Making stinging nettle tea is straightforward: steep fresh or dried nettle leaves in hot water for five minutes, strain, and drink. The method varies slightly depending on whether you’re using fresh leaves you’ve foraged yourself, dried loose-leaf nettle, or store-bought tea bags. Here’s everything you need to know to make it well.
Fresh Nettle Tea
If you have access to fresh stinging nettle, the general ratio is about two cups of water for every one cup of loosely packed leaves. Place the leaves in a pot, add the water, and bring it just to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the leaves sit in the water for five minutes. Strain out the leaves and pour.
Boiling water neutralizes the stinging hairs on the plant, so you won’t feel any sting from drinking the tea. The flavor of fresh nettle tea is mild and earthy, sometimes compared to a grassy green tea. You can adjust the leaf-to-water ratio depending on how strong you like it. Adding a squeeze of lemon or a small spoonful of honey rounds out the taste nicely.
Dried Nettle Tea
For dried loose-leaf nettle, use about one tablespoon of dried leaves per cup of water. Pour boiling water over the leaves in a mug or teapot, cover it, and steep for five to ten minutes. The longer you steep, the stronger and more mineral-rich the tea becomes. Strain and drink.
If you’re using pre-packaged nettle tea bags, follow the instructions on the box, but five minutes of steeping is a good baseline. Dried nettle is widely available at health food stores, online herb retailers, and many grocery stores. Loose-leaf tends to produce a richer cup than tea bags because the leaves have more surface area to release their compounds.
Stronger Medicinal Infusions
Some herbalists recommend a longer steep for a more concentrated drink. This involves using a larger amount of dried nettle (roughly one ounce, or about a cup of loosely packed dried leaves) in a quart of boiling water. You pour the water over the leaves in a mason jar or heat-safe container, seal it, and let it sit for four to eight hours, or overnight. Strain the next morning and refrigerate what you don’t drink right away.
This long infusion pulls out significantly more minerals than a five-minute steep. It tastes stronger and darker, closer to a broth than a tea. Some people enjoy it warm, others over ice. A long infusion will keep in the fridge for about 24 to 36 hours before the flavor turns.
Harvesting Fresh Nettle Safely
If you’re foraging your own nettles, the plant’s stems and leaves are covered in tiny hollow hairs that contain chemicals responsible for the familiar sting. The key to avoiding it: those hairs generally angle downward along the stem, so if you run your fingers upward from the base of a leaf toward the tip, you’re much less likely to trigger them. Pinch the stem and move your fingers in an upward direction, brushing the hair tips away from your skin rather than into it.
That said, thick gardening gloves are the safest approach, especially for beginners. Pick from the top four inches of the plant, where the leaves are youngest and most tender. Spring nettles, harvested before the plant flowers, have the best flavor and the highest nutrient content. Once nettles flower and go to seed, the leaves become tougher and can contain compounds that irritate the urinary tract. Rinse your harvest well before using.
To dry fresh nettles at home, tie small bundles by the stems and hang them upside down in a warm, dry spot with good airflow. They’ll be fully dry in one to two weeks. Once crisp, strip the leaves from the stems and store them in an airtight jar away from light. Dried nettle keeps its potency for about a year.
What’s in Nettle Tea
Nettle leaves are unusually nutrient-dense for a plant you can brew into tea. Research published in the International Journal of Food Science found that raw nettle leaf contains significant calcium (up to 788 mg per 100 grams in spring-harvested plants) and iron (up to 3.4 mg per 100 grams). Processed nettle can supply 90 to 100 percent of daily vitamin A needs, largely from beta-carotene. It’s also a notable source of protein for a leafy green.
How much of that transfers into your cup depends on how long you steep. A quick five-minute tea extracts some of these minerals, but a long overnight infusion pulls out considerably more. This is one of the reasons nettle has been a staple in folk medicine for centuries: it was an accessible, free source of vitamins and minerals long before supplements existed.
How Much to Drink
Most people drink one to three cups of nettle tea per day without issues. Starting with one cup lets you see how your body responds. Nettle has a mild diuretic effect, meaning it can increase how often you urinate, so you may notice that quickly.
If you take blood pressure medications, blood thinners, aspirin, diuretics, diabetes medications, or lithium, nettle tea can change how those drugs work in your body. The interaction is significant enough that the University of Rochester Medical Center advises checking with a pharmacist before combining nettle with any medication. Pregnant women are also typically advised to avoid nettle tea, particularly in the first trimester, because it may stimulate uterine contractions.
Tips for a Better Cup
- Cover while steeping. Keeping a lid on your mug or pot traps volatile compounds and heat, giving you a fuller-flavored tea.
- Don’t over-boil. Bring water to a boil and then remove from heat before adding leaves, or pour just-boiled water over them. A prolonged rolling boil can break down some of the beneficial compounds.
- Blend with other herbs. Nettle pairs well with peppermint, lemon balm, or chamomile if you find the earthy flavor too strong on its own.
- Use the spent leaves. Strained nettle leaves still have nutrients. Toss them into soups, smoothies, or compost rather than throwing them away.