Mullein Tea-an Herbal Remedy for Coughs
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Jump to RecipeI ❤️ mullein. I really do. It’s versitile, literally every part of the plant can be used for something different, and it can be found practically everywhere (at least here in TN). You can read HERE how I fell in love with herbal remedies during a difficult season for our family. For the past few weeks, our household has been struggling with a cough. You know, that hacking chest kinda cough.? It started with one of my daughters, and after several days, I finally decided to try mullein tea. I have long since known that it was an expectorant (promotes secretion and used to treat coughs), but I don’t know why, I always hesitate to treat any ailments. I guess it goes back to my “wait and see” approach to illness and life in general. As usual, my husband was skeptical of my snake oils and brewed concoctions, but I have to say it worked like a charm! He had made a comment that morning how terrible her cough sounded and then I asked him later that afternoon, “Have you heard her cough?”. He just smiled and shook his head. He knows I’m right. 😉 Now, she’s passed it to me and another daughter, so what did I do? I made some mullein leaf tea today! So, I thought I’d share the recipe I used. I like this recipe for many reasons, but mostly because mullein is so easy to find, you can use dried or fresh leaves, and it is a very mild tea so kids usually tolerate the taste well.
*This is not a one time, permanent fix, but it will help treat the cough as a symptom of whatever is ailing you. We’ve done well with a cup a day.
*As always, I’m not a doctor and am not giving you medical advice. This is just my experience and knowledge of some herbal remedies that have helped my family. 😊
Mullein Tea-An Herbal Remedy for Coughs
Difficulty: Easy1
servings10
minutesIngredients
3-4 mullein leaves (Mullein is in season now, so I used fresh leaves for the first daughter, but we didn’t feel like foraging for the second so I used some that I had dried from last year. They both worked great!)
A pinch of ground ginger (optional)A pinch of ground ginger (optional)
3 Teaspoons of honey (more or less depending on your preference or you can leave it completely out)
A squirt of lemon juice or fresh lemon (optional)
Directions
- Place leaves in a reusable tea bag (link below) and pour boiling water over it. Let it steep for 3-5 minutes and then add other ingredients to your liking. If you don’t have reusable tea bags (you seriously need to get some!), just pour your water over the leaves and then strain before adding the other ingredients.
Reusable Loose Leaf Tea Bags
When picking the leaves, find a stalk that is smaller and doesn’t have a flowered head, or has a smaller head on it. This means the plant hasn’t used up its energy to make the flowered head and still has most of its healing properties in the leaves and roots. I also pick the smaller, more tender leaves for tea. Just in case you want to go foraging, this is what mullein looks like:
