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This Elderberry Tea recipe is a natural home remedy made with dried elderberries, dried hibiscus, cinnamon sticks and water. It has warm and cozy flavors to soothe you during cold and flu season. 

Two white cups of tea sit on a blue and white oval platter

Elderberry tea is made from dried elderberries (also called Sambucol elderberry). Elderberries are naturally caffeine free and they’re best known for their immune support which may help to prevent you from catching the latest cold or flu going around, and it may also lessen symptoms and the duration if you’ve already caught it.

White pot filled with water. Two mason jars filled with dried elderberries and hibiscus

Elderberry Tea Recipe

  • Water – Use a good spring or filtered water.
  • Dried Elderberries – As soon as the elderberries hit the water, they start turning the water purple.
  • Dried Hibiscus – I’ve added dried hibiscus to brew with the elderberries to make a tea rich with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. Hibiscus has a slightly tart flavor similar to cranberries. It goes really well with elderberries.
  • Cinnamon – This adds a nice warm and cozy flavor to the tea.

Find printable recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Elderberry Tea

  1. Boil water. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
  2. Simmer. Stir in the dried elderberries, hibiscus leaves and cinnamon sticks. Reduce heat to low and simmer.
  3. Steep. Remove from heat and let the tea steep .
  4. Strain. Strain tea through fine mesh strainer into cups or a glass pitcher. Discard dried elderberries, hibiscus leaves and cinnamon sticks.
  5. Serve. Sweeten tea with a drizzle of honey.

Variations

  • Simmer tea with slices of fresh peeled and sliced ginger root (use about a 1-inch piece)
  • Toss in a few cloves for added flavor
  • Sweeten tea with white grape juice instead of using honey.

What is Elderberry

Elderberries are very small dark purple berries. They’re used for making jams, jellies, tea, syrup. At your local health food store, you might find elderberry gummies, lozenges, pills and syrups as a natural remedy for cold and flu season. Black elder is one of the most used medicinal plants worldwide as a treatment for viral infections, particularly in the treatment of influenza.

There are several varieties of the Sambucus tree. In particular, the Sambucus nigra plant is the plant most commonly used for health and healing. Sambucus nigra dates back to 400 BC, and Hippocrates called the elder tree his “medicine chest”. Today, the elder tree is considered one of the most healing plants.

White pot filled with elderberry tea. Two mason jars filled with dried elderberries and hibiscus sit next to the pot.

Elderberry Tea Benefits

Elderberry has been associated with may health benefits, yet more larger scale studies are needed. Don’t just wait for cold and flu season to make this tea, you can sip on it all year long to help support your immune system.

  • Immunity support – Elderberries are rich with polyphenols (a type of antioxidant) and anti-inflammatory properties that it may help your immune system ward of catching the latest cold or flu going around.
  • Cold and flu symptoms – Elderberries may help you to ward catching the latest cold or flu going around, and it may help reduce the symptoms and the duration of colds and flu if you’ve already caught it. (1) (2) (3)
  • Vitamins – Good source of vitamins A, C and B6
  • Fights bacteria – Elderberries (particularly elderberry extract) have antimicrobial properties that help to fight bacterial infections like pneumonia.

Hibiscus Benefits

We’ve added dried hibiscus leaves to this tea because Hibiscus is rich with vitamin C, phytonutrients, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. And it also helps to boost the immune system and may help to ward off the cold and flu (and may lessen the duration of the cold or flu if you’ve already caught it).

Where to Buy Dried Elderberries

Look for them at your local market or health food store in the cold and flu remedy section. You can also purchase them online at Walmart or Amazon. 

A white cup filled with elderberry tea and a glass jar filled with honey sit on a blue and white oval platter.

Looking for More Healthy Recipes for Cold and Flu Season

White tea cup filled with elderberry tea.
Yield: 2 servings

Elderberry Tea

Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

This Elderberry Tea recipe is a natural home remedy made with dried elderberries, dried hibiscus, cinnamon sticks and water. It has warm and cozy flavors to soothe you during cold and flu season. 

Ingredients

  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons Dried elderberries
  • 1 tablespoon dried hibiscus
  • 1 Cinnamon stick

Instructions

  1. Bring water to a low boil in a pot over medium heat.
  2. Stir in the dried elderberries, dried hibiscus and cinnamon stick.
  3. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
  4. Remove from heat and let tea steep in the water for another 5 minutes
  5. Strain tea through fine mesh strainer into cups or a glass pitcher. Discard dried elderberries, hibiscus leaves and cinnamon sticks.
  6. Evenly distribute amongst 2 tea cups. mSweeten tea with a drizzle of honey.

Notes

Variations

  1. Simmer tea with slices of fresh peeled and sliced ginger root (use about a 1-inch piece)
  2. Toss in a few cloves for added flavor
  3. Sweeten tea with white grape juice instead of using honey.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 8Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 10mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.

© The Harvest kitchen
Cuisine: Healthy / Category: Drinks