Benefits of Soursop Tea | How to Make Soursop Tea
By now you have probably heard about soursop tea and the many health benefits it possesses. There are different instructions out there on how to make this tea, but in our opinion there is one way to make this tea, so you can fully reap all of the health benefits. So, keep reading to learn about the benefits of soursop tea / how to make soursop tea.
What is Soursop Tea?
If you haven’t already come across this fruit, then you should know that soursop is one of the latest fruits gaining popularity when it comes to health food craze. To be exact, Soursop Graviola….
The soursop fruit is a unique fruit in every way imaginable, from its outer appearance (spikey look, no worries they are not thorn sharp), to it compartmentalize, cream colored fleshy membranes that house large, dark, brown seeds …this fruit is indeed a unique sight to behold.
Soursop is also known as Guanabana in some areas of the world (i.e. Spanish speaking countries, Central America, parts of south America, some African countries, etc.). You may also encounter this fruit under the name of Graviola in various parts of the world.
But when it comes to making soursop tea, the fruit has nothing to do with the tea making process, instead, the leaves are used.
You can choose to use fresh leaves or dried leaves. We say fresh is always best, so if you can get your hands on some fresh soursop leaves, the better. Otherwise, sun, oven, or dehydrator dried leaves will do.
Benefits of Soursop Tea
There are so many benefits to soursop tea, but we will quickly go over the main ones.
Detoxifying:
Soursop tea is great to use short term, to help detoxify the body.
It’s capability to kill parasites help in aid the body in detoxifying.
Healing:
Soursop tea is great for healing the body and helping detoxify. This tea is so phenomenal at cleaning out the body that it has been purported to be a cancer killer, by reducing and in some cases eliminating cancerous cells in the body.
These cancerous cells can be a result of free radicals causing damage to healthy cells resulting various forms of disease, one of which can be cancer due to cellular mutations going out of control. If the body is unable to correct the issue and rid itself of the growing mutations, then cancerous growths or masses are found.
By including soursop tea in you health regimen, say once or twice a month, you can reduce or eliminate any present free radicals. But do be aware of your body and note any side effects, since there can be some adverse reactions.
Some side effects include low blood pressure (so avoid if you suffer from this issue already). Tremors, nerve damage, Parkinson-like symptoms are some of the side effects that can present themselves if used for an extended amount of time, so use discreetly, over the course of time and discontinue use if any unpleasant reactions occur. Typically, once or twice a month for 2-3 months at time should suffice, especially so if you are drinking it as a precautionary measure or to help with detoxifying the body. Just be sure take a break for at least a month or 2 before resuming.
Also, make sure to consult with your primary physician, preferably a holistic doctor to determine whether this would be right for you, especially, if you are using this tea to treat a disease or condition. And also speak with your physician to determine whether it might pose an issue for you if you are on any medications.
Pain Relief:
This tea helps with pain relief and has an added bonus of soothing the stomach. So forgot the over the counter drugs and give this tea a try.
Inflammation Reduction:
This tea can provide relief for those who suffer from joint pain or inflammation in the body, so this will be worth looking into if you have issues with inflammation.
How to Make Soursop Tea
Knowing how to make soursop tea will help you get as much of the benefits you can possibly get whether you are using fresh or dried leaves.
To start, you will need to prep your leaves – wash them well & set them aside. If you are using dried leaves, you may want to presoak them in warm water after washing them…but this is entirely optional.
We suggest brewing the leaves using 15 or so leaves (if using small to medium sized leaves) for each 40 oz (5 cups or 1,100 ML) of water boiled. You will only need 10 or so leaves, if you are using large leaves to brew 40 oz of tea.
Tip: The best way to get all the rewarding benefits of drinking soursop tea is to use distilled water and bring it to a boil. For best results, tear up your soursop leaves prior to adding them to your boiled water.
Best Way to Make Soursop Tea
Once your water reaches its boiling point, lower the heat and add your leaves directly to the boiled water and let it steep awhile on low for 20 to 25 minutes later, then turn off your heat source.
You want all the leaves to come in contact with the water to get better steeping out of the leaves. So no need to use a tea ball, or tea leaf strainer during the brewing process.
Let the leaves steep for at least 30 minutes, up to an hour if you want it the same day. But we find it best to leave it overnight to steep.
You will see a change in color of tea (it will get darker), there will also be a stronger flavor, and the volatile oils from the leaves will be floating on the surface of the water. Pour this into your cup, carefully not to have get any leaves in there.
Next, strain your tea. You can drink your cup as is or lightly reheat on low until warmed, then enjoy with or without sweetening.
If you are not a fan of the taste, it is less noticeable when drinking the tea cold, so you can try that, as well as, adding in some honey, pure 100% agave syrup, monkfruit sugar or any natural sweetener of your choice.
Note: Be sure to refrigerate what’s left of your tea and drink it within 7 days!
