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Herbs & Cultures

Lāʻau lapaʻau in Hawaiʻi →

Māmaki tea

A soft, earthy tea from the leaves of a Hawaiian nettle tree without stinging hairs.

Traditional use

Time
10 minutes
Makes
2 cups
Image of Māmaki tea
Forest and Kim Starr · CC BY 3.0 US

Māmaki grows only in Hawaiʻi. In lāʻau lapaʻau, Hawaiian herbal medicine, the leaves and small fruits were used as a strengthening remedy; today the leaf is grown on the islands and drunk as an everyday tea.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp dried māmaki leaf (or 3–4 fresh leaves)
  • 500 ml water just off the boil

Step by step

  1. Put the leaf in a teapot and pour the hot water over it.
  2. Leave to steep for 5 minutes; longer gives a fuller flavour.
  3. Strain and drink plain or with a slice of lemon.

Tips

  • Buy māmaki from growers in Hawaiʻi: wild plants have become rare.

Registry

Herbs in this recipe

Read more about effects and safety on each herb’s page.

  • Caution

    Oceania · Herb · № 844

    Māmaki

    Pipturus albidus

    A native Hawaiian plant whose leaves are drunk as a tea.

    Lāʻau lapaʻau in Hawaiʻi

Cultures and traditions

Where the herbs come from

The herbs in this recipe also appear in these traditions.