Delicious Hibiscus Teas for Managing High Blood Pressure
If you’re looking for the best tea for high blood pressure, hibiscus is where to start. It is well known by those with hypertension, and every pick on this list is built on it.
We chose these five for one more reason. Whatever a tea may do for you, it only does it if you keep drinking it, so each one of these teas is a joy to drink. Each blend in the list runs from tart and citrusy to berry and peach, with one black tea for anyone who wants caffeine in the cup.
What tea is good for high blood pressure?
Hibiscus is the answer that holds up best. People with high blood pressure who drank it regularly tended to see their numbers come down a little, and most clearly when their pressure started out high. Green and black tea may help too, though the change is smaller, and it looks strongest after months of steady drinking rather than a few weeks.
Keep the size of that in perspective. The National Institutes of Health calls the effect of both hibiscus and tea small, and says not to replace prescribed treatment with them. Tea can sit alongside what your doctor has you doing. It can’t stand in for it.
If you already take something for blood pressure, talk to your doctor before hibiscus becomes a daily habit. The two push in the same direction, and animal research has found hibiscus can change how some blood pressure drugs, including a common diuretic, behave in the body.
Wondering whether the caffeine in tea works against you? Our post on whether drinking tea can lower your blood pressure takes that question on.
Blood Orange Hibiscus Fruit Tisane
This tea has hibiscus, orange peel, rose hips, and natural flavor. It brews tangy and bold, with the orange taking the edge off the tartness, and it’s naturally caffeine-free. Steep 1.5 teaspoons per 8 oz of water at 212°F for 5 to 10 minutes, the same for all four hibiscus blends below. It holds 5.0 stars across 26 reviews, and one customer summed it up: “This tea is wonderful and enjoyable hot or cold. Its great!”
Very Berry Hibiscus Fruit Tea
Very Berry is the best seller of the five, with more than 3,900 sold. Hibiscus and rose hips bring the tartness, and blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, elderberries, and apple pile on top until it tastes like berry cobbler. If plain hibiscus is too sour to drink every day, this is the one to try. It comes loose as a sample, a 5 oz pouch, or a 16 oz bulk bag, and in a box of 15 pyramid teabags if you’d rather not measure.
Strawberry Fields Hibiscus Fruit Tisane
Strawberry Fields mixes hibiscus with elderberries, black currant, blackberries, and strawberry and raspberry pieces, with apple and wild strawberry leaves rounding it out. It’s tangy and tart up front with a lot of berry behind it, and since hibiscus blends have no tannin, you can leave it steeping in the fridge overnight without it turning bitter, so a pitcher is always ready. One customer wrote, “Best tea ever. I drink it by the pot all day long.”
Peach Infusion Hibiscus Fruit Tea
Peach Infusion is the softest of the hibiscus picks. The peach comes through first, and apple, papaya, currants, and berries mellow the hibiscus underneath, so the cup tastes creamy and juicy more than sour. If tartness is what has kept you away from hibiscus, start here. A reviewer called it “Very flavorful tea. Good for summer iced teas!” It also comes in 15 pyramid teabags.
Black Cherry Black Tea
This is the one pick with caffeine: black tea blended with hibiscus, rose hips, safflower, and cranberries, tasting tart and sweet like cherry without needing sugar. An average cup has around 45 mg of caffeine, about half a cup of coffee, so if your doctor has asked you to cut back, stay with the hibiscus blends above. Brew it a little cooler and shorter: 1.5 teaspoons per 8 oz at 203°F for 3 to 5 minutes. One customer said: “I didn’t even need to sweeten it.”
Every tea on this list comes in a sample that makes 8 cups, so try two or three and keep the one you reach for without thinking about it. The rest of our teas for blood pressure are there when you want to branch out.
