Sage Tea Benefits & Uses: Health & Culinary Applications

Sage (Salvia officinalis) is a popular cooking herb that contains medicinal properties; it helps with infections and calm muscle spasms. Some people drink sage tea just because they like the taste.

Common Uses

• According to Earl Mindell's "Herb Bible" (Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D; 1992), sage tea is best used to soothe sore, inflamed gums and to help ease intestinal gas or pains from overeating.

Legendary Uses

• According to Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" (written ca. 1387-1400), sage tea was drunk and used to clean wounds and heal broken arms.

Traditional Uses

• Respected British herbalist Nicholas Culpeper recommended sage tea (or sage boiled in wine) for sore mouths or throats to "aid the memory" and to help ease any problems of the "secret parts of man and woman."

Speculation

• Culpeper also recommended a cup of sage tea to reduce night sweats caused by tuberculosis. The theory is that sage tea could reduce night sweats in menopausal women, but this has not been proven in medical testing.

Fun Fact

• According to "The New Healing Herbs: The Classic Guide to Nature's Best Medicines" (Michael Castleman, 2001), dried sage for tea was so admired by the Chinese that it was used by the Dutch to barter with the Chinese in the 1600s.