Several types of tea can be smoked, including green tea, mullein, damiana, raspberry leaf, and a range of other herbs. Green tea (from the Camellia sinensis plant) is the most common actual “tea” used in smokable products, while dozens of herbal teas double as smokable herbs. None of these contain nicotine, and none will produce a high, though some have mild calming or uplifting effects.
Green Tea
Green tea is the one true tea leaf (from the same plant used for black and oolong tea) that shows up in commercial smokable products. A U.S. brand called Billy, for example, sells cigarettes made entirely from green tea. The smoke is light and mildly earthy, though it lacks the throat hit of tobacco.
One thing worth knowing: the calming compound in green tea, L-theanine, begins breaking down and transforming into other compounds at temperatures around 150 to 160°C. Combustion in a cigarette reaches far higher temperatures than that, so most of the L-theanine converts into roasty-smelling pyrazines rather than surviving intact. In practical terms, smoking green tea is unlikely to deliver the same relaxation you get from drinking it.
Mullein: The Classic Base Herb
Mullein has one of the longest histories of any smokable plant. The Iroquois smoked dried mullein leaves for asthma, respiratory congestion, and even hiccups. Healers in several traditions blew mullein smoke over patients during episodes of seizures or mental distress. Today it remains one of the most popular herbs in smokable blends because it burns evenly, produces a smooth and light smoke, and is very mild on the throat. Many people treat it as a “base” herb, forming the bulk of a blend before adding other plants on top.
Other Commonly Smoked Herbs
Beyond green tea and mullein, a wide range of herbal teas are also smoked. The most popular options include:
- Damiana: A slightly sweet, mildly euphoric herb often described as relaxing. It appears in several commercial herbal cigarette brands alongside passionflower and jasmine.
- Raspberry leaf: Light and smooth, often used as a base or filler in blends. It has very little flavor on its own, which makes it easy to combine with stronger herbs.
- Peppermint: Added for its cooling menthol sensation. Peppermint has been used in commercial cigarettes since the 1920s specifically for that cooling throat feel.
- Lavender: Used in small amounts for its floral aroma. Too much can be overpowering and harsh.
- Passionflower: Found in commercial herbal cigarette brands like Herbal Gold, valued for its calming reputation.
Commercial herbal cigarettes often combine several of these. Herbal Gold, a U.S. brand, blends cherry, vanilla, marshmallow root, yerba santa, damiana, passionflower, jasmine, and ginseng. Honeyrose, a British brand, uses ginseng and clove. These products are marketed as nicotine-free, though their exact preparation methods are generally not disclosed by manufacturers.
How to Blend Smokable Herbs
If you’re mixing your own blend, a common framework uses three roles: a base, modifiers, and flavor herbs in a ratio of roughly 3:2:1 by volume. The base makes up the largest portion and needs to burn smoothly. Mullein and raspberry leaf are the most common choices here. Modifiers (two to four herbs) build on the base and should complement rather than clash with it. Damiana or passionflower work well in this role. Flavor herbs go in last and in the smallest amount. These are strong-smelling plants like lavender, peppermint, or jasmine that add a distinctive note. A little goes a long way, and too much will overpower everything else.
Start with small amounts and adjust. The goal is a blend that burns evenly and doesn’t taste harsh. Herbs should be fully dried but not so crispy that they turn to powder. A slightly fluffy, crumbled texture works best for rolling or packing a pipe.
What Smoking Tea Won’t Do
Smoking tea will not get you high, and it almost certainly won’t deliver the health benefits associated with drinking tea. The heat of combustion destroys or transforms most of the beneficial compounds. L-theanine, antioxidants, and other delicate molecules break apart well before reaching the temperatures inside a burning cigarette.
There is one interesting exception in the research. A clinical trial tested cigarette filters infused with green tea compounds on 70 volunteers. After one month, the group using tea-infused filters smoked about 43% fewer cigarettes per day compared to a control group that showed no change. The researchers found that a compound derived from tea appeared to interfere with the same brain receptors that nicotine binds to. This is a niche application, though. It involved a specially engineered filter, not simply smoking loose tea leaves.
Risks of Smoking Any Plant Material
Burning any plant and inhaling the smoke introduces tar, carbon monoxide, and fine particulate matter into your lungs. This is true whether the plant is tobacco, green tea, mullein, or dried rose petals. Herbal cigarettes are nicotine-free and non-addictive in the chemical sense, but “nicotine-free” does not mean “harmless.” The combustion process itself is the primary source of damage to lung tissue.
Herbal smoking products also sit in a regulatory gray area. In the U.S., they are not classified the same way as tobacco products, which means they face less testing and fewer labeling requirements. Most manufacturers do not fully disclose their preparation methods or ingredient sourcing. If you buy a commercial product, look for brands that list every ingredient and avoid blends with added sugars, honey, or fruit juices, which can produce additional irritants when burned.
Vaporizing at lower temperatures is sometimes suggested as a less harsh alternative to combustion, since it heats herbs enough to release aromatic compounds without fully burning the plant material. This reduces (but does not eliminate) the amount of tar and particulates you inhale.