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 on 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!
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 ther was a study back in 1998 where 10 people with type 1 diabetes drank Fig Leaf Tea with thier breakfast and it decreased thier insulin needs by 12%.
- Animal studies have shown improvements in total cholesterol, HDL (good) choleterol, and lower triglycerides.
- In ancient times fig leaf tea was drank to help with bronchitis and other lung ailments. It has been knowns to help with dry cough and reduce the severety 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 has 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 in 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 at 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 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!
24 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!
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!
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.
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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.
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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