If you’re looking for a tea that tastes like an exotic summer abroad with pops of vibrant, floral flavor, passionflower tea is the tea for you. This tea is just as delicious and rare-tasting as the name suggests, and is a favorite of millions of tea drinkers around the world. We don’t just love it for the taste — we also can’t get enough of the health benefits that are available with every cup. We know you won’t be able to either, so let’s get into what makes this tea so special.
Where did passionflower tea come from?
Passionflower and its edible uses became popular with teas and tinctures that originated in Aztec culture, as the ancient people used it to help their own with a variety of illnesses and discomforts. They quickly experimented and learned about the wide array of benefits in this deep violet flower, and were able to access it up and down the towns of the Southwestern United States.
In the present day, it’s actually used in medicine in several foreign countries, more specifically in Egypt, Germany, France, and others throughout Europe and the East. There it is recognized as a pharmacological medication due to its potency and wide range of use, where it is used more liberally. In the West, the flower has a more widespread medicinal reputation among natural practitioners and alternative health professionals.
What does passionflower tea taste like?
Passionflower tea is known for its rich, deep, and floral taste, with an intensely sweet aftertaste that fades to a light feel on your tongue. It’s often paired with citrusy flavors in mixed drinks and teas, such as lemonade. These can brighten and amplify its flavor profile, making it more complex and the perfect pairing for your next outdoor dinner party or date night. If you’re looking to deepen this type of flavor in your next batch of tea, passionflower has been known to perform and brew exceptionally well with the cold brew process.
Health benefits of passionflower tea
There are a variety of health benefits that you can enjoy with every cup of passionflower tea. We’ve listed the top four below.
Before we get into this list, we do want to reiterate that if you plan on using the tea for medicinal purposes, it’s best to contact your health professional and work with them to determine if the tea is the right choice for your unique health situation.
1. Fewer symptoms of menopause and hormonal dysregulation
Passionflower tea has been known to trigger the brain to release a chemical called gamma-aminobutyric acid, otherwise known as GABA. This has been found to have an increasing role in our gut health and elasticity, and also to have a direct effect on hormonal stability, regulation, and health, among other effects. This is a fantastic way to naturally support your body’s ability to regulate itself naturally.
2. Lessened instances of anxiety and depression
It’s been a hard few years. If you’re finding yourself struggling to rest at night, or dealing with instances of anxiety and depression, passionflower tea may be able to help give you a natural aid. The way it works is also centered around the brain’s release of GABA, which is known to slow the rate of transmissions between neurons. This can give you a light sedative effect without causing any sort of harm to your body’s natural rhythms and processes.
3. Enhanced sleep quality and duration
If you’re looking for better sleep and want a change from the regular routine of chamomile blends, passionflower tea can help. Used by the ancient Aztecs for this very purpose, passionflower is powered by phytonutrients, which can have an emotionally and neurologically calming effect on the brain. This, paired with its ability to calm your brain through the use of GABA, can help you sink into a rejuvenating, restful sleep.
4. Preventative wellness benefits for neurological health
Passionflower can also be used in your preventative health journey and is very valuable for its contributions to your neurological health. This beautiful bud works to prevent and mitigate the risk of debilitating neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. It does this through natural compounds in the flower, known as vitexin, apigenin, and chrysin.
We hope that this guide was able to give you additional insight into the benefits that passionflower can provide beyond its delicious, crisp taste and gorgeous appearance on the vine.
