Drinking a daily tea is one of my favorite rituals during pregnancy. While we do need to be mindful about the herbs we take during pregnancy, the right ones can be extremely nurturing and help to support our bodies through pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum recovery.
As a certified herbalist, I recommend most mamas enjoy a pregnancy tea that includes red raspberry leaf daily during their second half of pregnancy. (learn more about RRL here!)
The only drawback to a daily tea ritual is the effort that is required for it. Don’t get me wrong, making a cup of tea is one of the simplest forms of selfcare out there! And making an herbal infusion is extremely easy as well. However, as a mama who has totally been there, I know that there will be days (especially during the end of the third trimester!) when you feel like you have no extra energy to spare. You want to eat nourishing food and drinks (like pregnancy tea). You just want to enjoy your drink right now! Wouldn’t it be great if it were already brewed and ready to go?
Well, this post will help you to do just that!
What is batch prepping?
You may have heard of batch cooking as a form of food prep. Batch cooking is simply cooking larger portions of food so that you can prep multiple meals at once or plan on having leftovers that can be repurposed.
Batch prepping your pregnancy tea is the same idea. We’re going to store it safely in the fridge in airtight containers so it’s ready to go whenever you are.
Tea vs. infusion
I’m sharing how to batch prep an infusion, which is essentially the same thing as tea, it just sits and infuses for much longer and the longer it sits, the more potent it becomes! As a result, infusions are much more medicinal than teas. Some herbs require infusions for greater effect because it takes time to draw out certain properties. Red raspberry leaf works fine as a simple tea (meaning you don’t have to let it sit for a long time), but it’s even more potent if you do.
How to do it
Heres my simple method!
Fill up your biggest pot (I use an 8 quart pot) with water, cover with lid and bring to a boil. This will take 20+ minutes, for such a big pot of water. I always set an alarm so I don’t forget about it!
Once your water has come to a boil, remove the lid and turn off the heat. Add one BIG handful of dried herbs to the pot. This is very scientific measuring, I know. This could be around 1/4-1/2 cup of herbs. If you’re using fresh herbs, double the amount. Give it a quick stir to submerge the plant material.
Recover your pot with lid and let it sit! I like to let it sit for up to ~8 hours. Ideally let it sit for at least 2 hours. Generally I will make this in the morning and strain it in the early evening
Once your infusion has sat for your desired length of time (you will see it turn a beautiful deep golden color) strain it using a handheld strainer. Use a funnel and pour directly into mason jars (I prefer quart size). Depending on the size of your pot, this will yield around 5 large mason jars!
When your jars have cooled completely, screw the lids on tight and store in the fridge. I recommend storing for up to five days or so, but I’ve definitely pressed beyond this limit.
How to drink it
When you’re ready to enjoy your tea, simply pour the desired amount into a small pot and reheat on the stove top for 1-2 minutes. You can also enjoy your jars as iced tea! I ended up having two summer babies, so this is what I did during both of my pregnancies. I drank a nice cool quart of tea every afternoon as my own pregnancy ritual. I loved having a tasty cool bevy ready to go at all times. Sometimes I’d even drink it out of a wine glass if we had friends over that were enjoying drinks!
A really cool thing that happened over at my house… my hubby tried it and LOVED my pregnancy tea too! He started taking a quart of tea with him to work every day (yes, RRL is safe for men and has nutrient benefits for them too!). It made it extra fun having us both on the same tea train.
Enjoy!
I hope you’re feeling ready to start batch prepping your own pregnancy tea! It doesn’t have to stop when pregnancy ends. I’ve kept up this practice throughout my motherhood journey and each week or so I make a new yummy herbal tea blend with galactagogues, adaptogens, or fresh herbs from my garden. Batch prepping teas and foods has been such a saving grace in my life and I know it can help you too!