Self Care Soaks: How To Make Bath Tea

A hot cup of tea is the perfect way to escape everyday stress -- but have you tried putting it in a hot bath to wind down after a long day of work? Today, we’re talking about how to make bath tea.

What’s Bath Tea?

Bath tea, or tub tea, is just that -- a tea for your bathwater.
Much like bath salts and soaks, tea can be used in a similar way. It can soothe skin, help you relax in the evening, or energize you before work in the morning. While tea is most commonly considered a healthy drink, your skin can benefit from the vitamins and antioxidants as well.
So, if you have a particular tea that helps you get to sleep at night or wake up in the morning, try it in the bath! We’ll talk about how to make bath tea with your favorites below.
These also make great gifts for friends and family for their birthdays or around the holidays. Even if they’re not big tea drinkers, chances are they’ll be appreciative of the perfect gift for self-care.

How To Make Bath Tea

You can use many different kinds of teas in the bath, but each serves a different purpose. The way something smells can sometimes be enough to wake you up, so you might not want to put something bright and citrusy in the bath right before you go to bed.
Certain herbs, like lavender, smell relaxing and can help wind down before bed. Peppermint and spearmint can also be relaxing, but might add a bit of a kick to a citrus tea. Think about the kinds of teas you typically enjoy (and for what purpose) and pick one that you associate with a certain feeling (relaxed, calm, awake, energized).
Some of my favorite things to wind down with before bed are rose, chamomile, and lavender. While herbal teas are most common, green and black teas have antioxidants that your skin can benefit from as well!
Although you can choose to just use tea for your soak, you can also add other things: salt, oatmeal, milk, and more. Keep reading for some recipes to help you get started with making your own bath tea, as well as some ideas on what to drink while you soak.
A note on using bath tea: While you can put these straight into the bath, a muslin bag is usually preferred. You can hang it on the faucet and let the water run through it as you fill your bath, then put the bag in the water after it’s full to soak with you. If you do decide against using a bag, just make sure to rinse well.

Soothing Chamomile Bath Tea

Salt is super relaxing, and oatmeal helps soothe your skin. Even without dispersing it straight in the water, you get nice, silky-feeling water just from soaking with a bag of oatmeal. Keeping it in a bag makes for minimal clean-up afterward!
I enjoyed this soak with a few cups of Reading Nook rose black tea before I finished up some work for the evening. Two cups of this blend kept me awake enough to finish my work, but not so much that I couldn’t go right to sleep an hour later.

Energizing Citrus Bath Tea

While you can enjoy a cup of the same tea blend you used to make your energizing bath tea, I really love enjoying a cup of the Kitchen Table blend lemon lime tea. It’s a citrusy black/green tea blend with wonderful floral notes -- perfect if you’re enjoying your bath in the morning.


Looking for other ways to enjoy tea? Learn more about incorporating tea into culinary and bath salts as well as how to work it into your hair and skincare routine (spa style!).