infusions, decoctions, tinctures, infused oils, salves, syrups, and many other herbal remedies.

For a comprehensive education in herbal medicine—including materia medica, medicine making, herbal safety, formulation, botany, and growing medicinal herbs—explore our Online Herbal Immersion Program.

We’d love to hear from you— What is your favorite tea blend?
Let us know in the comments!

This article was originally published in the spring of 2013 in Juliet Blankespoor’s column, “The Roots of Herbalism,” in the Journal of the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy and was updated and reviewed for accuracy in September 2026. This is an excerpt from our 1,000-hour Herbal Immersion Program, the most comprehensive handcrafted online herbal course available.