Now that I am in my third trimester of pregnancy, I have started drinking raspberry leaf tea every day to help tone my uterus and prepare my body for labor. If I’m being perfectly honest, I’m pretty terrified of labor (and the recovery afterward!) so I’m trying just about anything I can to help that process go smoothly. 😬 Drinking some pregnancy tea is probably one of the easier things on the list, so I have no excuse! If you’re curious, you can read more about the benefits of raspberry leaf tea for pregnancy here.
I love a cup of hot tea during wintertime, but I am not a fan of hot beverages in any other season. Now that we’re approaching summertime, I find the idea of a mug of steaming hot tea to be so incredibly unappealing. Thankfully, I found a recipe for making iced tea at home so I’ve been using that method instead of brewing a classic cup of tea.
Because I’m a coffee drinker 99.9% of the time, my tea knowledge is limited to literally: “one tea bag per mug of hot water”. While I could have brewed the tea, let it come to room temperature and then chilled it, that seemed like extra work and effort — ain’t nobody got time for that.
I found this cold brewed tea “recipe” (I laugh calling it a recipe because it’s literally tea and water) to help give me some guidance: How much water per tea bag? How long do I steep? Does the timing matter re: green vs. black tea? (spoiler alert: it does). Even though it seems straightforward, I was grateful to have this “recipe” as a point of reference.
I made my first batch with 5 cups (40 oz) of water and five tea bags (one bag per 8 oz of water) as that’s the capacity of the Starbucks Cold Brew bottles that I repurposed because we don’t currently have a pitcher — I’m in the market for one! Since I haven’t made this tea by any other method I have nothing to compare it to, but I have to say it was definitely smooth and delicious (no bitterness)! I honestly might keep drinking it post-pregnancy. Move over, Starbucks! 😉
If you prefer to use loose leaf tea, the recipe will also provide you with guidance on how much tea to use per 8 oz of water as well as some tips for straining.
You can use this cold brew method for any type of tea, but I’ve only tried the raspberry leaf so far because, as I said, I’m a coffee girl and don’t typically drink tea very often. I’m still trying to keep myself hydrated throughout the day with water and electrolyte beverages, but now I am supplementing with glasses of iced raspberry leaf tea in between so it’s helpful to have a larger batch all ready to go in the fridge.
I’m firm believer in modern medicine and science, but I do think there is something to be said for natural / herbal supplements as well (and honestly, it can’t hurt — I would love any help I can get on this journey! 😅).
Anecdotally, two of my childhood best friends who have had their first babies within the past year have both sworn that this tea was helpful for them and that it likely contributed to their speedy deliveries. Those odds sound pretty good, but every body / baby / pregnancy is different and maybe it won’t be as effective for me… I guess it can’t hurt to try! I’ll be sure to share an update on this post regarding the length of my labor (post-delivery) for anyone else curious about the efficacy of the raspberry leaf tea. Active labor often lasts four to eight hours (or more!) so I’m hoping to be on the shorter end of that range. 🤞🏼
*UPDATE: You can read about Sophie’s Birth Story here with our birthing timeline details. Not sure if the tea helped or not, but I definitely plan to drink it during any future pregnancies, just in case! haha
This tea, this tea, and this tea were the varieties that I was most interested in trying, but I think that any raspberry leaf tea will do… nothing particularly special about the brand that I chose. In fact, I think I only chose this particular product because it was available as a tea bag (not loose leaf) and in stock on Amazon (as I am trying to limit my number of visits to the grocery store).
I’m pretty happy with the Traditional Medicinals brand so far, but I’m also willing to switch it up if another brand is the only one available during our next shopping trip.
Please let me know if you’ve used raspberry leaf tea for your pregnancy / pregnancies and whether or not you had a short labor! I’m so curious. 😂 I hope you enjoy this super easy at-home iced tea brewing method!
Sending hugs —
xx, Natalie
I have bought a stainless steel filter on Amazon that is used for cold brew coffee. It fits inside a 1/2 gallon mason jar and works wonderfully for loose leaf tea. I thought it might help those of us that use the looseleaf have an easier cleanup! You just take the strainer out in the morning.
https://amzn.to/2TE8qCW
Great tip for loose leaf, Beverly! Thanks for sharing