Hemp is known for its calming effects, and is enjoyed by many CBDA and CBD users for relaxation.
Hemp tea can be a great way to get some of the benefits for the mind and body, but how do you start?
Article Highlights
- Enjoy a hot cup of hemp tea before bed to help relax and get better sleep quality
- Some people like to add CBDA to CBD oil to their teas of choice instead of hemp tea
- You will not get high from drinking quality hemp tea
What is hemp tea?
Hemp plants are a close cousin of the cannabis sativa plant, and only really differ in the amount and kind of cannabinoids produced. The main difference is that the hemp flower has much higher CBDA and much less THCA than the cannabis plant.
Hemp tea is prepared by soaking the hemp tea bag or loose leaf in hot water, and depending on how hot it is will determine what you get out of it.
Hemp tea and some raw hemp products are known to have an earthy flavor when not purified. You may prefer to add a CBDA or CBD oil to another tea, such as black tea or green tea to get similar health benefits.
Cannabinoids in hemp tea
What are CBDA (cannabidiolic acid) and THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid)?We bring them up here since cannabinoids found in hemp plants are in the acidic form. Thus, CBD (cannabidiol) is actually found as CBDA, as well as the over 100 different cannabinoids in the flower.
Many people are familiar with CBD products, but what they don't know is that it is derived from CBDA that has been heating during extraction and purification process. So what are some common cannabinoids found in hemp tea?
- CBD (cannabidiol)
- CBDA (cannabidiolic acid)
- THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)
- THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid)
- CBN (cannbinol)
Mot of the cannabinoids found in hemp tea will be CBD and CBDA, since these are the most abundantly produced by the hemp flower.
Is THC found in hemp tea and can I get high?
You will not get high from drinking hemp tea.
In the US, all legal hemp has to be below a certain percentage of THC, and that is 0.3 THC. It will be such a small amount that you do not need to worry about any psychoactive effects.
If you are worried about drug testing, the amount of THC in hemp tea is unlikely to yield a positive drug test. However, we would not recommend consuming anyways since consistent consumption may cause THC to build up in your system.
What about cannabis tea?
In states where the cannabis sativa plant is legal, THC will be the predominant cannabinoid in the tea. A tea made with cannabis will likely have some psychoactive effects, but will not taste that different from a hemp tea.
How to make CBDA tea from hemp?
Brewing hemp tea does not require special preparation, but there are few points to consider. Depending on the temperature of the water, you can decarboxylate the CBDA and end up making CBD tea. Why should this matter?
CBDA has over 450% more absorption than CBD, which means a much greater effect of your tea! Test it out, you may prefer a CBDA tea over a CBD tea.
Temperature for a CBDA tea
If you bring the water temperature to around 180F/80C you will not decarboxylate much CBDA, and will still extract the acidic cannabinoids and terpenes.
Temperature for CBD tea
A water temperature at or above 200F/95C up to boiling will decarboxylate most of the CBDA into a CBD tea.
Preparing hemp tea
If you are using loose leaf hemp flower or cannabis flower, you will need a French press or strainer. If using a tea bag, any mug will do.While you can find hemp tea premade, you can also use hemp flower that was grown for smoking, but this will likely cost more.
Bring you water to the temperature you desire and brew hemp tea for at least 5 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2-3 grams of loose hemp leaves or buds.
- Squeezed lemon slice
- 1-2 cups of hot water
- 1 tsp of cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)
- 1 tbs of honey (optional, hemp tea can be slightly bitter)
Other herbal teas with CBDA or CBD
Many people already have their bedtime routine with their favorite herbal tea, such as chamomile, but still want to get the relaxing effects of CBDA or CBD.
Try adding CBDA or CBD oil drops to the herbal tea after you have brewed the tea. Since many CBDA or CBD tinctures are made with coconut oil, it may float to the top, so make sure to mix well.
We recommend a CBDA or CBD oil that is full spectrum, which means it contains the other cannabinoids that are also found in the hemp plant. Full spectrum CBDA and CBD oil is considered to have additional potential benefits, since all the cannabinoids work together.
Does hemp tea contain caffeine?
Hemp is naturally caffeine free, so you don't need to worry about a stimulant that keeps you up at night.
Many people suffer from poor sleep quality since they consume either a lot of caffeine during the day or drink it later in the afternoon. The half life of caffeine is variable, but averages around 6 hours for most people. This means that drinking a cup of coffee at 3pm is like drinking half a cup at 9pm!
If you are having trouble falling asleep at night, make sure your afternoon is caffeine free.
The benefits of drinking hemp tea
Many people enjoy the health benefits of hemp plants and their associated cannabinoids. Hemp derived CBD products have become popular for their ability to boost the endocannabinoid system, which helps regulate a number of physiological states.New scientific evidence is showing that both CBD, and its precursor CBDA, may help with:
- Pain relief
- Stress and anxiety
- Blood pressure
- Better sleep
- post traumatic stress disorder
- Reduce inflammation
- Weight loss
This may seem like large list for one plant, but many of these clinical and preclinical studies suggest that the endocannabinoid system is found across most cells and tissues in the body.
Are there hemp tea side effects?
Hemp has a low risk of side effects, and many of the studies that do show some, like dry mouth or dizziness, are at doses much higher than you would every get from hemp tea.
There is only one FDA approved prescription for CBD, epidiolex, which is used to help control seizures in patients with epilepsy. However these are taken in very high doses, typically 1000-2000mg a day.
If you have prior health conditions, or a history of liver complications, we always recommend you speak with a healthcare professional before taking CBD or other hemp related products.
How to buy high quality hemp tea
Before you purchase any hemp tea or hemp related products, always make sure to check the Certificate of Analysis (CoA). This should be a third party testing report that shows how much CBD or CBDA is in the hemp. It should also show the purity of the hemp tea, which is important because there can be trace amounts of heavy metals or pesticides in some products.See our CBD CoA guide on how to read and interpret these results.
Is hemp tea legal?
Since the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp is legal across all states. The legal definition of hemp is a delta 9 THC level under 0.3% by weight, and is not covered by the controlled substances act.Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol THC, CBDA and CBD tea will not get you high.