Elderberry tea is a powerful natural source of vitamins and antioxidants that stimulates your immune system and help you protect against cold and flu.
Whether you decide to make this homemade immune-boosting tea from fresh berries, dried, or concentrate, your body will benefit from its natural immune boosting power.
Elderberries are packed with antioxidants and vitamins and are considered to be the top antiviral herb on the planet. Therefore we like to use elderberries to keep our bodies protected against viruses. While some people prefer to make elderberry syrup or jam I like to make a cup of warm and comforting elderberry tea.
Elderberry tea benefits
It is a well-known fact that elderberries are packed with antioxidants and flavonoids. Thus able to deactivate viruses in our bodies.
Moreover, elderberry tea has a high content of vitamin C and antioxidants, mainly polyphenols (1). These stimulate the immune system and may help to overcome cold and flu symptoms. They are also useful in the prevention of chronic diseases (3) and to reduce inflammation (4)
Other herbal teas with similar immune boosting properties
How to make elderberry tea
While making ordinary herbal tea requires dried herbs and hot water, elderberries won’t release their medicinal properties that easily. If you want to get the immunity-boosting benefits of elderberries, you need to gently simmer the berries to make a decoction.
In this article we will cover the three ways to make safe and potent black elderberry tea.
The first method – fresh elderberry tea
To prepare herbal elderberry tea from fresh dark purple berries requires some foraging. Elderberry, Sambucus in latin, grows on a deciduous shrub and any of these three main types of elderberry are fine for our immune boosting elderberry tea
black elder (Sambucus nigra),
blue elder (Sambucus nigra su cerulea) or
red elder (Sambucus racemosa).
Make sure you are familiar with this plant before you start to forage. Once you gather fresh berries, Remove stems and wash them thoroughly and cover them with water. While I would rather steep them overnight (the same way we prepared rosehip tea), elderberries need to be cooked to release their medicinal properties. Cook them on low heat for at least 20 minutes. For one cup of elderberry tea you will need 1 tablespoon of fresh berries and 1 cup of water.
Strain the berries afterwards and enjoy your warm cup. You can always add honey or other sweeteners or cinnamon to taste.
The second method – Elderberry concentrate recipe
If you manage to get a large quantity of fresh berries that you want to turn into elderberry tea I suggest making a concentrate.
Place 2 cups of fresh elderberries and 2 cups of water into a casserole. Let it simmer for 20 minutes under very low heat.
Switch off the heat and let cool a bit. Strain it through the sieve pressing the berries lightly so they release all their juices.
This concentrate can stay refrigerated for several weeks in the fridge. If you want it to last longer you can water bath it for 10 minutes.
When making an elderberry tea, just dilute it with water in a 1:1 ratio.
The third method – elderberry tea from dried berries
If you prefer to make elderberry tea from dried elderberries you can either purchase them online or just dry your fresh elderberries to preserve them for later.
Drying elderberries
You can either air dry them by simply spreading them on a screen which takes several days unless you use a dehydrator . You can also use your oven to dry them on the tray in the oven using the lowest temperature setting (115F or 46C)
Use the ratio of 1 teaspoon of dried elderberries to 1 cup of water. Again you will need to simmer them for at least 20 minutes before you can enjoy a healthy cup of immune-boosting tea. When simmering you can add cinnamon sticks or turmeric to get extra immune boosting benefits or add flavors.
Alternatively use elderberry powder or elderberry syrup to make your desired elderberry tea.
The fourth method – making double elder tea
I discovered this method when reading Everything Elderberry book from Susannah Shmurak. She suggested combining the power of elderflowers and elderberries in one simple decoction. Thus making an intensively flavored and potent infusion.
To make 1 cup of this powerful tea you will need 1 tablespoon of dried elderflowers and 2 tablespoons of dried elderberries.
Place it into a casserole and let it simmer for 20 minutes. strain the herbal material and your cup is ready.
Elderberry tea possesses a tart and earthy flavor which not everyone may like. You can change its flavor when adding other herbs or spices while elderberries are simmering such as cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, turmeric orange peel or ginger. Herbs such as chamomile, mint or elderflowers that we already mentioned when making double elder tea above would do the job
When the flu and cold season hits we like to take some of our elderberry products such as syrup, gummies, jam or extract every day.
However, this period should not exceed 3 weeks in a row according to WebMD or for children, 10 days. If it is taken longer it may lower its effectiveness when really needed. I suggest you ask your doctor if you have any concerns.
The same way you make ordinary elderberry tea, Once you finish the boiling process, strain the liquid and add 1 cup of cold water. Chill it and add honey or lemon juice to taste. Serve it with ice, a slice of orange or any fresh herbs such as mint or verbena.
The elderberries need to be boiled to release their medicinal properties. I suggest turning dried elderberries into elderberry powder and boiling it prior to drying. That way you can create a dried substance that could be made into tea bags.
How to make elderberry tea - 4 ways
Whether you decide to make elderberry tea from fresh berries, dried or concentrate, your body will benefit from its natural immune-boosting power.
Ingredients
- fresh elderberries
- or dried elderberries
- or elderberry powder
- dried elderflowers
Instructions
THE FIRST METHOD – MAKING 1 CUP OF ELDERBERRY TEA USING FRESH ELDERBERRIES
- Remove stems and wash them thoroughly and cover them with water.
- Bring the ingredients to a boil, simmer for 20 minutes on low heat
- Strain the berries through the strainer
- add honey or sweetener if desired and enjoy
- For one cup of elderberry tea, you will need 1 tablespoon of fresh berries and 1 cup of water.
THE SECOND METHOD – MAKING A CONCENTRATE
- Boil the water in a casserole, once boiled, turn off the heat and place two cups of mashed fresh elderberries in the casserole with boiled water.
- Let it simmer for 20 minutes under very low heat.
- When cooled down, strain the berries and pour the dark purple liquid into a glass jar.
- When making a tea, just dilute it with water in a 1:1 ratio. You can keep it in the fridge for months but it usually doesn’t last longer than a week.
THE THIRD METHOD – MAKING A CUP OF ELDERBERRY TEA FROM DRIED ELDERBERRIES
- Lastly, you can make elderberry tea from dried elderberries. Either buy them online or simply dry your fresh elderberries to preserve and use them later to make your tea.
- Dry them using a dehydrator – set the temperature to 105 F (50 C) for 48 hours or just simply place them on parchment paper and let them sit in a dry place for about a week.
- Place them into a blender and pulverize them. Store them in an airtight container for up to 1 year. Use the ratio of 1 teaspoon of dried elderberries to 1 cup of water.
THE FOURTH METHOD - MAKING DOUBLE ELDER TEA
- Combine the power of elderflowers and elderberries in one simple decoction. Thus making an intensively flavored and potent infusion.
- To make 1 cup of this powerful tea you will need 1 tablespoon of dried elderflowers and 2 tablespoons of dried elderberries.
- Place it into a casserole and let it simmer for 20 minutes. strain the herbal material and your cup is ready.
Notes
Use honey or lemon to adjust the taste
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
1Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 318Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 26mgCarbohydrates: 80gFiber: 30gSugar: 0gProtein: 3g
What a great idea! I have a ton of dried elderberries and can only make so much elderberry syrup! Such a simple, perfect (delicious!) solution!
You mention not to use the tea for more than 3 weeks, but you don’t mention how long you should wait before drinking it again.
Thank you for all this information.
Hi JoAnne,
it is very individual, some people take it year round others drink elderberry tea when they seek immunity boosters. I suggest to use it when you feel your body is weak and need support. Use your common sense.
Love the idea of making elderberry tea, I have loads growing in my garden. I keep reading that the berries need to be cooked for at least 45mins because of the toxins, yet your recipe says 20mins. Bit nervous about trying it now, advice please.
Hi Trish,
Elderberries are top antiviral herbs that are packed with vitamin C and antioxidants that you lose with heating. Longer cooking means less beneficial compounds. 20 minutes is long enough to get rid of toxic compounds (cyanogenic glycosides) that are far more present in stems and leaves rather than in ripe berries.
Thank you for these recipes! Do I cook the elderberries covered or uncovered?
for the best infusion, I suggest to cover the tea while steeping which ensures that the elderberries release their full aroma, taste and medicinal properties into the water.