Loquat Tea
I have been making herbal teas all my life. It was part of our culture growing up in Jamaica to have a hot beverage for breakfast. It could either be mint tea, other herbs, or a hot chocolate beverage (Milo).
Later on, when I moved to England, tea drinking was even more popular. It appeared as if my friend’s kettles were permanently boiling water on their stoves.
Every time I would visit, the first thing they asked me is, ‘would you like a cup of tea mate?’
When I moved to the USA, it definitely wasn’t as popular to drink tea throughout the day, not unless you were a shift worker.
As my love from herbal teas grew, I developed a passion for exploring all kinds of herbs and their benefits and as we moved throughout the East Coast.
In the little time we spent in Ohio, I had to learn to depend more upon the herbs that were close to my immediate surroundings.
To learn more, I visited farmers’ markets, attend foraging classes and tours, and joined many groups on social media about native plants.
In New Jersey, we enjoyed red clover, mullein, and plantain. When we moved to Virginia, we enjoyed wild lettuce, dandelion, red clover, milk thistle, burdock, echinacea, and goldenseal.
In Ohio, we had lots of nettles, St. John’s Wort, passionflower, and chicory.
Now in Florida, there are many of my favorite herbs that don’t grow well where I live because the soil is so sandy. I have been learning to adjust and utilize the herbs in my region.
What Is Herbal Infusion?
The herbal infusion method is the best way of capturing the flavors and oils of the plant. The leaves, flowers, root, and bark of the plant are steeped in boiling water to create a beverage.
Loquat Leaf Tea Health Benefits
Most people who enjoy eating loquat fruit aren’t familiar with the health benefits of the loquat leaves.
In Japan, the loquat leaves (Eriobotrya japonica) are used to make a delicious tea.
Fortunately, loquat leaves have been studied and now there are scientific validations on the many health benefits of loquat leaves.
Research has shown that loquat leaves contain a compound called Triterpenoids, which are known for their anti-allergenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties. Read more here.
Loquat leaves can be applied in topical form as creams to combat acne and other skin conditions, due to its anti-inflammatory properties.
The anti-inflammatory benefits extend to the lungs, possibly soothing coughs, asthmatic conditions and relieving pain, read more here.
Loquat leaves are high in antioxidants, which fight against free radical damage,
Research has shown that consuming the leaves is beneficial to combat diabetes, liver disease, and cancer, read more here.
Where Can I Buy Loquat Leaves Tea?
Loquat plants can be purchased at nurseries, farmers market, the dried loose leaves are sold online or as teabags.
How To Make Loquat Leaf Tea?
Things You’ll Need
- Water – Fresh cold filtered spring water of the highest quality is best for brewing the best tea.
- Boiling water is needed to infuse the loquat leaves to extract the flavors.
- Stainless steel pot, kettle – Using stainless steel doesn’t affect the final taste of tea. Do not use aluminum pots or kettle.
- Knife – scrape and cut the leaves into strips
- Cup
Pick about 2 tender leaves. The top should be glossy and the bottom furry.
The fur underside of the leaves needs to be removed. Take a knife or a new dish scrubbing pad and scrape off the fur off the leaves.
It is believed that the furry coating on the underside has the potential to cause throat irritation.
Rinse the leaves under cold running water, dry the leaves with a paper towel or clean dishcloth.
Remove the veins and chop the leaves into pieces. Heat cold water in a pot or kettle on medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
Add chopped loquat leaves to the pot or kettle of boiling water, cover pot reduce heat to simmer leaves for 5 minutes, turn of heat allow the tea to steep for 10-20 minutes
Strain the tea from the pot. Tea is ready to drink. You can sweeten it with your favorite sweetener; I enjoyed mine with stevia.
Side Effects Of Loquat Leaves
Loquat tea is consumed daily in Asian countries now for thousands of years. There is only one reported case of a 39-year male developing toxic myopathy after drinking 2 liters of loquat leaf tea daily for 2 weeks.
He drank the loquat leaf tea to reduce his triglyceride levels. Although his levels were significantly reduced he developed muscle weakness and pain particularly in his arms.
He was admitted to the hospital where he was given intravenous fluids. Three days later he was discharged where he continued to drink loquat leaf tea at a lower dose.
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Categories
- Categories: Gluten-Free, Vegan
- Course: Beverage
- Cuisine: American
Cook Time
- Preparation: 10 min
- Ready in: 30 min
- For: 1 Serving
Ingredients
Instructions
- Pick about 2 tender leaves. The top should be glossy and the bottom furry. The fur underside of the leaves needs to be removed. Take a knife or a new dish scrubbing pad and scrape off the fur off the leaves.
- It is believed that the furry coating on the underside has the potential to cause throat irritation. Rinse the leaves under cold running water, dry the leaves with a paper towel or clean dishcloth.
- Remove the veins and chop the leaves into pieces. Heat cold water in a pot or kettle on medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
- Add chopped loquat leaves to the pot or kettle of boiling water, cover pot reduce heat to simmer leaves for 5 minutes, turn of heat allow the tea to steep for 10-20 minutes
- Strain the tea from the pot. Tea is ready to drink. You can sweeten it with your favorite sweetener; I enjoyed mine with stevia.
Just wanted to say it is a Real bear to scrape the leaves and you will never get all of the fur off. I simply pour my tea through a coffee filter, done and done. If you are concerned about losing oils or adding chemicals , use a stainless steel coffee filter. Saves hours of painful work and makes drinking the tea enjoyable instead of a chore.
Chris thank you for your tip, I really appreciate it.
Used your recipe to make the tea and it came out great! I bought a place in the country in Central Florida and have a couple acres and there are some loquat trees. I didn’t really even know they were there until some Nichiren Buddhists started telling me I had an ancient medicinal tree lol. It was pretty funny. Anyway, looked it up, found you, and am enjoying the tea! Thank you!
Jim that’s awesome, welcome to Florida, I’m happy your property has loquat trees and you are enjoying the tea.
I have a forest of Loquat trees around my house, all loaded now with gorgeous yellow fruit. I have not tried
to make tea with the leaves but will after reading your recipe. Thank you.
Ginger, I love the fruits, they are delicious. You should at least try. I hope you enjoy the tea.
Excelente article, thank you !!!!
I’m happy you like it Carlos, thank you.
Thank you for this! I have a few trees on my yard. I have been using the loquat fruit to make jams, marinade, pies, cakes and now the leaves for tea! Thanks again!
I am an almost 83 year old woman I have several Loquat trees. today I made tea with the leaves. It was delicious and I am a morning coffee drinker but this tea is a game changer I think. well not for morning maybe. Is it just as beneficial to drink it cold?
Patricia, I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Yes you can enjoy it cold as well.
Thanks for your easy tutorial! I live in San Antonio, TX and we have a loquat tree right out front! I just made my first tea today and I’m HOOKED! A very gentle and soothing tea, reminds me of chamomile. I’m over the moon now that I know I can make this whenever I get the urge. Thank you again. :)
I have two loquat trees, and I make tea from the leaves sometimes. I have used the dried leaves as well as the green leaves. I like the dried leaves better, I think. I pick them off the ground if they are in good condition, and take them in and wash them. I boil them as in this article, then put the tea through a coffee filter into the cup. I have a one cup coffee filter holder that does this. The dried leaves makes a better cup, I think. The flavor is like regular tea, but has a much better flavor, keeping the “tea” flavor. In Florida, there are loquat trees everywhere, so getting a few leaves should be free from your friends or neighbors.
Lynn thank you for sharing your method of preparing the tea, I agree it has a better flavor than regular tea.
Would you please explaining more why you have to remove the fur underside of the leave and also other parts of it? Thank you.
Thank you
You are welcome.
Would you please explaining more why you have to the fur underneath the leave and also other parts of it? Thank you.
The furry layer is believed to cause irritation in some people.
Love this site.
question : are there any benificial to giving dogs loquat tea?
Peggy, please check out this site https://www.justanswer.com/dog-health/cf39x-dog-eating-leaves-japanese-plum-tree.html
Thank you for that information. I will try. I have some in my garden.