Neem tea has many health benefits. Â Another great thing about neem tea, you don’t just have to drink it. You can bathe in it too!
There are probably as many ways to brew neem tea as there are countries where it’s known as the “healer of all ailments.” The easiest way to brew a single cup of tea is to fill a cup with very hot water, add five neem leaflets and allow to cool. (The “K-cup” coffee makers are perfect for this tea, just remove the K-cup before brewing.)
Add your favorite sweetener, but there’s no reason to strain the tea because the heavy whole leaf will remain in the bottom of the cup.
For larger quantities, it’s easiest to use an automatic drip coffee maker. Clean the basket well to minimize any coffee taste in your neem tea, then fill the water receptacle. Put a handful of neem leaves in the coffee pot – not the basket – and turn on the machine. Allow to heat for about five minutes, then serve.
If you expect to use the tea over a period of time, refrigerate to keep it tasting fresh.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Most people are more likely to enjoy the taste of a weaker neem tea rather than a strong one. Over-cooking or increasing the amount of neem leaf makes the tea much more bitter.
Here’s a handy chart that covers these directions as well as other options for making neem tea:
| Type of Neem | Directions |
| Fresh neem leaf | Place five neem leaflets in a cup of water, allow to cool, then sweeten to taste |
| Dry neem leaf | Same as above, taste may be stronger but you can add more water or use less leaf the next time you brew tea |
| Tea-cut neem leaf | Use a heaping ¼ teaspoon per cup of water |
| Neem leaf powder | Use a scant ¼ teaspoon per cup of water. Allow to cool |
| Neem bark powder | Use a scant ¼ teaspoon per cup of water or add a tablespoon to the coffee in your automatic drip coffee maker for a New Orleans-style chicory taste. |
| Neem leaf tea with peppermint | Use ¼ to ½ teaspoon in a cup of very hot water, allow to cool and then sweeten to taste. |
| Neem bark powder with cinnamon | Use ¼ to ½ teaspoon in a cup of very hot water, allow to cool and then sweeten to taste. |
| Supercritical neem drops | Add three to five drops of supercritical neem extract (we like the bark and peppermint version) to a cup of very hot water, stir well and sweeten to taste. |
How ever you chose to make neem tea, remember that your plants will enjoy the “dregs.” Rather than throwing away the neem when you’ve finished making your tea, simply pour it on the soil of your least-happy houseplant. Neem is taken up by the roots and boosts the plant’s immune system.
3 Comments
I am from South Africa and want to know if the Neem tree is same as Curry leaf tree?
Please let me know when seed will be available, I think buying a plant, it will not get here in one piece.
Curry leaf is actually a different species (Murraya koenigii or Bergera koenigii) from neem, which is Azadirachita indica. It’s illegal for us to grow curry leaf because it’s a vector for citrus greening, which is killing fruit trees in Florida. Horizon Herbs (www.horizonherbs.com) regularly but not always carries the seeds, so I’d check their site if you can’t find any seed locally.
I just discovered Neme, looking for a holistic way to treat an infection I currently have, called Invasive Aspergillus in the right lung. So far I’ve been on an antifungal medication, Voraconazole, which is long term, almost 4 months now, with no luck so far of killing it. I want to try something new and this may be my answer.
I will let you know how it goes. I bought a good sampling of products to get started for different issues of mine and my husbands….also will try it on our hair, and his loss of it….I read its great for growing hair since I’m losing my hair from the meds they have me on. I’m so excited to try these…and believe me, you will hear back from me. I’ll put you on the news if I can get rid of my infection with Neme. Stay tuned! If you can recommend anything or a product i didn’t get that may help me, please advise.
Thank you for GROWING! 🙂
Elaine