How to Make Marijuana Tea

Cannatea may just be your new favorite way to enjoy your daily dose of THC or CBD.

You may have heard of magic mushroom tea from your psychonaut friend, but have you heard of cannatea before? Smoking and vaping are fine ways of getting your dose of cannabis, but some people can’t physically handle hot smoke or vapor running through their airways.

So, if you’ve been looking for a way to enjoy weed that’ll soothe your throat rather than hurt it, marijuana tea may be a welcome addition to your routine.

The Benefits of Marijuana Tea

While you might suspect the benefits of cannabis-infused tea to simply line up with those of cannabis in general, there’s something to be said about consuming it specifically as a tea.

• Relaxing Sensation

To start, if you find that enjoying weed and sipping tea both relax you, imagine the soothing sensations you’ll experience when enjoying both at the same time. Since you don’t have to worry about quickly inhaling any hot smoke or vapor, you’ll end up noticeably more content in the moment. The drink may be hot too, sure, but slow sipping and the addition of things like butter or milk should make that manageable.

You may find yourself even more relaxed if you sip a tea that’s free of caffeine, such as chamomile, peppermint, or ginger. We’d also suggest utilising an indica strain, or one including terpenes like myrcene and linalool, to enhance those effects. That might be too sleepy for some, though, so be cautious when dosing your tea with an unfamiliar strain.

• Promotes Healthy Digestion

Along with helping us stay relaxed, drinking certain teas can keep our gastrointestinal tract (GI) in good working order^[1]. Herbal teas, such as peppermint and ginger, are considered to be especially effective, but different people will have different experiences, and it’ll take some experimentation to figure out the perfect tea to support your internal workings.

• Soothes the Throat

Most of us are used to hurting our throats when enjoying cannabis, whether we’re smoking, or, less harmfully, vaping. However, when sipping cannabis tea, you may find it actually soothes your throat^[2], rather than damages it. While the weed itself isn't responsible for this, your throat will enjoy the (moderate) heat of the tea. Chamomile and green tea, specifically, are the ones considered most effective in this regard.

How to Make Marijuana Tea: 2 Methods

While it isn't as simple as putting a tea bag in a cup, making your own marijuana tea is ultimately easy. You just need a few basic ingredients, namely your usual tea fixings and some ground cannabis, and less than 30 minutes of effort and waiting.

1. The Cannabutter Method (easy and convenient)

Ingredients

• 0 oz ground cannabis
• 1 tea bag (whatever kind you prefer)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil or cannabutter
• ½ pot water
• (Optional) honey, sugar, cinnamon

Hardware

• Tea or coffee strainer

Directions

1. Before getting into the tea recipe itself, decarboxylate your ground cannabis in the oven at 115°C for 45 minutes. Feel free to do this beforehand to keep waiting time to a minimum. Performing this step will make for a more potent brew.
2. Boil some water in your pot on the stove. Use at least two cups of water so you can be sure you have enough.
3. Add your butter (or coconut oil) into the water, and stir while you wait for the butter/oil to completely dissolve.
4. Add your ground, decarbed cannabis into the butter/oil and water mixture.
5. Bring the temperature down to a simmer, and leave the pot simmering for a minimum of 15 minutes. Like regular tea, the longer you leave it to infuse, the stronger it'll be.
6. Place the strainer over the top of your mug/teapot of choice.
7. Pour your desired amount of tea.
8. Add your tea bag of choice for your preferred flavor and effects.
9. Throw in extra ingredients like sugar, honey, cinnamon, milk, etc. for flavoring.
10. Leave the tea alone so it can properly steep.
11. Enjoy!

2. “Cannabis Tea Latte” (made from scratch and great for gatherings)

Ingredients (for 4 servings of 200ml each)

• 0.2 oz finely ground buds or 0.5 oz of trimmings (decarboxylated)
• 0.5 oz softened butter (or 30ml of pre-heated coconut oil)
• 400ml full-fat milk (or almond milk etc.)
• 400ml water
• Tea leaves
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp of honey
• A touch of cinnamon

Hardware

• Metal tea infuser

Instructions

1. Decarboxylate your cannabis.
2. Mix plant matter, milk, vanilla extract, and butter (or coconut oil) thoroughly. Let this mixture sit at room temperature for about 1 hour.
3. Now, you can pour the mix into a pot, add water, and also place your pre-loaded metal tea infuser in the middle. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes, aim for low to medium temperatures, and don’t boil anything!
4. Pour your “tea latte” through a fine kitchen sieve to remove all plant matter and refine flavors with a tablespoon of honey, a dash of cinnamon, and anything else you desire.

Types of Marijuana Tea

While we mentioned ground cannabis flower in the recipe, you can actually make tea with (practically) any part of the plant. You grew every part of your cannabis, so why not get some use out of each and every bit?

• Buds

Cannabis buds of course, should be your go-to when making cannatea. They contain the highest concentration of cannabinoids and terpenes, so infusing them will lead to the most potent possible cup.

The drawback, of course, is the fact that you don’t have an endless amount of buds, and using them exclusively can make your cannatea habit quite expensive in the long-run.

• Leaves

You’re going to have more leaves than buds on your hands come harvest-time, and there’s usually no other use for them—but they work very well when making cannabis tea.

You can either add dried, decarbed leaves straight into the water, or heat them in some coconut oil. If you go with the latter method, the oil should bring any present cannabinoids forward, making the resulting tea a good touch more potent than it would be otherwise. Even then, however, the relative scarcity of cannabinoids and terpenes on the leaves (relative to the buds) means cannabis leaf teas are weaker in general.

• Stems

We’re sure you’ve got stems piled up somewhere, and now you have a way to finally put them to use. They may look humble, but you’d be surprised by how many cannabinoids you can squeeze out. You’ll need a decent amount for a pot of tea, about five grams worth, although that could easily come from an ounce of shake or mid-quality buds.

• Ready-Made

If you don't want to make your own tea, you can buy a ready-made one. Cannabis-infused beverages will be everywhere pretty soon, and there are some teas already on the market. In particular, CBD-infused teas can be found in stores and online in many places, as the soothing cannabinoid makes a great complement to a warm brew.

Marijuana Tea Mixers

When brewing your own tea, you have the luxury of choosing your mixer, which can notably alter the experience. Don’t overthink it though; whatever you usually put in your tea will blend into your cannatea perfectly fine.

• Water

If you're looking for a mellower high, you can keep your tea plain. THC is not water-soluble, so you won’t be able to take in every bit that’s in your plant material. However, if you’re not too particular about your dose and just want something quick and chill, plain cannatea will suit you fine.

• Butter or Oil

If you want a stronger, longer-lasting high, we suggest you add in butter or oil. THC dislikes water and loves fat, so the fat in the butter or oil will combine with the cannabinoids so you can process them all.

• Tinctures

If you're looking for a quick boost to your high, adding a couple drops of tincture to your tea could also be ideal. While they usually aren't as strong as the average cannabutter, tinctures can still give you a great buzz, and are easier to add to your tea in a pinch. It may throw off the taste, however, so be sure to add in some additional honey, sugar, lemon, etc. to improve it.

Calculating Dose per Cup

If you're making it yourself, the THC content in your tea will vary according to which strain you're using. To get a rough idea, use this general rule: add a 0 to the end of your weed's THC percentage. For example, if your weed has 15% THC, there'll be about 150mg in your cup for every gram used.

We recommend starting with a smaller dose if you’re a beginner, and further suggest you only build up the dose in small increments each time you enjoy it.

Effects of Cannabis-Infused Tea

As it goes with edibles, the effects of cannabis-infused tea take a while to show. As far as what you’ll feel, that’ll come down to the type of tea you’re using and what strain of cannabis you’re infusing with it.

Onset

Typically, you're looking at around a 30–90 minute wait before the effects of your cannatea begin to take hold, though it can take up to two hours for some.

For example, those with lower amounts of body fat might feel the effects sooner than those with more, and shorter people may feel it sooner than taller folks. In turn, if it’s your first time, you may start to notice the effects creeping on earlier, while those who regularly partake will need more time before they feel things kicking in.

Duration

For most people, a marijuana tea high will last around 4–8 hours, but this will, again, depend on factors like individual physiology, food/drink intake, and tolerance to cannabis.

Non-Psychotropic Teas (CBD Tea)

Instead of using high-THC strains for your tea, you could always make CBD tea instead. As mentioned earlier, you can find CBD tea in cannabis stores or make it yourself. Unlike high-THC tea, CBD tea won't get you high, but will instead offer all the effects you know and love from taking CBD in other forms.

Additionally, you can make CBD tea with tinctures you’d usually take under your tongue (sublingually). The tea will mask the tincture’s bitterness, and adding in honey, milk, or flavoring will make it virtually undetectable to the tongue.

Strains We Recommend for Cannatea

You can make cannatea with any strain; but, for those unsure which would work best, we have a solid list of recommendations.

Fruit Spirit

Bred for flavor, Fruit Spirit is ideal for a hot mug of delicious cannabis tea. A member of the White Widow family, Fruit Spirit is marked by sativa-dominant genetics, hints of blueberry, and a mellow and relaxing head high. With all that goodness, fueled by a modest yet notable 18% THC, it’s definitely one of our favorites for milder highs.

Fruit Spirit

Fruit Spirit

	Blueberry x White Widow
	13 to 15 oz/m²
	3 to 4 feet
	9 - 10 weeks
	THC: 18%

	Sativa 30% Indica 70%
	17 to 18 oz/plant
	6 to 7 feet
	Early October
	Clear

Buy Fruit Spirit

Lemon Shining Silver Haze

Known for her strong, tart fragrance that tiptoes between sweetness and dankness, Lemon Shining Silver Haze is sharp lemon soda in weed form. As well as a pleasant taste, you’ll experience the euphoria of the best sativas, powered by 21% THC. If you like a kick of citrus in your cup, give this a try for your cannatea, too!

Lemon Shining Silver Haze

Lemon Shining Silver Haze

	Lemon Skunk x Shining Silver Haze
	21 to 23 oz/m²
	3 to 5 feet
	9 - 10 weeks
	THC: 21%

	Sativa 75% Indica 25%
	23 to 25 oz/plant
	4 to 6 feet
	Middle of October
	Balanced, Clear, Stoned

Buy Lemon Shining Silver Haze

Green Gelato

Potent and flavorsome, Green Gelato is reminiscent of a chocolate chip ice cream topped with orange drizzle. It also has a whopping 27% THC content, so it’s the perfect choice for the heavy THC users amongst us. It takes effect quickly, and the slightly indica-dominant genetics will have you basking in a physically relaxing yet clear-headed high.

Green Gelato

Green Gelato

	Sunset Sherbet x Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies
	12 to 16 oz/m²
	3 to 4 feet
	8 - 10 weeks
	THC: 27%

	Sativa 45% Indica 55%
	28 oz/plant
	5 to 7 feet
	Early October
	Clear, Physically Relaxing

Buy Green Gelato