Damiana Leaf: Benefits, Taste, Caffeine, and How to Steep It
A yellow-flowered shrub from the deserts of Mexico with a long reputation as a relaxing, mood-lifting tea. Naturally caffeine-free, sweet and floral with a hint of citrus.
Meet the ingredient
What is Damiana Leaf ?
Damiana is a small, aromatic shrub, Turnera diffusa, that grows wild on the dry hillsides of Mexico, Central America and the southern tip of Texas. It has toothed, resinous leaves and bright yellow flowers that open in the morning heat and smell faintly of chamomile. The leaves are what go into the cup: picked while the plant is in flower, dried in the shade and cut for tea.
Damiana has been drunk for centuries in Mexico as a relaxing tonic, and it still has a reputation as one of the gentlest herbs for unwinding at the end of the day. Steeped in an infuser or tea bag, the leaf gives a pale green-gold cup that is mildly sweet and floral, with light notes of blackberry and licorice and a touch of citrus. There is no caffeine in it, and its aromatic, slightly resinous character makes it a favorite base for evening blends.
- OriginMexico & Central America
- FlavorFloral & Sweet
- CaffeineNone
Botanical origins
The Damiana family tree
Damiana belongs to the Passifloraceae, the passion flower family, which makes it a cousin of passion flower and passion fruit. For a long time botanists gave it a family of its own, the Turneraceae, before folding that group into the passion flowers. The genus Turnera holds around a hundred species of tropical American shrubs, and the species name diffusa describes the plant's loose, spreading habit. The plant's common name is thought to come from Saint Damian, the patron saint of pharmacists.
Damiana is a low, much-branched shrub that rarely tops six feet, with small oval leaves that are toothed along the edge and hairy underneath. Crushed, they release a resinous, chamomile-like scent from the essential oil that gives the tea its character. The plant likes hot, rocky, well-drained ground and flowers after the summer rains. The leaves are gathered in flower, when the oil is at its peak, and dried in the shade so the aroma keeps.
Health benefits
Damiana leaf tea benefits
Is damiana tea good for you? Damiana is one of Mexico's best-loved relaxing herbs, drunk for centuries for the nerves, the mood and the heart, and its aromatic leaf steeps into a gentle, caffeine-free cup.
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Damiana's oldest use is as a relaxing tonic. Mexican herbalism has long reached for a cup of damiana to settle the nerves and take the edge off a stressful day, and its mildly aromatic compounds are thought to have a calming effect without making you drowsy, which is why it sits so well in an evening blend.
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Damiana has a long reputation for brightening the mood. It has been used traditionally for low spirits and nervous exhaustion, and early research has looked at flavonoids in the leaf, including apigenin, for their effect on mood. Many people simply find a warm, floral cup of it puts them in a better frame of mind.
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Damiana is best known as an aphrodisiac, a reputation that goes back centuries in Mexico and that gave it a place in nineteenth-century tonics. Herbalists describe it as a warming, relaxing herb for reproductive wellness in both men and women, and a few small studies have explored it for libido, though the evidence is still early.
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Like many aromatic leaves, damiana is a mild bitter that has been used traditionally to ease indigestion and sluggish digestion. A cup after a meal is a common use in Mexico, and the same relaxing quality that settles the nerves is thought to help settle a nervous stomach.
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In folk use, damiana tea was taken for coughs and chest complaints, and the plant's aromatic oil is part of why. It is a soothing, caffeine-free cup to sip during the cold season, on its own or blended with thyme or peppermint.
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Damiana appears in several traditional weight-management blends, and it was one of three herbs in a small clinical trial that looked at appetite and fullness. On its own it is a light, naturally sweet, sugar-free cup that makes an easy swap for a sweetened evening drink.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
History
History of Damiana
Damiana's story begins in the deserts of Baja California and mainland Mexico, where the Guaycura people gathered the leaf and brewed it as a tonic and, by tradition, as a drink for lovers. Further south the Maya drank it for balance and vigor, and it passed into the everyday herbalism of Mexico as a relaxing tea taken for the nerves, the stomach and the heart. Spanish missionaries recorded the same uses when they arrived, and the leaf became a fixture of village markets that it remains today.
In the 1870s damiana crossed the border into the American patent-medicine trade, where it was bottled as a nerve tonic and aphrodisiac and sold across the United States. That reputation never left it. In Mexico the leaf is also steeped into a golden liqueur that is a specialty of Baja California, where local legend says it went into the very first margarita. Today damiana is still gathered wild in the Mexican hills and grown for tea across Mexico and beyond, drunk for the same gentle lift it has offered for centuries.
- Herbal tea Caffeine free
- White tea Low caffeine
- Green tea Low caffeine
- Black tea Medium caffeine
- Matcha High caffeine
Levels are typical; steep time and leaf amount change them.
Caffeine
Does damiana tea have caffeine?
No. Damiana leaf is naturally caffeine-free. It contains no stimulants at all, which is exactly why it works so well as a relaxing cup in the evening.
Taste
What does damiana tea taste like?
Damiana tea tastes mild, sweet and floral, with an aroma somewhere between chamomile and fresh-cut hay. Underneath the flowers there are light notes of blackberry and licorice, a hint of citrus, and a soft, resinous finish that is the signature of the leaf. The cup is pale green-gold, smooth and low in bitterness, and it is just as good iced as hot. Damiana blends easily: it rounds out lavender, chamomile and lemon balm in evening cups and adds a floral lift to hibiscus or green tea.
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Making the tea
How to make damiana tea
Heat
Bring fresh, filtered water to a boil.
- Heat
- Measure
- Steep
- Remove
- Enjoy
Where to buy
Where can I buy Organic Damiana Leaf ?
You can find Organic Damiana Leaf on our website! We are USDA certified organic, and our products are vegan and free of GMOs. Try it out today!
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