What is Country tea?

Country tea is a small leafy shrub of the Caribbean and tropical Americas. Its botanical name is Capraria biflora. People dry or pick the leaves and brew them as a hot drink.

In Jamaica it is often called goat weed. In Haiti and Martinique it is te peyi, or thé pays, which means "country tea". Families have drunk it for colds, chills and upset stomach.

Here is the honest verdict up front. There are almost no human studies on this plant. Long use shows that people valued it, but that is not proof that it works or that it is safe.

How does Country tea work?

No one has shown how country tea acts in the human body. The plant has had very little study of any kind.

Test-tube screens of Capraria biflora extracts have shown some action against bacteria and fungi. Those were laboratory results only. They do not show that drinking the tea fights an infection in a person.

Part of what people feel is likely the drink itself. A warm fluid can soothe a sore throat and ease a stuffy nose. That comfort is real, and it is not special to this plant.

Folk ideas that it "cleans the blood" or "cools the body" come from tradition. They have not been tested in people.

What forms does Country tea come in?

Dried leaf is the usual form. It is sold loose in Caribbean markets and shops, and sometimes in tea bags.

Fresh leaves and soft stems are also brewed at home. Some families use the whole above-ground part of the plant.

Other recorded uses include washes and baths for the skin. Tinctures and capsules are rare and often poorly labelled.

Nothing on the market is standardised. The same brand can vary from batch to batch.

Where it comes from:

Country tea held a steady place in Caribbean bush tea customs. Rural households used local plants when imported tea was costly or hard to get.

Healers in Jamaica, Haiti, Martinique and Guadeloupe recorded it for colds, fevers and stomach trouble. Some homes drank it as an everyday tonic.

Plant-use surveys from the twentieth century onward listed it among the common home teas of the islands. Those records describe custom, not test results.

This page sets out what people did. It does not suggest you take up the practice.

What does Country tea help with?

• Colds and chills: This is the most common folk use. The warm drink can soothe a sore throat for a short while. No trial has tested whether the plant itself shortens a cold.
• Upset stomach and gas: Caribbean households used bitter teas to settle the stomach after heavy food. There is no human study on country tea for this. In some people the bitter brew makes stomach upset worse, not better.
• Fever: Tradition treated it as a "cooling" tea during fevers. There is no evidence that it lowers body temperature. Do not rely on it for a fever, in a child or an adult.
• Period cramps: Some island healers used it for cramps and late periods. That same history is why pregnant women are told to avoid it. No study has looked at either effect.
• Everyday warming tonic drink: Many families simply drank it as a daily beverage. As a drink it is part of the culture. "Tonic" is a tradition word, not a measured health effect.
• Skin washes for itching or rash: Cooled brews were used as washes for itchy skin. Lab screens hint at some action against bacteria and fungi in test tubes. Whether a wash helps real skin problems has not been shown.

Which foods are rich in Country tea?

Country tea is a brewed leaf drink, not a food or a source of nutrients. It is not found in everyday foods.

What are the side effects of Country tea?

• Nausea
• Stomach cramps
• Loose stools
• Vomiting after strong brews
• Skin rash or itching in people allergic to the plant
• Headache
• Possible drop in blood sugar in people taking diabetes medicine

Good to know:

Most reports of harm are mild and come from stomach upset after strong tea. The real problem is that no one has tracked side effects properly.

So "few reports" does not mean "safe". It can also mean nobody has looked.

Stop drinking it if anything new or odd starts after you begin.

How much Country tea should you take?

• Recommended daily: No health authority has set a dose for country tea. Bush tea packets sold in the Caribbean often carry a label figure of about one teaspoon of dried leaf per cup, once or twice a day. That is a label figure only. It is not advice for you, and it rests on custom rather than study. No dosing research in people exists. Ask a doctor or pharmacist before you use it at all.
• Best time of day: Timing does not appear to matter. Many people drink it in the evening because it is a warm, bitter drink. There is no evidence that one time of day works better.
• With or without food: Either is fine for most people. If the bitter taste turns your stomach, taking it with food may help. Stop if it keeps upsetting you.
• Time to effect: A hot drink soothes the throat within minutes. Any other effect has never been timed in a trial. It is quite possible that it does nothing beyond the warmth and the fluid.
• How long to take it: Traditional use was short. People drank it for a few days during a cold or a bout of stomach upset. No one has studied long daily use. Treat weeks or months of daily drinking as untested ground.