How To Brew Cannabis Tea | 2 Easy Weed Tea Recipes

How to Brew Cannabis Tea from Any Part of the Plant

In a quickly growing cannabis market, our options for how to consume weed seem endless.

The world of infused edibles is often explored by users seeking relaxation, stress relief, sleep aid, and a variety of other physical and mental effects.

In this article, we will discuss why weed tea is the next up-and-coming trend, various ways to brew it, and the versatility and many benefits of consuming infused tea.

Cannabis Tea: The healthy weed beverage that has yet to hit the market

Until recently, edible options were nearly always limited to candies, cookies, brownies, and a slew of other options loaded with unnecessary sugars.

Don’t get us wrong, we love to indulge in a sweet dessert or candy edible, but using these products daily for medicinal purposes isn’t always ideal.

Cannabis-infused beverages have been recently introduced to the market, giving consumers the option to reap all of the benefits of edibles without unnecessary sugars and fats.

Cannabis tea is a healthy, versatile option for consuming your weed in the form of your favorite hot beverage, but it is not yet readily available on the market.

Making weed tea isn’t as easy as placing cannabis flower into a tea bag and steeping it with hot water, but don’t fret.

This easy-to-follow guide will break down the brewing process step by step and have you melting your stress away with a warm mug in your hands in no time.

How is Weed Tea Made?

Cannabis tea can be made from any part of the plant that contains the cannabinoids you would like to have in your mug.

Stems, kief, hash, trim, or shake can all be used, but starting with flower is most common. Today we will be using a gram of Death Rattle grown by Redbud Roots. 

Regardless of what part of the cannabis plant you proceed with, decarbing your raw plant matter is the most critical step in this process.

Once you’ve made your decision on what material to steep your tea with, let’s talk about why properly debarbing your weed is so important, and how to brew yourself a cup of pure canna-bliss. 

What is decarboxylation and why does it matter?

Decarboxylation is the process of activating the THC and CBD in your cannabis with heat so they can be properly absorbed within your body. When smoking or vaping cannabis, high heat from your combustion source causes this conversion process to happen instantly. 

When cannabis is used as an ingredient within edibles, this conversion must take place before their consumption for you to feel the psychoactive and medicinal effects of your weed.

If you’re well versed in the world of edibles, the importance of the decarbing process comes as no surprise. If you’re new to this, don’t worry. We will break decarboxylation into easy-to-follow steps in this article on How to Properly Decarboxylate Your Cannabis.

Following the steps and guidelines in this article closely during your decarbing process will be critical to the potency of your tea, and will give you the widest range of full-spectrum medicinal benefits from your cannabis.

Cannabis Tea Recipes

As with any other recipe, there are many different ways to achieve the final result of brewing weed tea. You can infuse your tea using cannabutter, coconut oil, infused sugars and tinctures, and more.

Below we will explore a variety of methods for brewing cannabis tea, but it’s important to understand that cannabinoids must bind to fat molecules to be absorbed within your body, so using a source of fat helps to increase potency, absorption, and medicinal effects of your cannabis. 

Adding a fat source to tea might seem a bit out of the ordinary, but  THC and CBD are lipophilic, which means they attract fat molecules. They are not water-soluble, so they do not fully dissolve in water alone.

Scientific studies such as this one from 2016 show that the absorption of CBD and THC can increase by 2.5 – 3 times when adding a source of fat into the mix.

Now that we’ve covered the science behind brewing potent cannabis tea, let’s start with the quickest, easiest-to-follow recipe for brewing this infused beverage.

With just a few tools and ingredients, you’ll be brewing weed tea with the best of ’em in no time.

Simple Herbal Weed Tea Recipe

Tools and ingredients needed:

• 1 gram of cannabis material of your choice
• 1 tbsp of the fat source of your choice (We recommend unsalted butter or coconut oil)
• 1 teabag of your choice (Our favorites are citrus green tea and earl grey tea, but we recommend tea with strong flavor such as peppermint if you’d like to mask the potent weed flavor)
• 4 cups of water
• Sweetener of your choice (We like to use honey or agave nectar)
• A coffee filter, fine strainer, or cheesecloth
• A teapot or regular pot 
• A spoon and mug

Step 1:

Decarboxylate your cannabis.

Step 2: Finely grind your decarbed cannabis. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil on your stovetop or in an electric kettle. Carefully add 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, coconut oil, or other fat source of choice, stirring vigorously until completely dissolved.

Step 3: Slowly mix in your cannabis. Decrease the burner setting to low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Step 4: Put your strainer, coffee filter, or cheesecloth, over the opening of your mug. Pour your infused tea mixture into the mug through your strainer of choice to separate and discard the plant material.

Step 5: Add a teabag of your choice to the mug, stirring in any sweeteners or spices you would like to add at this time. Cover and let your mixture steep for the recommended amount of time on your teabag (typically 5-15 minutes). 

Step 6: Kick back and relax with your mug of freshly brewed weed tea. Congratulations! You’re now a cannabis tea connoisseur. 

Pro Tip: If you have cannabutter, THC oil, tincture, or sugar on hand, these products are already infused and activated, and can simply be added after steeping a non-infused mug of tea to break this already easy recipe into even simpler steps: boil water, steep tea, stir in infused ingredient. 

Infused Creamy Chai Latte Recipe

If you’re looking to fill your mug with a flavorful, cafe-style, infused chai latte recipe, look no further. This recipe is just as simple as our first, and its sweetness and spices will help to further mask your tea’s naturally potent flavor.

Tools and ingredients needed:

• 1 gram of cannabis material of your choice
• 2 tbsp of the fat source of your choice (We recommend unsalted butter or coconut oil)
• 2 chai tea bags 
• 2 cups of water
• 1 cup milk of your choice (We used vanilla almond milk)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Sweetener of your choice (We like to use honey or agave nectar)
• A coffee filter, fine strainer, or cheesecloth
• A teapot or regular pot 
• A spoon and mug

Step 1: Decarboxylate your cannabis.

Step 2: Finely grind your decarbed cannabis. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil on your stovetop or in an electric kettle. Carefully add 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, coconut oil, or other fat source of choice, stirring vigorously until completely dissolved.

Step 3: Slowly mix in your cannabis and add X chai tea bags to your mixture. Decrease the burner setting to low and let simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure that your cannabis does not stick to the sides of your pot.

Step 4: Put your strainer, coffee filter, or cheesecloth, over the opening of your mug. Pour your infused tea mixture into the mug through your strainer of choice to separate and discard the plant material.

Step 5: Add any additional sweeteners or spices you would like to add at this time. We used 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Step 6: Kick back and relax with your cannabis-infused chai latte!

Reusing Leftovers

Additionally, the pulp leftover from making cannabis-infused butter and oils can be used to brew a delicious mug of weed tea. We’re all about reusing our materials, and this is an amazing way to squeeze every bit of goodness out of your cannabis. Simply place the cannabis pulp in a tea ball and steep alongside your teabag directly in your mug and enjoy!

Infused Tea Potency and Consumption

Cannabis tea is digested and absorbed the same way as other edibles: it passes through the digestive tract, travels through your bloodstream, and is then metabolized in the liver. You will begin to feel the effects of your tea within 30-90 minutes after consumptiON, with effects peaking at 3-4 hours, depending on your individual endocannabinoid system. 

As with all edibles, tread carefully when consuming. The delay in activation time can easily lead to taking a higher dosage than intended, which is the reason so many of us have edible horror stories. Sip slowly and give yourself time to feel your tea’s full effects and potency. 

Pro Tip: The first time consuming any new form of edibles should always be treated as a learning experience. Since variables such as the potency of your raw cannabis, decarbing, and steep time all play a role in the final potency of your infused tea, we can’t tell just how strong your tea will be. 

It is best to consume weed tea slowly and with caution until you become familiar with how infused tea affects you.

Health Benefits of Consuming Cannabis Tea

Cannabis tea is a versatile beverage that can be consumed (medicinally or recreationally) in the form of your favorite therapeutic hot beverage. Consuming cannabis tea regularly can provide a variety of effects that aid in treating symptoms of many health conditions.

Many chronic pain conditions, and other health conditions characterized by inflammation, flare as a result of sugar consumption. Users with diabetes and other diet-restricting health conditions have had a limited number of options on the market until the recent breakthrough of infused beverage products.

Infused tea serves as an excellent aid in digestion, and can help treat common GI ailments such as cramping, stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea, constipation, and acid reflux. Cannabis tea can help reduce pain, and inflammation, boost moods naturally as well as provide stress relief at the end of a long day.

Cannabis-infused tea is an incredibly powerful tool to keep on hand in your natural wellness arsenal.