A kid friendly, hydrating & mineral rich herbal infusion made with busy kids in mind!
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An almost daily staple in our home, I can’t believe I haven’t posted this nettle infusion recipe before today!
This nourishing nettle infusion stands right alongside bone broth in our home as mineral rich boost for busy bee kids and is one of the first teas I like to introduce to their palates to develop a love for herbal tea.
As little ones, I like to give sips right off my tea cup or glass around 6 to 9 months old. Obviously not a replacement for breastmilk, letting baby take tastes of an infusion like this helps create a taste palate for tea for later in childhood. I can’t tell you how nice it is to have a toddlers that willingly drink a cup of mineral rich tea with their lunch, or sip on a healing herbal tea when ill.
But wait!
If you have big kids this is for you too!
Even if you have a big kid or teen that has never had a cup of tea before today, I left instructions on how to slightly tweak the recipe to make it palatable for them. Nettle infusions are a fantastic way to hydrate and boost minerals for kids that are busy with school all day, in sports, or are just busy outdoors playing! It is a great replacement for working on getting juice out of the routine in the house, and a little lemon and raw honey make it taste really good.
Those who follow my Instagram account know that I often pack nettle infusions in my first grader’s lunch for school. While the students take a mid morning break for a quick snack that includes water, as I have volunteered in the room I notice just how little the children drink during the morning! You can physically watch some of them start puttering out by lunchtime…including my daughter who gets a very nourishing breakfast every morning. They need a big re-fuel at lunchtime and that includes hydrating.
Giving them an extra mineral boost with an herbal infusion works great – and I have seen my own daughter perk right up for the rest of the day after her meal and infusion. (To follow our lunch ideas and routine, you can search the hashtag #rgnschoollunch on Instagram to follow her lunches!)
You don’t need fancy equipment to get started – just the loose herb and a quart mason jar is all I used for years. I have a dedicated French Press
that I have been using just for infusions for a couple years now, and I love how convenient they make tea making. No straining or fuss. Just push down and pour. I even have a smaller French Press
so that my 2 and 4 year olds can do it themselves!
Nettle Infusions For Kids!
Ingredients
- 3 tsp nettles
- 2 tsp hibiscus
- 1 quart of hot water
- Juice of 1/2 lemon Optional - leave this out for babies as the acid can be irritating for sensitive digestion
- 2 tsp raw honey This is optional for using for those bigger kids that might need a little sweet to make it more palatable. Leave this out for the babies and toddlers to work at developing their palate for tea without honey. We use a local raw honey - the linked brand is a good one if you don't have access.
Instructions
- Put the loose herbs at the bottom of your mason jar, French Press, or other glass container or teapot.
- Pour the hot water over the herbs and let them steep anywhere from a couple hours to overnight. You can steep up to 24 hours if you wish. My routine is to make the infusion at night before I go to bed and then I strain it off in the morning for school lunches and myself so that I can make another infusion for the afternoon that steeps all morning. Do what works for you!
- After the infusion has steeped, strain off the herbs and enjoy. You can add a squeeze of lemon (my favorite!) and for the kids new to herbal tea you can drizzle in the raw honey. Just shake up the infusion and honey in a jar and it will dissolve. The hibiscus herb gives a slightly sweet and tart flavor to the bitter nettles so you actually might be surprised at how much they like it without the honey. It is certainly enough with just the hibiscus herb for young palates in babies and toddlers.
For more nourishing staples in our home, you can follow my Nourishing Staples board on Pinterest!
More real food ideas you might like:
6 School Lunch Ideas Besides PB&J!
Can you reuse the tea leaves? I have been vacillating about growing nettle since I am afraid of being stung. Nettle is so good for you.
Hi Anna! We grow nettles in our backyard – it is so easy to grow 🙂 I use thick garden gloves to pick them and then dry the leaves in the dehydrator, crumble them with gloves on and them store them away in jars. They definitely sting if you don’t use gloves, but they are really easy to work with – even my 6 and 4 year olds understand what they are and what they do – they grab their garden gloves and help pick and have never had any issues 🙂 I don’t re-use the leaves but I have not studied if they can be or not – that is a great question we might have to take a look at!
Yes YES!!! Please do re-use the leaves. Make the infusion. Drain the liquid into a glass jar or tea pot.. Enjoy the infusion and refrigerate the herbs for up to a day or so — then re-use.. I normally make the infusion. Drain the liquid and immediately add more water to make the 2nd ’round’. Definitely DO re-use at least once and then compost! (nettles make great compost!) Green wishes, Carol
Anna ~ Please see my comment below. YES!! DO grow it and DO use the leaves at least 2x!
xo Carol
This is great! We love nettle infusions in our home. I love your blend, sounds delicious! Such sweet photos xo
I love nettle infusions too. I make one with cranberry and mint. I try to get a few cups a day! I love hibiscus too, so I’m sure this will be delicious!
We have so many nettles in our backyard and love to harvest them fresh for tea. Infusions sound wonderful, and I will be trying them!
I love the recipe! And that you volunteer in your daughter’s classroom, how lovely. Thanks for reminding me to drink nettles and give the infusions to my kiddos. We’re big fans of hibiscus, too.
Sounds lovely and what a cute little model you have!
Love that little cutie! Nettles are so awesome for growing bodies….well, just about everyone!
Nettles for all!! This is definitely one of the herbs I like to get into everyone.. and why not start, young?
Good for you!! Yay Nettles!!
Got our nettles and hibiscus today! Just made an infusion for tomorrow!
I can’t wait to see if my kiddos and hubby will go for this! My hubby gave nettle tea thumbs down. LOL I love nettle! I can drink it straight as a tea. I like the clean, grassy taste. Thank you for sharing this!
You’re welcome!
This is very tasty! I like it as an adult. Should this be made stronger for adults??
Hi Rebecca! You sure can!
Hi Renee, do you include the hibiscus for its health benefits or just for flavor? I’ve been making red clover/red raspberry leaf infusions and thought I’d start adding nettle, too. Not sure if I should get some hibiscus too!
Hi Meghan! The flavor is great and it is also a good source of vitamin C, has anti cancer properties, and helps with liver health! I love red raspberry tea though too and add that to the mix sometimes! All great!
So happy to find something about kids and infusions. The amount of nettles seems very small, is that because it is a child’s dosage?
Hi Callie! The general recommendation for teas/infusions is 1 tsp of herb per cup of water and I tend to follow that. I do make my infusions a little stronger than this – I find this recipe quite kid friendly but you can certainly adjust to your preference!
Is the difference between tea and an infusion just the amount of time spent brewing? I heard about infusions through your blog and started looking at different amounts used, and I saw someone use one cup of leaves per quart. Granted, I think the infusion I was looking at at the time was a fertility hormone-balancing infusion. At the time, I just took it to assume that all infusions were made with those super large quantities of leaves. But based on this post, I’m getting the impression an infusion is just a long brewing tea. Can you clarify? Thanks!
Hi Amy! Yes! An infusion is just a tea that has brewed a longer time. And the amount will depend on taste preference as well as if the herbs were dried or not – when I pick nettle leaves from my backyard and steep them right away I do use about a cup of leaves per quart – in this recipe the herbs are dried (smaller!) and it is for kids so the amount is smaller. Does that help?
I ordered from Amazon and it came in those big bags–what is the best way to store them?
Hi Robyn! Just a dark cupboard is fine!
Silly question but can I just mix nettle leaves with a hibiscus tea bag. Let them steep together?
Sure!
I’m curious on why only 3 teaspoons of nettles. Most infusions require 1ounce of dried herbs for a full quart. Which is usually a full cup.
Hi Lola! This recipe is for kids – if you prefer to make the infusion stronger that is definitely ok! When I make an infusion for myself I make it stronger. I have found kids are more accepting to herbal infusions when they aren’t as strong. You could make it strong and then water it down for the kids in the house too if that is how you like to make it. I hope that helps!
Thanks for the recipe my kids love their holy basil tea and also licorice during those days they have coughing and sore throats…I haven’t tried the nettle tea do you think it will be good for rehydration after bug..my 2 yr old has been throwing up all day and I wanna do more than water…i have many herbs on hand to use but am unsure of the best combination..any suggestions?..thanks in advance
Hi Gina! Yes nettles is very high in minerals a lot like an electrolyte drink so that is a great idea – we use these when ill as well. You can add a pinch of sea salt and a little raw honey to it as well. Hope the little one feels better soon!
Hi! I have a 3 year old that suffers greatly from seasonal allergies (so do I). What is the recommeded dosage of this for around a 3 year old to help combat allergies?
Hi Ashley! I’m not sure exact “dosage” as everyone has differing thresholds for herbal use, but sipping on a glass full throughout the day will be helpful!
Hi…. thanks for posting this recipe. I’m new to drinking this sort of tea and I have a question. Do you drink the tea hot? Or because it infuses all night, do you drink it at room temperature.? I’m eager to make it… just not sure how to drink it! Thanks so much.
Hi Jeanne! I strain it in the morning and drink it at room temp. You can warm it if you wish -or in the summer I serve it over ice!
Can nettle be dried in the sun?
Yes that works!
Hello, this recipe calls for hibiscus, It seems to have great properties but I heard people with seasonal allergies might not want to take it. Does anyone in your family suffer from allergies and if so have they been able to take it?
Hi Taury! No, we don’t have seasonal allergies, so I’m not sure how that works with someone that does. I apologize that isn’t as helpful as I hoped it would be!
Thank you anyway. I’m giving it a try 🙂
One more question. Is it supposed to steep in room temperature or in the fridge?
Hi Taury! Steep it at room temp 🙂
I tried your infusion with a bit of lemonbalm added. Shared with my husband and 6 month old 🙂
Awesome! I love lemon balm!
Could I give just nettle tea to a 7 month old? Looking for ways to get more iron to her.
My babies over 6 months loved nettle tea 🙂
Could I give just nettle tea to a 7 month old? Looking for ways to get more iron to her.
Hi Randall! Yes, little sips off a spoon for your 7 month old should be fine – my babies all loved nettle tea 🙂
Hi Renee, do you have recommendations for other teas to mix in with the nettle, besides hibiscus? Can it be any kind of tea like peppermint, chamomile… etc?
Hi Jen! Yes for sure – Nettles are on the bitter side, so anything that has a more pleasant taste will really pair well with it!
I started giving part nettle tea with water for 4-6 oz toddler powder drink
No reaction and the plus- they’re getting vitamins ❕ love this
I wanted to have my 10 year old drink this. Is it ok to only add dried nettles to the quart jar, and leave out the hibiscus? Would I add 4 tsp nettles in that case, or 5? Also, how many cups per day can she drink? Is it ok to drink long term?
Thanks very much!
Love your content!
Hi Carin! Yes, nettles is just fine on it’s own for a 10 year old to drink. Just keep the same amount of nettles and leave out the hibiscus if you want! Daily drinking is perfectly fine. Nettles can be astringent to some people if used too much – so if she seems “dry” you could back off a bit. I would say a cup per day, or more just watered down if she enjoys more would be fine.
Sounds amazing! will definitely be making it. Is this fine for a 2 year old to drink? as I’ve been told to avoid giving kids under 4 nettle tea.
Hi Noor! Yes, nettles are fine for toddlers in diluted amounts which is what this recipe is. As with any first foods your toddler takes in though, monitor them for reactions. My girls enjoyed nettle tea from my mug as older infants and in their own cup as early as age 1.