When I first started learning about herbalism, I didn’t realize that not all “tea” is actually tea.

Traditionally, tea refers to a water-based beverage made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. This is what gives us familiar varieties like green tea, black tea, white tea, and oolong. Even though they taste different, they all come from the same plant.

What most of us call herbal tea is something a little different.

Herbal tea is made from a variety of plants and plant parts. This can include flowers, leaves, roots, bark, and seeds. Think chamomile flowers, peppermint leaves, or ginger root steeped in hot water. These blends don’t contain Camellia sinensis at all.

Because of that, you may sometimes hear the term tisane. This simply refers to a plant infusion made without true tea. It’s a more traditional or technical word, but in everyday life, most people still say “herbal tea.”

In our home, I tend to use the terms herbal tea and herbal infusion interchangeably. Both describe the simple, beautiful practice of steeping plants in water to draw out their properties.

It’s a small distinction, but one that really deepened my understanding of herbalism. Once you see it, you start to notice it everywhere and it changes the way you think about what’s in your cup.