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HOW TO MAKE KRATOM TEA

Everyone has an opinion on how to make kratom tea. Some methods are quick, some are complicated, and many leave you with weak tea that doesn’t feel worth the wait. So out of all the possible methods, what’s the best one?

Below you’ll find easy kratom tea brewing instructions, plus all the details and tips you need to know to make tea with kratom that is effective and tastes great.

JUMP TO BREWING FAQs ↓
JUMP TO STRENGTH TIPS ↓
Mug of kratom tea steeping next to kettle for a guide on how to make kratom tea

How to Make Kratom Tea in a Thermos

Prep time: 3 minutes   |   Steep time: 15–25 minutes   |   Servings: 1

Ingredients

Equipment

  • Insulated thermos or mug
  • Electric kettle, stovetop kettle, or microwave
  • Loose leaf only: fine mesh strainer (if your thermos doesn’t have one)

Directions

  1. Add your tea bag or loose-leaf kratom to your thermos. Optional: squeeze lemon juice over the tea.
  2. Bring water to a boil and pour over tea, then cap the thermos.
  3. Steep for at least 15 minutes, longer for a stronger brew. Allow to cool slightly.
  4. If you are using loose leaf tea and your thermos does not have a built-in strainer, pour the tea through the strainer into a mug.
  5. Sweeten to taste, and enjoy hot or over ice.

How to Make Kratom Tea on the Stove

Prep time: 5 minutes   |   Steep time: 15–25 minutes   |   Servings: 1

Ingredients

Equipment

  • Small saucepan
  • Loose leaf only: fine mesh strainer

Directions

  1. Add your tea, water, and lemon juice (if using) to the saucepan.
  2. Bring water to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer.
  3. Let simmer for at least 15 minutes; steep longer for a stronger brew. Allow to cool slightly.
  4. If you are using loose leaf tea, pour the tea through the strainer into a mug.
  5. Sweeten to taste, and enjoy hot or over ice.

MORE WAYS TO MAKE KRATOM TEA

Learn to make the best kratom tea with different brewing equipment and types of tea. Whether you’re at home, at work, or on a road trip through the desert, there’s always an easy way to brew a great cup.

how to make kratom tea with loose leaf tea in a tea thermos

Thermos & Loose Leaf Tea

Simple brewing for loose-leaf-tea lovers. Great if you like to make your own tea blends.

how to make kratom iced tea (2 methods)

Kratom Iced Tea (2 ways)

Erase any memories of kratom being bitter by learning to make iced kratom tea.

how to make kratom tea with tea bags on the stovetop

Stovetop & Tea Bags

A simple and low-effort guide to brewing Top Tree tea bags in a pot on the stovetop.

large stockpot with loose leaf tea and kratom tea bags and a mug of brewed tea for large batch brew

Large Batch Brew Guide

A massive batch to last a few days, or enough to share with your friends for a night out.

small thermos and box of kratom tea bags

Thermos & Tea Bags

An easy, mess-free brewing method—perfect for your next commute or outdoor adventure.

small pot and bag of loose leaf kratom tea to learn how to make kratom tea on the stove

stovetop & loose leaf guide

Don't have a tea thermos? Follow this easy guide to simmering loose leaf kratom on the stovetop.

4 Tips to Make Your Kratom Tea Stronger

Kratom contains a range of active compounds, similar to how coffee and black tea contain caffeine. But kratom’s compounds aren’t nearly as water-loving as caffeine is. So we have a few important tips for making sure you brew an effective cup of tea.

1. Brewing Time15-25 min

First up: brewing time. We recommend steeping kratom tea for at least 15 minutes. For a stronger brew, we typically steep our tea for at least 25 minutes.

2. Temperature205-212°F

We always brew our kratom tea either in an insulated thermos with boiling water, or we simmer it on the stovetop. That way the tea stays hot for the entire steep time. When you brew tea in a ceramic mug, it typically only stays hot for a few minutes, meaning your tea will likely be weaker (but if you want a very mild brew, that’s totally fine).

3. Add an Acid(an edible one!)

Adding some lemon juice, lime juice, or apple cider vinegar isn’t just great for flavor. Making your tea more acidic while it steeps could also help you extract more of kratom’s active compounds. Just skip the lemon or lime if you plan to add creamer. We also don’t recommend adding citrus if you plan to store your tea for a few days, since acidity may cause some active compounds to degrade over time.

4. Resteep Your Tea Leaves2-3 cups/tea bag

Since you may not get all of the active compounds out of your tea leaves during the first steep, especially if you’re brewing for a shorter time or at a lower temp, you can actually resteep your tea leaves a second (or even third) time to make another cup of tea.

BREWING FAQs

time, temperature, and strength questions

Our recommendation is to steep kratom tea for at least 15 minutes.

That’s a pretty long time, but you don’t have to spend all of it actively brewing your tea. It takes about 3 minutes to prep your tea in a thermos, and you can focus on other things while your tea steeps.

Choose the length of time to steep your tea based on the strength of tea you want.

  • Lighter: Steep your tea for 10 to 15 minutes, or use a smaller amount of kratom.
  • Stronger: Steep your tea for 25 minutes or longer. Alternatively, you can do a shorter steep with a larger amount of kratom.

Kratom’s long steep time is why we recommend you either simmer your tea on the stove or steep it in an insulated thermos.

Want to decrease your kratom tea’s steep time? Try adding an acidic liquid like lemon juice, and make sure to steep your tea in boiling or very hot water (over 195°F).

It only takes 3 minutes to make green tea and 5-10 to make most herbal teas, so why does it take so long to make kratom tea?!

First, kratom leaves are fairly tough compared to green tea leaves, chamomile flowers, and other delicate herbs.

Second, the active compounds in kratom leaves (like mitragynine or speciogynine) aren’t as water-loving as the active compounds in green tea (like caffeine).

So a longer steep time (along with a higher steep temp) helps break down the leaves so you get more of the alkaloids out of the leaves and into your tea.

Fun Fact: Traditionally, Southeast Asian communities prepared kratom tea by simmering leaves in water over a fire for two or more hours. However, it’s possible to make a strong cup of tea in much less time by following the brewing instructions and tips above.

Some kratom brands or forums will tell you to brew kratom tea the same way you would brew chamomile tea or peppermint tea, but we believe this isn’t well-informed advice.

Learn more about the science behind brewing here.

Yes! Kratom can be steeped at higher temperatures (and for a longer time) than many other types of tea.

Unlike alkaloids found in coffee or black tea, like caffeine, the alkaloids in kratom leaves, like mitragynine or speciociliatine, are not highly water soluble. Hotter temperatures help you extract more of these less-soluble alkaloids.

Research has shown that kratom alkaloids are fairly stable for multiple hours in hot water, so unless you make a highly acidic mixture and boil it for many hours, you likely won’t weaken your brew.

1. Effective brewing: An insulated thermos or mug will keep your kratom tea at the desired temperature for much longer than a ceramic mug (or other uninsulated container) would. This helps you make effective tea that will provide the benefits you’re looking for.

2. Portability and convenience: An insulated thermos can maintain a piping-hot or ice-cold temperature for several hours. That means you can travel with your tea—to work, to the gym, on a walk on a hot summer night—without it getting to room temperature too quickly.

3. Eco-Friendly and Cost-Effective: Using an insulated thermos or mug is a more sustainable option than disposable cups or normal containers that might require multiple uses of a microwave or refrigerator to keep your tea at the desired temperature. By reducing the need for reheating or adding ice, you’re saving energy and reducing waste from disposable cups.

As we mentioned in some of the other FAQ answers, while brews like black tea and coffee have alkaloids (like caffeine) that dissolve easily in water, kratom has alkaloids (like mitragynine) which are not very soluble.

So to increase the amount of alkaloids you extract from the tea leaves—i.e., make your tea stronger—you can add lemon or lime juice.

Don’t like lemon or lime? Add a different food-safe acid, like apple cider vinegar or orange juice.

When to avoid adding anything acidic to your tea:

  1. If you plan on storing your tea for a few days, we don’t recommend adding any citrus to it, because acidity can cause the alkaloids to degrade over a few days.
  2. If you’re making a creamy tea recipe like iced kratom chai or kratom hot chocolate, skip the citrus because it’ll cause most types of milk to curdle.

Is grapefruit juice a good option? We recommend avoiding it and choosing something different, since compounds in grapefruit juice can affect how your body processes kratom’s active compounds.

Definitely. After you finish your first steep, you can save your tea bag for a second (or even a third) steep. Just add more boiling water and lemon or lime juice to your thermos, mug, carafe, or pot.

Keep in mind that depending upon how long your initial steep was, you may not get a full serving from your second steep. Additionally, the alkaloid profile of your second cup of tea will differ slightly.

Nope—the amount of water you should use depends on what you’re using your tea for (hot vs. iced, regular tea vs. cocktail, etc.) and what equipment you have.

Standard brew: 8-12 oz (240-360 ml) per tea bag (or 3 grams of loose leaf tea).

→ Stick to the lower end if you plan on pouring your tea over ice.

Concentrated tea: 3-4 ounces of water per tea bag.

→ Great for easy storage of large batches, or when making tea to use as the base of a recipe, like a kratom cocktail or smoothie.

tea type, flavor, and serving questions

Our recommendation: Dried kratom leaves, either whole or crushed, are the best option for making great tea. These larger particle sizes are a lot easier to strain out. This means you’ll have an easy brewing process and great-tasting tea.

Tea bags: For the most convenient brew, you can get crushed-leaf kratom in tea bags. These are pre-weighed with the recommended serving size. No measuring, no straining, no mess!

Loose leaf: A cost-effective alternative, just takes an extra couple of minutes to measure out and strain your tea before drinking it.

Powder: There are ways to make tea with powder, but we don’t recommend them. It’s more challenging and time-consuming to make kratom tea from powder. Usually tea made with powder is more gritty and bitter.

Note about freeze-dried kratom: Tea made with freeze-dried kratom is not the same as crushed-leaf kratom tea. The strength of freeze-dried kratom leaves may be very different from the strength of classic dried leaves. The brewing instructions above are only for standard-strength crushed-leaf kratom tea, not freeze-dried kratom.

Plain kratom tea has an earthy flavor. It can be slightly bitter (like green tea steeped for a long time) but it is typically way less bitter than kratom powder.

If you don’t like the taste of plain kratom tea, try adding ingredients like sliced ginger root, vanilla extract, or mint leaves, plus sweeteners like brown sugar, agave, and stevia.

Pro Tip: make iced kratom tea for a less-bitter brew.

Another easy way to make great-tasting kratom tea is to use botanical kratom blends. These are tea bags that contain both crushed-leaf kratom and a blend of functional herbs and spices.

For more detailed recipes (from lattes and smoothies to mocktails and other specialty brews), head to the recipes page on our blog:

Overall, our favorite method is the thermos brew, but we have recommended brewing methods for different circumstances:

  • Thermos brew: Perfect for when you’re busy or traveling and want to make just 1-3 servings.
  • Insulated mug: A sleek, cozy version of the thermos brew. For single servings at home or at the office.
  • Tea carafe: Best for when you’re busy and want to make multiple servings, when you want to serve kratom tea to others, or you need to keep your tea hot for a while after you’re done brewing.
  • Stovetop brew: Great if you want to make concentrated tea or multiple servings, or you just have some extra time to relax by the stove.
  • Large batch brew: A bulk stovetop brew, optimal when you want to make enough to last for multiple days or share with a larger group.

Complete Kratom Serving Size Guide

There are different methods for making tea which result in different tea strengths, and thus different effects.

But here are common serving size ranges and effects (1 serving = 3 grams of tea steeped in boiling water for ~20 minutes):

→ 1-2 servings: effects are typically energizing
→ 1-3 servings: effects are commonly balanced and focusing
→ 2-4 servings: effects are usually more calming and soothing

This is just a general guide, though. The amount of tea you should actually consume depends on a few other factors. These can include:

  • Your body size and metabolism
  • Your experience level with kratom
  • The context in which you drink your tea (e.g., with an empty stomach, after a meal, during exercise)
  • Other supplements or medications you are taking

We always recommend starting small to see what works best for you personally. Don’t forget to speak with your healthcare provider before introducing kratom or other new botanicals into your routine, especially if you have a health condition or are taking medications.

Absolutely. View the large batch kratom brewing guide for more info on how to brew and store large batches of tea.

Download the Free Kratom Tea Recipe Book

learn to brew tea to get the kratom effects you love — 10 hot and iced tea recipes plus easy tips to boost your brew

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learn how to make kratom tea that tastes great with the kratom tea recipe book

KRATOM TEA RECIPES

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