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herbal tea

herbal tea

17 1.3
A hot drink made from herbs or other plants, not tea leaves
  • noun
  • /ˈɜrbəl ti/
translation icon : té de hierbas
  • She prepared a soothing herbal tea made from chamomile and mint leaves.
  • drink herbal tea
  • cup of herbal tea
  • sip herbal tea

Drink plenty of water and not just water, lots of herbal teas, thyme, ginger.

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Examples

  • We have a lovely selection of herbal teas.

  • Actually, I drink herbal tea.

  • This is herbal tea for the evening and this is afternoon tea, black tea, so I even have options.

  • There must be some herbal tea up there.

  • - Would you, uh, like some herbal tea?

  • Do you have herbal tea?

  • "Do you want a cup of herbal tea?" she asked me.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Then drink some herbal tea; it's good for getting the taste out of your mouth.

    Blog text (28)
  • There is no evening meal, just a cup of herbal tea.

    Academic text (2007)
  • She'd just made a pot of herbal tea, so she got two mugs and put them down on the coffee table.

    Fiction book (1996)

Synonyms

camomile tea
vsherbal tea
  • UK
10 2.9

A drink people make by pouring hot water over dried camomile flowers to help them relax

is the general hot infusion from various plants not only that flower
infusion
vsherbal tea
6 4.2

A drink made by soaking herbs or tea leaves in hot water

is the finished hot herb drink rather than the general soaking process
ginger tea
vsherbal tea
2 1.0

A hot drink made by steeping ginger slices in boiling water

is the broad hot infusion made from many plants not only spicy roots
herb tea
vsherbal tea
1 3.0

A hot drink made by soaking plant leaves or flowers in hot water

is the adjective plus drink form rather than the shorter noun label
sage tea
vsherbal tea
1 2.8

A hot drink you make by putting sage leaves in hot water

is the general infused plant drink covering more than aromatic leaves
dill tea
vsherbal tea
4.2

A hot drink made by putting dill leaves or seeds in water

is the wide category of hot herb infusions beyond just those seeds
yaupon
vsherbal tea
  • US
9.9

A caffeinated herbal tea made by steeping the leaves of a native holly plant

is the general hot plant infusion not defined by its caffeine content
chamomilla
vsherbal tea
6.5

A plant with small white flowers or a tea made from them to help you relax

is only the beverage form without referring to the plant itself
tea-like drink
vsherbal tea
2.7

A drink like tea that uses herbs or flowers instead of tea leaves

is defined by using non-tea plant materials not only by appearance

How Strong

decoction
  • Specialized
1 9.7
herbal tea
17 1.3

Surface Forms

herbal tea singular
herbal teas plural

Morphology

herbal + tea

The meaning 'a hot drink made by infusing herbs' is directly and compositionally derived from 'herbal' (made from herbs) modifying 'tea' (a hot infusion/drink), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning. This is a straightforward adjective+noun combination following common cross-linguistic patterns, making the expression immediately comprehensible.

Etymology

The name herbal tea comes from the simple image of pouring hot water over plants, and the parts herbal (from 'herbs') and tea (a hot 'drink') show the idea. That's why the phrase means a warm, plant-based 'drink' that usually does 'not contain true tea leaves'.