==Benefits and uses of Honeybush are==
Honeybush tea is made as a simple herbal infusion. It is sometimes consumed with milk and sugar as is done with black tea, but to appreciate the delicate sweet taste and flavor, no milk or sugar should be added. Adding a small amount of honey to the tea will bring out the honey-like flavor of the herb. Descriptions of the honeybush flavor include hot apricot jam; floral, honey-like; and dried fruit mix. The overall impression is mild sweetness. The tea has the added advantage that the cold infusion can also be used as iced tea and that it blends well with fruit juices. The tea can be consumed daily, or can be rotated with other beverage teas, such as Rooibos and ordinary tea. For treatment of coughs, or as an aid in regulating blood sugar in diabetes, or helping reduce menopausal symptoms, the tea would be taken several times per day.
* One of its early recognized benefits as a tea substitute is its lack of caffeine, which makes it especially suited for nighttime consumption and for those who experience nervousness and want to avoid ordinary tea. As a result, it had a reputation as a calming beverage, though it may not have any specific sedative properties. * It also has a very low tannin content of and contains no caffeine. It is therefore especially valuable for children and patients with digestive and heart problems where stimulants and tannins, so it doesn't make a highly astringent tea, which can should be a problem with some grades of black or green tea or when ordinary tea is steeped too longavoided.
* The traditional use of the tea for treating cough may be explained, in part, by its content of pinitol, a modified sugar that is similar to inositol. Pinitol, named for its major source, pine trees, is also found in the leaves of several legume plants; it is an expectorant.
* Pinitol is also of interest for apparent blood-sugar lowering effects, as demonstrated in laboratory animal studies (it may increase the effects of insulin), and is being considered as a drug for diabetes.