Cannabis tea is rapidly becoming popular (again). Many regular cannabis users drink tea as an alternative to both edibles and concentrates. Making cannabis tea can be as simple or as complex as you want. It is not exactly like making regular tea, but the end result is worth it. In general, the effects of drinking cannabis via tea are milder than inhaling it. That does not mean it does not have a powerful effect. You can obtain the same effects as smoking a joint if you drink enough of the tea. Effects last longer, however (up to 8 hours).
The effect of the drink is to calm people down and relieve pain. Queen Victoria of England reportedly drank canna tea to relieve menstrual cramps. Cannabis tea, like edibles, can be a great way to consume cannabis without smoking or vaping. You can make it in a variety of ways using all kinds of different ingredients depending on your personal preferences. A few methods for making weed tea are:
- Infusing water with dry cannabis flower (less intoxicating because THC is not water-soluble)
- Mixing cannabis infused with a fat (e.g., coconut oil, butter, etc.) with tea leaves and water to make a latte-type beverage
- Adding a cannabis tincture to tea
Does weed tea get you high?
Making a marijuana-infused tea that provides the medicinal and intoxicating effects that cannabis has to offer isn’t as simple as you might think. Accessing THC in the plant can be a little finicky thanks to decarboxylation and solubility factors, but fear not: Once you understand a few simple concepts, it’s all green fields from there!
During the process of decarboxylation, the non-intoxicating compound THCA is converted to the compound THC, activating different medicinal and intoxicating properties (read more about THCA’s unique medicinal properties here). The heat applied to cannabis when smoking or vaporizing provokes decarboxylation without any extra effort on our part. When making edibles, the process naturally occurs when cannabis is cooked with butter or oils, or when hash or kief are added to a favorite recipe and then heated on a stove.
If you choose to decarboxylate your cannabis using a heating method before adding it to the tea, remember that the optimal time and temperature for decarboxylation may vary depending on the following factors:
- The amount of moisture in your product
- How much product you use
- The type of oven you have access to (e.g., gas or electric)
Check out how to decarboxylate cannabis here.
How long does weed tea take to kick in?
Like edibles, weed tea has to pass through your stomach for digestion, and then metabolized in your liver. This takes a lot longer than smoking weed, which hits you in a couple minutes through your lungs. You may have to wait an hour or two to start to feel the effects.
When drinking weed tea, and consuming edibles in general, start low and go slow. Drink a cup and wait; you can always make another one if you don’t feel anything.
Weed tea recipes
We’ve got two cozy weed tea recipes to share. The recipe for cannabis tea with rose and chamomile recipe can be adapted a million and one ways—simply use your tea leaf or flower of choice along with ground cannabis and steep your worries away. The cannabis-infused golden milk with coconut oil is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant rich—the most luxurious way to end the night.
Why drink your cannabis?
There are many reasons that people start using canna tea. The lungs are not the best way for a drug to enter the bloodstream. Impurities in the substance or delivery mechanism end up there. There are also people who cannot smoke. This is either due to other conditions or age.
Inhaled cannabis is the fastest way to obtain relief. However, it is not always the optimal way to obtain cannabinoids.
Different effects
Canna tea is made by adding ground cannabis buds to regular tea. These can come from a variety of cannabis plants that you can grow using feminized cannabis seeds. Like edibles, drinking cannabinoids in tea makes the drug go to work very differently. Users report more of a body than cerebral “high.” This also depends on tea potency. Users also report similar effect times to edibles.
Many of those who suffer from arthritis and chronic pain use canna tea. They often find it helps them manage symptoms all day without becoming incapacitated.Related articleWhy Eating Cannabis Is Stronger Than Smoking It
Recipe for cannabis tea
The process for making effective (medical) marijuana tea requires preparation. THC can be extracted by boiling cannabis bud. However, adding alcohol, butter, oil or milk in the water is required, as THC is not water soluble, but can bind to fats and oil. These substances help dissolve the THC into your tea. Our recipe for cannabis tea will tell you exactly how to do so.
Recipe time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- ½ gram cannabis buds
- ½ teaspoon butter
- 1 tea bag (any variety)
- 1½ cups water
- Optional: sugar or honey to taste
Instructions:
1. Grind the cannabis. Separate out stems. Mix the buds with the butter. Make sure the cannabis is completely covered in fat. Empty the tea bag into the bud mix. Mix it with the butter and cannabis. You can place the mixture back into the bag and reseal it. A better option is using a tea ball. Zamnesia’s Tea Infuser is also great kitchen aid for this purpose.
2. Bring the water to a simmering boil in a saucepan. Lower the tea ball or infuser into the water. Let the saucepan simmer for 30 minutes. If the water looks as if it is getting low, add more water during the cook time.
3. Let sit until cool enough to drink. If plant matter got out of the teabag/infuser, be sure to strain the tea before consumption.
Other riffs on the same idea
In India, there is a drink similar (but not quite the same) in nature called Bhang. It is served to guests at parties. When served, it is also mixed with other spices like cinnamon and sugar. When using milk instead of using butter, replace one-third of the water with milk, it is also possible to make very tasty Chai with cannabis. Also, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Add this to the ground cannabis in a blender. Then place it in a saucepan to heat with additional water. Make sure that the milk never boils. You will need to cook this for about 30 minutes. Make sure to also adding water to make sure the pot does not boil dry. Add cinnamon and sugar to taste when done.
Cannabis tea with rose and chamomile
Serves 1
Prep time: 5 minutes
Steep time: 5-10 minutes
Dosage: We recommend 2 tsp for this recipe, but it depends on the potency of your cannabis. You can always add more or less depending on your tolerance.
Ingredients:
- Cannabis infused honey (optional)
- 2 teaspoons ground cannabis trim, stems, or buds
- Coconut milk, optional
- 2 teaspoons dried chamomile
- 2 teaspoons dried rose buds
Directions:
- You can choose to decarboxylate your dried herb beforehand or not. (Again, this depends on whether you’re looking for the benefits of THCA or THC.)
- Add all dried flowers to a tea infuser and steep in hot water for 5-10 minutes.
- Enjoy with additional cannabis-infused honey and/or coconut milk for added effects.
Thank you very much for this recipe. Your instructions are very clear and I think will help a novice such as myself to make a quality pot of tea for those who don’t like the concept of smoking.