Palo Azul tea is originally a nutritious drink from South America. The beverage’s health benefits mean it has become more and more popularity across the world in recent years.
Here is a step by step guide on how to make Palo Azul tea and how to serve it.
What Is Palo Azul Tea?
The name Palo Azul is Spanish for “blue stick” hinting at the blue color of the tea it creates. Palo Azul (Eysenhardtia polystachya) is a plant growing in South America.
The herb, also know as kidneywood, has a long history in traditional medicine because its bark contains some unique nutrients.
When you buy Palo Azul it usually comes in the form of wood chips of the bark. These you can steep in water to release nutrients, like flavonoids, sterols and phenolic compounds.
These powerful ingredients have a range of effects in the body but the tea is particularly good for protecting the liver and detoxification. This has made Palo Azul tea especially popular with those who want to flush out recreational drugs, such as marijuana.
The bark of Palo Azul is also famous for its ability to turn water into a fluorescent blue which creates a stunning opalescent effect. In the past, water vessels made of Palo Azul were often giften to royalty.
How To Make Palo Azul Tea?
Palo Azul tea might sound like an exotic concoction but you can make your own batch fast and easy at home. You can find Palo Azul as wood chips at specialist grocery stores.
What you’ll need to make Palo Azul tea:
- 1 ounce of Palo Azul bark
- 6 cups of water
- Pot with lid
- Spoon
- Strainer
- Tea mug or drinking glass
Guide On How To Make Palo Azul Tea
1. Put the 6 cups of water into a large pot, and bring the water to the boil.
2. When the water starts to boil, add all of the Palo Azul bark to the water. Then cover the pot and let it boil for one hour.
Make sure that you do not lower the heat as the bark needs to be boiled, and not just simmered. The color of the tea changes as you cook it, from shades of brown and red to blue.
Also ensure that you close the bag or container the Palo Azul bark came in so it is airtight to keep it fresh.
3. After an hour, pour the water and bark mix through a strainer into a cup. The bark can be composted.
If you want your tea to be stronger, just boil it for another 20-30 minutes. Alternatively, you can also let the bark and water mix infuse in the fridge overnight. The longer you cook or soak it, the more intense the blue color.
4. The tea is ready to drink. You can drink Palo Azul tea either hot, or put it into the fridge. Bear in mind that the blue color is only a refraction of light. If you want to see the blue color, you can use a flashlight to see the blue tint.
How To Serve Palo Azul Tea?
You can serve Palo Azul tea either piping hot or cold. Palo Azul tea has a very unusual flavor which can’t be compared to any other kind of herbal tea or tisane.
The flavor of Palo Azul tea is subtle, and almost resembles pure water. This can make a perfect base to add aromatics or sweeteners on top. As Palo Azul tea’s flavor is not very strong on its own, you can also use it in other herbal teas with stronger herbal flavors.
For example, you can add cayenne pepper, turmeric or ginger to your Palo Azul tea to alter the flavor and add other medicinal benefits.
You can also choose other herbal ingredients to increase the effect of the tea, depending on what you want to take Palo Azul tea for. If you are looking to drink Palo Azul tea for the digestion, you can combine it with other herbs that help with digestive issues, like chamomile or peppermint.
Health Benefits Of Palo Azul Tea
Palo Azul tea has been drunk as a beverage for hundreds of years in South America. It has been used as anti-cancer preventative, although no larger studies have been done to support this.
Diuretic and detoxifying: Palo Azul is a powerful diuretic which makes it very popular as a natural option for detoxifying the body. Palo Azul tea has also been known to be used by those who want to pass a drug test as it clears toxins, like recreational drugs, from the system.
Together with this, the tea is a great remedy for infections of the kidneys, bladder and urinary tract. That’s the reason why Palo Azul is also known as kidneywood.
While Palo Azul is not as well known as some other popular herbal teas, it is a strong detoxifying tonic.
Decrease cholesterol: Palo Azul has been found to lower blood cholesterol, which makes it an excellent remedy to help prevent heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases.
Antibacterial and antifungal: The bark of Palo Azul contains a range of botanical ingredients that have antimocrobial properties, which can support the body with fighting infections, and aid the immune system. However, no further research has been done on this.
Anti-diarrheal: In combination with Palo Azul’s traditional actions on the digestive system, it also has shown to have anti-diarrheal properties similar to commercial drugs.
Weight loss: Some studies with Palo Azul have shown that it is also effective for weight loss, as well as a significant reduction in blood glucose. However, this is not well researched yet and further studies are needed on the potential of Palo Azul as natural weight loss supplement.
Possible Health Risks Of Palo Azul Tea
Palo Azul is considered to be non-toxic, like some other herbal teas. It doesn’t have any known negative interactions with pharmaceuticals, and there are no known side effects.
Particularly the lack of side effects and the non-toxic qualities make Palo Azul a great herbal remedy for those who do not want to take chemical medications, or other herbal medicines that come with documented drug interactions.
Palo Azul can provide similar health benefits for the digestive system without negative symptoms.
Just like any other herbal teas, it is best not to drink Palo Azul if you are pregnant or if you plan for a pregnancy. Palo Azul’s safety has not been tested in a clinical trial with pregnant women.
If you are not sure about what effects Palo Azul tea could have on your body, please consult your doctor, medical herbalist or other health practitioner to make sure that it’s safe for you.