Ashwagandha Tea: What It Does, and What It Doesn't
By Deepika Phakke - I grew up with Ayurveda in India, taught by my grandfather, an Ayurvedic healer. I founded Ayurvedist and formulated its four blends with 12 Ayurvedic practitioners.
Last updated - 9/4/2026
Ashwagandha is in everything now - capsules, smoothies, gummies, protein powders, tea. I've watched it go from something my grandfather kept in a jar to something with its own shelf at the grocery store.
It isn't new. It's been used in Ayurveda for more than 3,000 years. What's new is the volume of claims attached to it, and most of them are bigger than the evidence.
Here's what it actually does, and where the research stops.
What ashwagandha is
A small shrub native to India and North Africa. The root is what's used - it's been a cornerstone of Ayurveda, India's traditional system of health and longevity, for millennia.
You don't need to know anything about Ayurveda to use it. Think of it the way you'd think of turmeric or ginger: a plant with documented effects on how the body handles load.
In Ayurveda it's classed as a rasayana herb - part of the longevity branch, used for building resilience over time rather than fixing a symptom today. That framing matters, because it tells you how to use it. Ashwagandha is not a herb you take once and assess.
What an adaptogen actually means
Ashwagandha belongs to a group of herbs called adaptogens, and this is the part most articles get vague about.
Adaptogens don't target one symptom. They're used to help the body handle stress load - physical and mental. Less like a stimulant, more like a thermostat: the idea is regulation rather than pushing the system in one direction.
That's why people reach for it when they're tired of the coffee spike-and-crash. It's used for steadier energy without the jitteriness.
What the research supports, and at what dose
This is where I'd rather be straight with you than sell you something.
The strongest research on ashwagandha covers stress load and cortisol. A 2012 trial in the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine found meaningful cortisol reduction in chronically stressed adults, and later reviews have pointed the same direction. There's also reasonable evidence around sleep quality, and some around cognitive measures like reaction time and attention.
But read the methods. Those trials use concentrated root extract, usually 300–600mg a day, standardised to a fixed withanolide content. That is not what's in a tea bag, and any tea brand implying otherwise is hoping you won't check.
What tea gives you is whole root, at a real amount, taken every day for months. Ayurveda has always worked that way - accumulation over consistency, not a single loaded dose. Most ashwagandha trials run eight weeks, and the larger reviews found duration mattered more than dose.
So: if you want a clinical dose in a fixed quantity, take a standardised extract. If you want the traditional form, taken daily, in something you look forward to, that's tea. Both are legitimate. They're just not the same thing, and I'd rather you pick with your eyes open.
Why I put it in tea anyway
Consistency. A capsule is easy to skip. Adherence is where most supplement routines quietly die - not side effects, not cost, just boredom. A cup of tea in the afternoon survives longer than a bottle on the counter.
Ritual. Making and drinking something warm is itself a slowing-down behaviour. That's not a claim about the herb. It's a claim about the twenty minutes around it, and it's real.
Formulation. Ashwagandha on its own is earthy and fairly bitter. Ayurveda rarely uses single herbs - it builds combinations, and the other herbs shape both the flavour and the effect the blend is aimed at.
What it tastes like
Ashwagandha root alone is earthy and slightly bitter. Not unpleasant, but strong. Blending is the whole job.
In Be Present I paired it with blue pea flower, lemongrass, cinnamon and fennel. It comes out warm, faintly sweet and grounding - nothing like the raw root. That was deliberate. A tea you have to force down is a tea you'll stop drinking in three weeks.
When to drink it
Morning - alongside or instead of coffee. Sets a calmer tone for the day.
Afternoon, 2–4pm - the focus dip, where another coffee is too much.
Evening - an hour before bed if you're using it to wind down.
One cup a day is the floor. Give it a few weeks before you judge it. That's not a hedge - it's how rasayana herbs are meant to be used, and it's what the trials show too.
Where this comes from
I didn't find ashwagandha in a trend report. My grandfather was an Ayurvedic healer, and I spent 23 years around this system before I ever thought about selling tea.
Every Ayurvedist blend is formulated with 12 Ayurvedic practitioners, and every herb amount is printed on the box. That last part is the one I'd hold other brands to. If a product won't tell you how much of the hero herb is in it, the herb is probably on the front for the same reason the picture is.
Related reading: What Is Ayurvedic Tea? · What Is Longevity Tea?
Ashwagandha can interact with thyroid, sedative and immunosuppressant medication. Check with your doctor if you're pregnant, nursing, or on prescriptions.