The 61 Best Plants to Grow to Make Your Own Delicious Tea

Thinking about making a garden full of useful plants? These are the 61 best plants to grow in your garden if you love tea. All of them make delicious drinks full of health benefits. Many of them may even have multiple purposes so you get the most use out of your garden.

1. Tea Plant

The tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is so called because it’s used to make a majority of the teas you know including green, white, yellow, oolong, and black tea.

2. Fennel

Two types of fennel work well in tea, common fennel, and bronze fennel. They are antimicrobial and antiviral.

3. Fenugreek

This plant is often associated with certain cuisines, but fenugreek has a beautiful balance of bitter and sweet that makes it a delectable tea.

4. Cilantro

When growing cilantro, you get both a delicious food topping and a tea that can help with blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

5. Chicory

If you’re trying to move away from coffee, chicory has a similar flavor profile and many health benefits. Plus, you can easily grow it in your garden, unlike coffee.

6. Dandelion

Dandelions are a plant you don’t even have to try to grow. They pop up in most yards naturally. Instead of fighting to eliminate this plant from your yard, consider using it to make a drink or a salad.

7. Echinacea

If you’ve got a cold or sore throat, don’t look any further than echinacea. But don’t go buy a bag of this tea, just make your own with plants from your garden.

8. Valerian

The roots of the valerian plant make a delicious and nutritious tea. Don’t drink this tea if you’re pregnant or breast-feeding, or if you have liver disease.

9. Angelica

If you like slightly bitter teas, you may want to try angelica root tea. It’s a blend of sweet and bitter, making for a rather pleasant drink.

10. Licorice

Licorice plants have many benefits, for those with digestion problems, menopause, or an infection. It can be taken as a lozenge or drank as a tea.

11. Ginger

Ginger can grow just about anywhere. Even in the rare few areas it doesn’t grow best outside, it makes an excellent indoor plant.

12. Blueberry

To make tea out of blueberries, you can dry the berries, and use the leaves (dried or fresh) or both. Drink them with a bit of sweetener or mix them into your favorite black tea for a boost of flavor and health benefits.

13. Peach

Peach tea works well when blended with black tea, but also makes for a delicious and delicate caffeine-free iced tea by itself.

14. Apricot

If you want a bright, cool drink for the summer, blend apricots with a splash of lemon and sugar. It also works paired well with other flavors like peach or mango.

15. Mango

Mango tea can be thick, where you just blend and strain the fruit with some sugar and lemon juice. Or, you can dry the fruit and make your black tea a little more tropical.

16. Lemon

A squeeze of lemon adds a bit of brightness to every cup of tea. While a drink consisting fully of lemon might be a little tart, a squeeze of lemon or some rind in any glass gives you extra health benefits and a burst of flavor.

17. Rose

You may think roses are just good to add a little color to your home, but they have a lot of health benefits. Use either rose petals or rose hips in your tea to boost your immune system.

18. Strawberry

If you like fruity flavors in your tea, a couple of pieces of dried strawberry can make all the difference. The fruity and sweet taste can bring flavors to most teas.

19. Myrtle

If you want to make a bright tea, a bit of lemon myrtle mixed with strawberries and lemongrass is sure to impress. While other myrtles can be used, lemon myrtle is the most common.

20. Blackberry

There are many health benefits to drinking blackberry tea, including improving skin health and reducing the chances of chronic disease.

21. Chamomile

There are many different chamomile teas that you can buy, but why not make your own with the chamomile flowers?

22. Honeysuckle

There aren’t many plants out there as colorful and eye-catching as a honeysuckle. Pair that with their ability to make flavorful tea, and you have a clear winner for your next garden plant.

23. Jasmine

When it comes to using jasmine as one of the best plants to grow for tea, two species are commonly used, the sampaguita and the common jasmine.

24. Lavender

Lavender is a great plant to throw in your tea when your stomach doesn’t want to work with you. It also adds a pleasant floral smell to a cup of tea.

25. Saffron

The stigmas from the saffron plant can be added to food for flavor, or thrown into tea for a boost to your memory.

26. Violet

Violets make for a delicious tea or lemonade that’s fresh and floral. Just dry out the leaves and crumble them into your drink.

27. Almond

When chopped up and thrown into tea, almonds add a nutty, sweet taste. You can add them to a black tea for a boost of flavor, or make a light tea with just the almonds.

28. Cardamom

If you want, cardamom is part of the spices needed to make chai, but they can be broken up and used by themselves in tea as well for a less spicy drink.

29. Feverfew

If you have constant headaches, feverfew tea is nice to keep around. Take a few dried flowers and add them to hot water for quick relief.

30. Hyssop

There are a few different forms of hyssop that you can use to make a delicious tea that will stop a cough.

31. Anise

Anise is another plant that looks, tastes and smells similar to lavender. It improves the immune system and your skin.

32. Lemon Balm

As the name suggests, lemon balm is part of the mint family with a lemony brightness.

33. Manuka

Manuka is a flower often used to make delicious honey. Its flavor also works wonderfully in tea.

34. Bergamot

If you want to start a bee garden, have a plant that smells nice, and a tasty tea, you need bergamot. It’s a plant often used in candles, perfumes, and incense sticks.

35. Nasturtium

Nasturtiums can be drank as tea but it does have a somewhat unique flavor.

36. Clover

Clover makes great ground cover in place of grass, and you can turn it into tea!

37. Dahlia

Dahlias are gorgeous flowers that will make anyone jealous and you can toss the drying flowers into tea when the season’s over.

38. Catnip

Catnip is a useful plant to have around for your cat and to boost your health with a bit of it in your cup of tea.

39. Dianthus

If you want a hardy flower for tea that can handle your not-so-green thumb, you need a dianthus.

40. Pine

Pine needles can be steeped in hot water to make a unique tea with many health benefits.

41. Juniper

The berries of the juniper plant can be used to make gin or tea. It tastes somewhat similar to pine.

42. Passion Flower

Passion flowers are said to help you go to sleep if you drink them in tea before bed.

43. Basil

The most popular basil for tea is holy basil, but you can try any kind and see if you like the flavor.

44. Lemon Verbena

When looking at the best plant to grow for tea, lemon verbena is a choice for those who like bright, citrus notes.

45. Nettle

You may not think that nettles are one of the best plants to grow in your garden, but the tea is quite delicious and nutritious.

46. Sunflower

If you want bright, large flowers in your garden, sunflowers are one of the best plants to grow in your yard. You get delicious sunflower seeds and tea.

47. Milk Thistle

Milk thistles are said to be useful for some major health problems like hepatitis and cirrhosis.

48. Mint

There are hundreds of different species and variations of mint in the world. Almost all of them make delicious tea with subtle flavor differences.

49. Mountain Pepper

The berries from the mountain pepper plant have been used for centuries as a tea.

50. Marjoram

Technically related to oregano, marjoram is the best plant you never thought about making tea with.

51. Olive Tree

If you like olives and trying new flavors of tea, an olive tree provides you the best of both worlds. Don’t worry, the drink won’t taste like olives.

52. Raspberry

For women, raspberry tea is the best kind to drink as it alleviates a lot of menstrual problems.

53. Cornflower

If you want to live more of the cottage-core life, cornflowers are a must. You can make tea, dye clothes, bake, and use them for self-care products.

54. New Jersey Tea

If you want a love-it-and-leave-it plant that you just need to pluck a few leaves off of every once in a while to make tea, you need the New Jersey tea plant in your garden.

55. Sage

If you enjoy more natural methods for cleaning your home, eat a lot of chicken, or want a smoky and earthy tea to drink, you want some species of sage (or several) in your garden.

56. Calendula

Looking for a unique cup of tea? Calendula adds a sweet, spicy, and slightly bitter flavor to every cup.

57. Stevia

Stevia can be used to sweeten any cup of tea if you’re looking for more natural options than sugar. It also adds a hint of a licorice flavor.

58. Rosemary

Have you ever had savory tea? Rosemary tea might be something you’ve never thought to give a try before.

59. Scented Geranium

Geraniums are beautiful flowers that are very floral and rose-like when used in tea.

60. Sweet Tea Vine

This plant has a lot of different names, including jiaogulan, sweet tea vine, and southern ginseng. It’s not the tastiest tea, but it has a lot of health benefits.

61. Thyme

Drinking thyme tea is said to be a restorative drink that makes you feel better, even during colds and the flu.

Summary of the Best Plants to Grow to Make Your Own Tea