Exploring Frankincense Tea: An In-Depth Guide to Tea Life’s Frankincense Collection

Frankincense has been valued for many thousands of years across the Middle East, North Africa and even parts of Asia. Whilst it is traditionally known as a fragrant resin, frankincense has also been prepared as an infusion where it is gently brewed in hot water in order to release its natural aroma and flavour.

Here at Tea Life, we are proud to bring you our Frankincense Collection, where we have managed to carefully source frankincense resins selected specifically for tea preparation. Our collection offers you the chance to explore frankincense in its pure form, brewed slowly and intentionally as a delicious resin tea.

What Is Frankincense Resin?

Frankincense is a natural resin harvested from trees of the Boswellia genus. When you carefully tap the bark, the tree releases a milky sap that hardens into beautiful resin tears. These resins are then collected, cleaned, and graded based on appearance, aroma and their origin.

Unlike our powder herbs or leaves, frankincense resin is solid and deeply aromatic. When we prepare it as tea the resin should be gently simmered or steeped allowing the distinctive scent and flavour to captivate you as it's prepared.

Frankincense resin does not contain caffeine and is brewed as a standalone infusion rather than being blended with tea leaves.

Frankincense as a Tea Tradition

The historical roots of using frankincense as an infusion lie within the regions where this resin has long been traded and highly valued. While frankincense is usually associated with incense and ceremonial usage, brewing the resin in water is yet another very traditional way to experience the delights that frankincense holds.

Frankincense tea is supposed to be enjoyed slowly. The preparation is embraced as a part of the ritual, requiring patience and attention as opposed to quickly popping the kettle on. If you’d like to take a little part of this traditional ritual home, then frankincense is a fantastic infusion to try.

Our Frankincense Collection

We’ve decided to focus on single origin resins, allowing us to offer much more transparency and clarity when it comes to the type of frankincense you’re brewing. Each of our resin varieties has its own very distinct flavour profile and brewing characteristics.

Alongside our regular Frankincense Tea, we’ve chosen three other varieties to offer to our wonderful customers as well. Let’s look at them all in a little more detail!

Frankincense Tea

Frankincense or Boswellia carterii is one of the original gifts to baby Jesus and has been used since ancient times as a tea as well as an oil. These ancient methods are said to hold a wide variety of purposes, such as being an aphrodisiac, boosting brain function, soothing coughs and colds and more.

Whilst more research on the use of this resin as a holistic method of healing, it is still a wonderful way to connect with the generations who walked before us through tea.

Boswellia Carterii Frankincense Tea

Prized for their top quality resins we’ve decided to choose our Boswellia Carterii Frankincense Tea from a supplier of Fairtrade Somalian origin.

One of the world’s most prized resins is frankincense carterii, which is carefully harvested within the mountains of Ufeyn, Bari, Karkar, Puntland, Somalia. We find this herbal infusion to hold a very distinct flavour full of earthy balsamic notes and a mild bitterness. It is well worth a taste test for those of you who enjoy sipping on ancient infusions!

Boswellia Papyrifera Frankincense Tea

Next in our range is the slightly softer resin, Boswellia Papyrifera Frankincense Tea. This important resin is brought in from the highlands of Ethiopia and reaches use via Berbera Port in Somalia.

The Papyrifera resin is harvested by hand using traditional methods and has a gorgeous sweet honey aroma that is lighter than the Carterii but with plenty of fruity and balsamic undertones. This Fairtrade tea resin is the perfect introduction to frankincense tea!

Boswellia Frereana Frankincense Tea

Finally, we’ve managed to secure Boswellia Frereana Frankincense Tea resin! This highly prized and pretty rare resin is from the Al Madow mountain ranges in Puntland, Somalia and the locals refer to it as Maydi.

This resin is my personal favourite with its sweet, citrusy and even slightly minty scent that used to be used as a natural chewing resin! This gorgeous resin is even used as a premium ingredient in perfumery and wellness methods.

How Frankincense Tea is Prepared

Frankincense tea preparation differs from most herbal teas and that is because the resin is not steeped briefly like leaves or flowers. Instead it is typically simmered or steeped in hot water for a slightly longer period of time.

The most common approach tends to involve gently heating the resin in water rather than boiling it aggressively. This slow preparation allows the resin to release its aroma and flavour gradually as well as being a nice moment of calmer for whoever is brewing the tea!

Since frankincense resins vary in their density and composition it means that their brewing times may vary slightly between varieties. Many people adjust their preparation methods based on personal preference and the specific resin used but of course, a lot of it comes down to experience too!

Explore Our Frakincense Collection at Tea Life

Ready to shop the range? Explore our delightful new collection along with a huge selection of decaf teas, fruit teas and even Native Australian Bush teas. If you love organic tea, shop Tea Life today!