Fig Leaf Tea – It’s Healthy and it Tastes Amazing!
Fig leaf Tea is so amazing! When we moved into our house we had a Brown Turkey Fig Tree in our yard. I was so excited about the tasty little fruits that blessed us in the spring. But I had no idea how amazing the leaves were until a couple of years later when I was reading about how plants had the power to heal. I tried my first batch of tea. I was a little hesitant because well – whoever would think this green tea would taste so amazing. But it did! I added a little sugar and it tasted like butterscotch to me. I was in heaven!
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love to drink it now with honey being my go-to sweetener. The taste is amazing! But knowing the health benefits is what really sold me. I started to collect the leaves each year and keep them on hand.
The fig tree’s leaves are packed with vitamins. So when you drink your Fig Tea you are consuming all those amazingly good nutrients. They are a good source of vitamins B1, B2, and A. And they also contain phosphorus, manganese, potassium, sodium, iron, and calcium.
But that is not all. Now I am no doctor – but I love to research stuff. Figs have been used medicinally, talked about the uses in folklore, and even the bible refers to them. And from all the articles I have read what I have learned is drinking Fig Leaf Tea helps with all sorts of health issues.
Fig Leaf Tea Health Benefits
- The National Library of Medicine has an article where there was a study back in 1998 where 10 people with type 1 diabetes drank Fig Leaf Tea with their breakfast and it decreased their insulin needs by 12%.
- Animal studies have shown improvements in total cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, and lower triglycerides.
- In ancient times fig leaf tea was drank to help with bronchitis and other lung ailments. It has been known to help with dry cough and reduce the severity of asthma.
- Fig Leaf Tea can help with increasing bone density
- It has also been shown to lower High Blood Pressure
- It may be able to help fight against cancer. There have been studies showing that it helps fight against breast cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, and liver cancer cells. Studies have stated specifically ‘Ficus carica leaf extract having both a chemopreventive and cancer therapeutic role in early-stage breast cancer.’
How to Prepare the Leaves for the Fig Leaf Tea
So now that we have learned some of the benefits let’s get down to the amazing and delicious way of making the tea that lasts all year.
I love to wait until my tree is FULL of leaves and then randomly pick the leaves from different areas of the tree.
I bring them inside and wash and dry them by running them under cool water and then patting them dry.
Once they are dry I trim the stems off and lay them on a cookie sheet to place in my oven.
Set the oven to 200º and cook them for about 10 min. I check on them until they are completely dried.
I let them cool and then break them up to go into jars to keep them to use throughout the year.
Fig Leaf Tea Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 to 5 tbsp. Fig Leaves
- 2 cups water in Pot
- 1/4 cup Honey
- 6 cups water to fill a pitcher
Items Needed:
- Small Pot to cook in
- Strainer
- Pitcher for Tea
Instructions:
- Bring the water to a boil in a small pot.
- Add in the fig leaves.
- Turn the heat down to Medium/Medium-High and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
- Strain water into Pitcher.
- Add honey
- Add water
- Serve warm or over ice.
NOTE: You can add more/fewer tea leaves depending on your choice of flavor. You can also make enough for a pitcher or just a cup.
I love having our fig tree! The figs are delicious, the fig leaf tea is divine, the health benefits are an amazing perk, and the beautiful butterflies that share my garden with me bring me and my girls such joy! I feel blessed!
Try the tea if you get a chance and let me know how you like it!
UPDATE: This Fig Leaf Tea is our most popular recipe! I thought it deserved a recipe card to make it easier to print to store with your recipes.
Fig Leaf Tea
Equipment
- 1 Small Pot to Cook Tea in Or tea kettle
- 1 Strainer
- 1 Pitcher for Tea
Ingredients
- 3-5 tbsp. Fig Leaves
- 8 cups water 2 for cooking 6 more to fill pitcher
- 1/4 cup honey (optional)
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil in a small pot.
- Add in the fig leaves.
- Turn the heat down to Medium/Medium-High and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
- Strain water into Pitcher.
- Add honey
- Add water
- Serve warm or over ice
54 Comments
Emelda Fransch-Jonathan
This sounds incredible. I am totally going to try and spread this to whoever is insulin
, blood pressure etc.
Lisa Scott
I think that is awesome! <3
Patricia Lebowitz
Can I make fig tea with fresh leaves?
Lisa Scott
Yes. I have made it many times this way. (Wink)
Ella
Saving this recipe for future use.
Lisa Scott
<3 I hope you love it!
Shirley wingo
I tried fig leaves for tea it’s great
Samantha
Yay! We’re so glad you tried it and liked it. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Lisa Scott
YAY! It is one of my favorites!
Ethel
I have 2 large fig trees still covered in leaves. I will be gathering a bunch to dehydrate for tea. Thanks for this great idea.
Lisa Scott
Oh how fun! I hope you love it as much as I do.
Cora L.
Could I use my dehydrator rather than the oven? About how long do you think it would take?
Lisa Scott
Yes. (wink) When I wrote this I didn’t have my dehydrator yet. I now use my dehydrator to do it setting it to 140 degrees F for about 20 minutes. If they are not done – I leave them in just a bit longer.
Suzanne
This looks so good! What a fun gift to make for friends or to enjoy yourself!
Lisa Scott
It really is a fun thing to share for sure!
Ken and Joanna
Just made fig leaf tea with honey with my own dried fig leaves! Delicious!!!!! Thanks for sharing the idea!
Lisa Scott
YAY! I am excited that you tried it. And you are welcome! (wink)
Vanessa
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Lisa Scott
I typically keep mine in a jar and they last the year. Once you make it into tea though it is like any other tea lasting a couple of days in the fridge.
Rita Ramsey
Can I use the leaves from a Mission Fig?
Lisa Scott
Yes you can! The best time is to get the leaves before the fruit is producing.
Terry Downing
I love this idea, can wait to make a lil tea.
Lisa Scott
Oh I am excited for you to try it too! Let me know how you like it.
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Maria
I love this. Taste great. Can I use the leaves that start to turn green?
Lisa Scott
All the leaves I use are green. I don’t use them once they turn brown though.
Monica Potts
Can any fig tree leaf be used? I have a brown turkey fig tree and the leaves look bigger than the ones you use.
Lisa Scott
Yes, all fig tree leaves that grow the fig fruit are edible. This is not to be confused with other trees like the ficus tree commonly called a fiddle-leaf fig. That tree does not bear fruit and is poisonous.
Rachel
I love most teas so I was fully expecting to love this one too. And I was so happy to learn how to make more useful treats from my wonderful fig tree. Very surprised to find the aroma of the steeping tea disagrees with me and I have an aversion to the taste of the tea. Very glad I tried it though.
Lisa Scott
Oh that is interesting. So what type of fig tree do you have? Mine is a brown turkey fig. I love it so much. But I have not tried the tea from other types of figs. I need to venture out in this area.
B
You might be allergic to the Furocoumarins in it. Look it up. I just did before getting on Pinterest. I know nothing. I only have a beautiful fig tree in the yard and I love the way the leaves smell.
Lisa Scott
Yes, B has a really good point. Also, if you ever venture out to try it again, be sure to pick the leaves in the early spring before the fruit grows. The leaves can change flavor when the plant diverts its energy to the fruit.
Jenny Harper
I have 3 variety of figs, brown Turkey, white Adriatic and black Genoa. I have not been successful with fruit but wouldn’t it be wonderful to find another purpose. Just one question, you mentioned in an earlier comment that you have also made the tea with fresh green leaves not in oven – was the taste the same. The sap is quite irritating to the skin so I was amazed that it could be consumed as tea.
Thankyou – I’ll let you know once tried. 😘🌟
Lisa Scott
Oh that is so fun to have that many fig trees! That is a bummer with the fruit part. But yes- make tea!! When I used them fresh I just pulled the stem out of the middle of the leaf. I have never had issues with the sap. But I know they say that some people are sensitive to it for sure. I just pull it out as I am breaking the leaves down to put in my pot.
Amy
I have always loved the smell of fig leaves on the ground at the start of autumn. I’ll have to try making some fig leaf tea. My fig tree was massive, but the super cold snap winter before last really hurt it. I had to cut it back all the way to the ground. Thankfully it was very quick to send up new sprouts, and hopefully this year I should get some figs
Lisa Scott
I love that smell too! I am glad it sprouted back up so quickly. I love growing figs. I hope you get a huge amount this year. Do you ever make jams with the figs or anything?
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Catherine Smith
Is there a best time to harvest the leaves? The first time I made fig leaf tea it was delicious, but the next year it was very bitter, and I’m wondering if it was because I picked the leaves at a different time.
Lisa Scott
I pick them as soon as they start growing the leaves in early spring and before it begins to grow it’s fruit. I try to collect as much as I can without taking too much from the tree. My tree is huge so over a period of a couple of weeks I will graze over the tree and pull leaves from different areas. Their leaves will become bitter once they start growing the fruit. When a plant starts to grow fruit or flowers it diverts it’s resources to the fruit and the leaves lose their amazing flavor.
annette swafford
I pick leaves during May, June, and July.
Lisa Scott
What zone are you in? I pick mine pretty much the same and I am in zone 9.
Tammy
Fig Preserves: Pick a big bowl full of ripe figs. Wash. Spread figs out in a glass cake baking pan. Cover all figs with sugar. Let stand about 5 hours. Pour figs & juice from figs in a pot to cook about 30 minutes on medium to medium high. Don’t stir much unless you want the figs broken up. Can in jars. Great on toast or biscuits.
Samantha
Yum!! That sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Angelina
Great recipe. Thank you!!!
I made fig leaf syrup with my leaves. Use less leaves for pancake syrup–the color of the syrup is lighter). Use more if you want to make syrup to make iced fig leaf tea–the syrup is darker. Add equal parts of sugar as you have water, and a cinnamon stick. I made three flavors of syrup this summer: hibiscus, mint, and fig leaves. I’m looking forward to making magnolia syrup. I’m hesitant because magnolia flowers, while they smell amazing, and its benefits are even more, there kind of tart–if that’s the right word for what something astringent tastes like.
Lisa Scott
Wow! I have never thought to make a syrup out of the fig leaves, let alone hibiscus, mint, or magnolia. I have hibiscus growing in my yard now and my son has magnolia trees near him. I am so excited you shared that! I am going to try it. Sam, my co-blogger/partner in crime just made a batch of elderberry syrup. I am now thinking how smart it would be to incorporate some of the figs and other leaves into that. Thank you for sharing this!
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Debra Jones
I have ha harvested my mission fig leaves and made tea several times this year. Loving it and also using it as I have breast cancer (early stages). Have had cancer 9 years ago and medications I took cause bone density and issues. So I’m taking the tea medicinally. Have read so many positive things that it couldn’t hurt plus I really enjoy it.
Lisa Scott
Aww I am so glad you are enjoying it. So, the medicine caused bone density issues? It is horrible how many side effects come with medicines. I am not anti-medicine. But I do try natural as much as I can to help because of all the issues. Well, the amazing thing about the fig is when I researched it there were so many studies on it. I listed a few in my blog post. But I was amazed at all the benefits. And it was both listed on hippy type sites and medical type sites, which just really showed me the benefits are huge. I pray you kick the cancer in the rear – for the last time and it never comes back.
Clayton Coleman
Just made some… I picked my leaves just a couple weeks ago. Since it’s later in the year, I added some mint and dried hibiscus. Also have bees so added some fresh honey and it’s tasty! Thanks for the idea.
Lisa Scott
Oh how awesome. I have some Hibiscus growing. I am waiting for them to bloom so I can harvest them. I am going to try them together. Thanks for the idea!!
Chris
Can this be made with dried fig leaves too? It sound so delicious if so how do I measure it in teaspoon?
Samantha
Hi there! Yes you can absolutely dry the leaves. Once they’re dried you can crumble them up and measure with the teaspoon. Once they’re dry you can store them for later use too. I hope that helps. Enjoy!
Loralee
Hello!
Thank you for sharing this idea! I look forward to trying it in the spring. (I’m in Zone 9 like you, so I want to avoid the bitter leaves…)
I don’t have a dryer/ dehydrator; can they be frozen successfully, do you suppose?
Samantha
Hi Loralee! I do think you can successfully freeze fresh fig leaves. I was doing a bit of research and it says if you blanch the fresh leaves (put them in boiling water for 1 minute) and then freeze them it will preserve color and nutrients. You can also dry them without a dehydrator! I often leave my fresh herbs out in the open and let them dry naturally for a few days/a week. You can also put them in the oven for 1-2 hours on the lowest temperature (between 100-120º is great but you oven might not go that low so just watch them). Once they’re dry you can crumble them up and store them in an airtight container. I hope that is helpful and I can’t wait to hear what you think about fig leaf tea in the spring!