Refreshing Borage Tea: Easy Herbal Tea Recipe

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Enjoy a fresh taste of summer in this homemade borage tea! Borage tea is a cooling, refreshing beverage made with a lovely garden herb. Use the leaves and tiny purple flowers to make an icy, hydrating drink!

Every year I like to try something new in my herbal tea garden. A couple of years ago I tried borage and it was an addition that stuck!

Borage is such a beautiful herb that’s incredibly easy to grow. Spiky, grey-green leaves and tiny blue flowers make a lovely addition to any garden. It’s a resilient plant that can be tucked in wherever you have space. The bees love it and you surely will too!

Besides adding beauty and attracting pollinators, borage can be used fresh or dry in a refreshing and delicious tea.

This tea is so easy to make. I’m sure it will become a new summer staple for you!

What is Borage?

If you have a flower or vegetable garden, you may be familiar with the blue, star-shaped flowers called borage. It is a popular herb among gardeners because it’s easy to grow and the blooms are lovely and attractive to pollinators. 

Borage (Borago officinalis) has long been prized as a medicinal plant in traditional medicine. Borage leaves and flowers are both used to make borage oil and, of course, borage tea! The periwinkle blue blooms are also edible flowers that make lovely garnishes in drinks, salads, edible flower ice cubes, and more.

Once you plant borage, it’ll reseed every year, so it’s quite an easy investment!

Why You’ll Love It

Refreshing: The light, melony flavor of borage is so refreshing on a hot day! Whenever I’ve been out in the garden in the heat, I start to crave this simple, delicious herbal tea.

Homegrown: The best teas are those that come from your own herb garden! I love growing borage throughout my garden, so of course I have to enjoy it brewed into a delicious cup of tea. 

Easy to make: It doesn’t take a lot to make this tea! With some fresh borage and hot water, you’ll have a delicious beverage ready in no time. 

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Materials Needed

• Borage flowers and leaves: These can be fresh from the garden or dried! The amount needed will vary depending on if they’re fresh or dried, as dried herbs are much more concentrated. If you don’t have access to homegrown borage, you can purchase it online or in some health food stores.
• Tea steeper: You can use any tea steeper you have. A teapot, metal infuser basket, or cloth tea bag are all great options.
• Water

How to Make Borage Tea 3 Ways

Before you begin brewing, prepare your borage. Harvest the flowers and young leaves and give them a quick rinse. Chop the leaves roughly before adding to the tea.

Hot Brewing

Hot brewing is the most common method to brew tea and my preferred option. It is fast and easy, the hot water brings out a lot of the flavor of the tea, and this gives you the option to enjoy your borage tea hot or iced!

Cold Infusion

You can also brew your borage tea with cold water. This method requires much more borage per cup of water and it takes longer, but different flavors come out in this brewing method. You’ll notice cold infusions bring out the sweet honeydew and cucumber flavors of the borage better, which may be desirable to you! In any case, cold infusions are very easy if you have the time to wait.

1. Add your borage to a teapot, cloth tea bag, or metal steeper. 
2. Pour cold water over the tea, then allow it to steep for about 6 hours.
3. Remove the tea and enjoy over ice.

Sun Tea

Sun tea is a traditional brewing method that harnesses the power of the sun to warm the water and extract the tea. It’s another very easy method that requires some patience! If you’re in the garden early in the morning, grabbing some borage and getting your sun tea started for a refreshing drink later in the day is a great idea.

1. Add the borage to a jar with cool or room-temperature water.
2. Set the jar in direct sunlight to steep for 3-4 hours.
3. Strain the tea and refrigerate it or pour it over ice to consume immediately. 
4. Be careful not to forget about your tea! If it sits in the sun too long, it can get a moldy flavor and grow harmful bacteria.

Tips for Making Borage Tea

• When in doubt, use more borage. It’s way easier to dilute the tea if it’s too strong than it is to make a weak tea stronger.
• Always wear gloves when harvesting borage. The leaves have tiny hairs that are very painful to touch and get stuck in your skin like a splinter.
• When harvesting the leaves of a borage plant, use young leaves. They are more tender than older leaves and don’t have the pokey hairs on them yet.
• Avoid spraying pesticides or herbicides in your garden. You don’t want that stuff in your tea!
• Use boiling water for hot water infusions; hot (but not boiling) water will produce a weaker tea. 
• When you’re done steeping your tea, dump the flowers and leaves in your backyard compost.
• Feel free to add honey and/or lemon juice to your tea if you prefer.

A Word of Caution

There are a few risks associated with consuming too much borage. This herb contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids and gamma-linoleic acid, which can cause liver damage and bleeding, respectively. I don’t have any concerns about drinking a cup of borage tea a few times a week, but it’s always a good idea to do your own research and speak with your doctor before consuming herbs.

Additional Herbs

Not sure you want to make your tea with just borage? This versatile herb pairs very well with lots of other common tea herbs! Here are just a few ideas:

• Lemon balm
• Lavender
• Peppermint
• Chamomile
• Hibiscus
• Rosemary

I recommend trying it with your favorite tea herbs and seeing how they taste together. Chances are, they are a delicious blend!

Keep in mind that borage has a milder flavor than most other herbs. If you’re blending it with another herb, I recommend adding just a little bit of the additional herb so you can still taste the borage.

Recipe FAQs

What is borage good for?

Borage has edible flowers that make lovely garnishes and tasty additions to salads, desserts, and more. The leaves and the flowers can be harvested for a refreshing tea! Borage is also made into borage seed oil, which has a variety of topical and internal uses.

What does borage taste like?

Borage has a light, refreshing taste that is often described as honeydew melon with a hint of cucumber. It has an herbal aroma that makes for a delightful tea.

Where can I get borage seeds?

I buy most of my seeds from Botanical Interests. They sell high-quality seeds in beautiful packages and each packet has a wealth of information on planting and growing. I also like Johnny’s Seeds, High Mowing Organic Seeds, and Sow True Seeds. If you have any friends or neighbors who grow borage, ask them for some seeds! Borage seeds are pretty easy to harvest and they’re certainly plentiful.

Related Content

• Lavender Chamomile Tea Recipe
• Blackberry Tea Recipe
• How to Dry Chamomile the Easy Way (for Tea and More)
• How to Harvest Mint for Tea

Thanks for stopping by! If you tried this fresh borage tea recipe and loved it, please leave a review and let me know in the comments!