6 Teas We Should All Have In Our First-Aid Boxes

For centuries, civilisations have used herbs and leaves steeped in water to cure fevers, colds, indigestion and many other everyday ailments. Here are six teas we should all have in our first-aid boxes.

- Charis Torrance

Served hot or cold, a good cuppa can be just the thing to lift your mood. But the benefits of tea go way beyond its refreshing qualities: for thousands of years, ancient civilisations turned to various leaves for their healing properties, and research backs up those theories.

‘It’s important to ensure that you have a strong immune system, especially with everything that’s happening at the moment with Covid-19,’ says tea merchant Swaady Martin. ‘Teas can help with that, and with relieving stress and anxiety.’

From as far back as she can remember, tea has been a feature in Swaady’s life. ‘My mom loved teas,’ she recalls. ‘We’d go to London every summer and always explore the tea shops while we were there.’

Today, Swaady is the founder of luxury tea brand Yswara. She shares the six go-to herbs that she believes can sort out a good few common ailments.

1 MORINGA

This tea comes from the moringa oleifera tree, which is native to North India, and is packed with vitamins and minerals. ‘It really is a miraculous plant, and it’s my number one go-to tea,’ says Swaady. ‘Every two to three months, I’ll do a month of moringa.’ With three times as much iron as spinach, moringa is also packed with calcium, vitamin A, potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, magnesium and beta carotene.