Dive Into Our Genuine Essiac™ Tea FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and Prepare to Be an Essiac Expert in No Time

Yes, we use the whole sheep sorrel plant, including the roots, in our formula. You may read more about the sheep sorrel in our Essiac tea on this page.

Essiac is a traditional herbal tea blend that many people choose to include as part of their personal wellness routines.

Yes we have testimonials. Visit our testimonials page to see them.

All of our herbs are non-irradiated and preservative free.

Yes, we track batches. Our herbs are regularly tested by independent laboratories for purity and safety, including screening for heavy metals, pesticides, and microbial contaminants.

Yes! Our herbs are very fresh because we sell thousands of pounds of Essiac herbs each month, which allows us to turn over most of our inventory approximately every four weeks. Many customers comment on how fresh the herbs look, smell, and taste.

Because Essiac is the primary product we carry, our herb inventory moves quickly and remains current. Once purchased, the herbs typically keep well for up to two years when stored properly.

Read more about our herb quality here.

All of our herbs are sourced from the United States, which allows us to maintain consistent quality and reliable supply while ensuring the herbs undergo rigorous quality testing.

Currently, 7 of our 8 herbs are supplied by Starwest Botanicals, an established herb supplier located in California. The eighth herb is sourced from a private grower because we were unable to obtain sheep sorrel containing the roots from Starwest.

Read more about our herbs.

Powdered herbs are more expensive for us to use than whole herbs, but we choose them because the finer particle size allows the herbs to disperse more thoroughly during brewing. With powdered (pulverized) herbs, there is greater surface area exposed to the hot water, which helps the tea brew evenly.

Because the herbs are finely ground, some of the herb particles remain suspended in the tea and may be consumed along with the liquid if you choose. Some people prefer this approach because it allows them to consume the whole herb material rather than only the liquid portion of the tea.

This is similar to the idea of eating whole foods rather than consuming only a juice or extract.

Read more about powdered herbs here, or watch this video explaining the brewing process.

Over time, different variations of Essiac formulas have been discussed, including both four-herb and eight-herb blends. Our formula follows the eight-herb tradition associated with Rene Caisse's later work.

You can learn more about the herbs used in Essiac tea here, read about the history of the different formulas here, or watch this video explaining the evolution of the Essiac formula.

Eight herb Essiac has a slightly bitter, grassy taste. If it's not slightly bitter, be warned that it's not real Essiac! The watercress is the main culprit for this. Some Essiac blends don't include watercress, but Rene Caisse demonstrated that particular herb is crucial to the formula. Some companies leave it out to make it taste better. It's a huge mistake!

Most people get accustomed to the taste after a couple of weeks of taking Essiac Tea. Since you will generally only be taking 3 oz. at a time, it should not be a problem to drink that small amount even if you don't enjoy the taste. Essiac Tea isn't meant to be sipped and savored for pleasure. It's meant to be taken cold like a shot straight from the fridge. It doesn't taste awful - but most don't find it delicious either. Personally, it reminds me of taking green tea with no sweetener. It's not a big deal.

You may add stevia, honey or any unsweetened fruit or vegetable juice to your Essiac Tea serving after it’s been brewed. You may also add extra water to reduce the thickness if you like. You can purchase Stevia by clicking here. Learn more about how you can improve the taste of Essiac here.

We sure do! Visit this page to learn our best helpful hints to new Essiac users.

Most customers who try Genuine Essiac continue to purchase it, but we understand that everyone’s experience can be different.

That’s why we offer a six-month money-back guarantee. If you decide the product isn’t the right fit for you after using it, you can request a refund of your purchase price.

Click here to learn more about our Industry-Exclusive Guarantee.

Our Essiac contains the same eight herbs used in other eight-herb Essiac formulas. Our blend follows the version of the formula associated with the research conducted by Rene Caisse and Dr. Charles Brusch during their eight years of collaboration.

We are able to offer it at a lower price because of the large volume of Essiac we sell. We also operate without a retail storefront and instead ship directly from our warehouse, which helps reduce overhead.

Our goal is to provide high-quality Essiac at a fair price. Because of these factors, we are able to keep our prices low. 

Be careful when comparing prices with companies that sell only a small amount at a time — our packages are designed to last for months, which can reduce the cost per day. Learn how much to buy at once in this video.

In many cases, it costs less than $1 per day to use our Essiac. You can also review our Price Match Guarantee.

Yes! Check out our Genuine Essiac Cheat Sheet..

It's suggested to drink the Essiac straight from the fridge - cold. If you reheat it, you risk overprocessing it. If you cannot drink it cold, you may drink it left out at room temperature (but be sure to refrigerate the pitcher all the time and simply take out individual servings to leave out at room temperature when needed). 

You can take 3 oz. of Essiac three times per day if you are looking to improve your health and/or if you are new to Essiac Tea. If you are new to Essiac, take 3 oz. three times per day for the first six months. If you are looking to maintain already great results or use it preventively after you have been using the tea for six months you can take 3 oz. twice per day. Click here for more info on how much Essiac to take.

You should space them at least 4 hours apart for best results. Read our Servings of Essiac Tea Spacing Guide blog post.

We suggest taking Essiac continuously for at least six months. It's perfectly fine to stay on Essiac Tea for life with no breaks. That is what we do around here! It's a great insurance policy of sorts for your health. Watch this video to learn more about how long it's OK to drink Essiac tea.

Yes; Essiac can be taken by those who are healthy. There is no risk of overdoing it. The vitamins and minerals in the tea are all at levels that are healthy and natural for long term use. See the Essiac Tea Nutrition facts by clicking here.

Yes, any child over 18 months of age can safely drink Essiac tea. See more information about giving Essiac tea to children.

There are no side effects in the traditional sense. You might experience mild stomach/intestinal irritation if you start immediately on the aggressive level of 3 oz. three times per day. This may include loose stools or an increased frequency of stool. However, this is a good thing and not really a side effect but rather a desired effect: it's a sign of detoxification and will not harm your body as long as you're able to tolerate any discomfort.

The vast majority of people who experience this aren’t bothered by it and it doesn’t interfere at all with their day. If you are bothered by these symptoms, start with 1/2 to 1/3 of the recommended serving and ease your way into taking the full amount as tolerated. Please keep in mind that this will also mean the adjustment period will be more drawn out. In addition, please don't start "counting" your time on Essiac until you are taking the recommended amount.

Our tea has been safely taken alongside anticoagulant medications — including at the same time — for over 21 years.

Medication instructions about an “empty stomach” are generally intended to avoid food and caloric drinks. Herbal tea is not the same as a meal.

However, medication instructions should always be followed as written. Please consult with your health practitioner.

Essiac doesn't thin the blood. Please defer to the suggestion of your health practitioner when making decisions about medications.

You can take Essiac alongside your supplements, including those that are recommended to take on an empty stomach. Please keep in mind that amino acids and protein powders count as a food, not a supplement for the purposes of Essiac because they contain protein. If what you are consuming contains more than 2 grams of protein, please count that as a food, not a supplement. The same goes for oil based supplements. If they contain more than 2 grams of fat per serving they will also fall into the food category.

If you are preparing for a medical procedure (such as a biopsy, endoscopy, colonoscopy or surgery), please follow your healthcare provider’s specific preparation instructions.

If you have questions about whether to pause any herbal products beforehand, your provider is the best person to advise you based on your individual situation.

You may resume your normal routine only when your provider confirms it is appropriate to do so.

Your brewed Essiac Tea must be refrigerated, since there are no additives or preservatives in this product. Avoid storing brewed tea for longer than 3 weeks, because after that time the tea may spoil.

Store your tea in a container of your choice such as the type you'd use for iced tea. By the time you will be storing the Essiac it would have cooled down, so no special pitcher is needed.

We suggest containers that have an open top so that you can stir your Essiac before pouring. Dark bottles are not necessary, because your refrigerator is dark inside anyway (hence, no opportunity for the tea to experience light damage). Clean all containers thoroughly with hot water and soap before using them to store your Essiac.

Click here for instructions, which also appear on the labels on each bag of Essiac as well as in the pamphlet that comes along with each order. You can also watch a video here on how to take Essiac tea.

Click here for Brewing instructions. They also appear on each bag of Essiac as well as in the pamphlet that comes along with each order. You can see how much Essiac to make at a time here. You can also hear from Dr. Powell, Naturopath, who shows you a longer form video of how to brew Essiac tea while explaining what it's used for. Watch now.

Most likely, companies that ask you to bring the tea to a boil twice are using regular (not powdered) herbs. It’s harder to get the medicinal extract out of large herb particles, hence the boiling twice being necessary.

Dr. Charles Brusch and Rene Caisse have performed studies on the various brewing methods and never found an additional benefit to brewing powdered herbs twice. Some people believe that you must bring liquids to a boil twice to kill any bacteria. This does not apply to our powdered herbs. They are already bacteria free and that has been confirmed by testing.

Store the herbs in the packaging they arrived in. Keep them in a relatively cool, dark place in your home away from direct heat and sunlight. No need to use the refrigerator as it's better to have the product stored room temperature. Unopened packets of herbs stay fresh for two years from date of purchase.

Some people prefer purchasing herbs individually so they can control the proportions themselves. However, blending the herbs properly can be challenging, especially with a multi-herb formula.

Buying each herb separately can also be more expensive and time-consuming, since the herbs are often sold in larger quantities than you may need.

Many people choose a pre-blended Essiac formula because it ensures the herbs are consistently combined and ready to brew. Our Essiac follows the eight-herb tradition associated with Rene Caisse’s later work.

It's best to consume the herbs as part of each serving. Therefore, please do not strain and throw out the particles at the bottom. It's important to get some of these particles into each and every serving. The herbs are meant to be in your body and not in the trash! This is how Rene Caisse recommended it be taken. The most effective way to get the herbs into you is to use a large wooden spoon to stir the pitcher before pouring each serving. You can leave the lid off your container to make this more convenient. Stirring tends to work better than shaking especially when the pitcher is full.

Essiac should be taken on an empty stomach. Learn what constitutes an empty stomach in terms of Essiac tea in this guide. Take your tea at least one hour before eating a meal and at least two hours after your last meal. For example, if you finish lunch at 12pm you need to have Essiac by 11am, and you can have another serving at 2pm. If you are concerned you will not have time to get enough food, check out our sample eating schedule.

If you cannot comply with this once in a while, taking Essiac with food once in awhile is always better than not taking it at all. Try setting a cell phone alarm or reminder to keep you on schedule. You are allowed to have black coffee, plain tea, fruit or vegetable juice with your Essiac as well as supplements and medications and that still counts as an "empty stomach." You can have as much water as you like well.

Any pure water you'd normally use to drink is fine. Distilled water, well water, spring water, or filtered tap water are all fine. For more helpful hints on making and taking Essiac, click here.

If you are headed somewhere with a kitchen, you can bring packets of herbs with you and prepare it there. If that isn't the case, there are ways to brew Essiac one cup at a time for short term use (this method is not recommended for regular day-to-day use. There are also ways to get creative with a thermos if you are, for example, headed on a cruise. Learn More.

We recommend that you place your order via our shopping cart. Additionally you can always call in your order if you prefer. Our cart accepts all major credit cards as well as PayPal, ShopPay and Amazon Pay. If you wish to call in your order you may use: 1-603-433-8003. 

We offer one-time purchases as well as Subscribe and Save autoship programs for all Essiac products. In that program you will receive 10% off.

Products are automatically delivered on the schedule of your choosing upon enrollment. You may modify or cancel your autoship subscription anytime. You are saving 10% by enrolling in this program. You will be reminded of upcoming charges and shipments 3 days in advance. You cannot cancel an order that has already been processed, so be sure to cancel unwanted autoship orders at least 1 day in advance as orders are often processed at midnight EST. Otherwise, in the event an unwanted product is shipped, you will need to return the item by following these steps. Please ensure that you still cancel your subscription after returning the item. You may contact us to ask us to do it for you if you don't know how.

Please contact us if you have any questions about your recurring orders. We can help you modify a subscription if you reach out at least 24 hours before your charge will occur. You may change your own subscription right up until the charge takes please. Visit this page for more information about returning a product you forgot to cancel that you received from Subscribe and Save.

Visit our help center to read more about our Subscribe and Save autoship program by clicking here.

Here is where you can login:
https://genuineessiac.com/account/login

The button is located at the top of the site. This is to help manage your account whether or not you have an Essiac Tea subscription.

We no longer use passwords; instead you will receive a one-time code.

If you still can't get in to manage your subscription after trying those things:

Please note that we don't automatically create a Shopify account with the same email address because customers will need to input a password on account creation in order to have that option.

What might be happening is you have gone to log in on the GenuineEssiac.com end, rather than visiting your portal from the link emailed to you, and you get a message that the email address is not linked to an account.

If you create a GenuineEssiac.com account with the same email address as their ReCharge account, the two will be linked and there should be a "Manage subscription" link on your GenuineEssiac.com account page that takes them to the ReCharge customer portal where you can update details.

Here is the create an account page:

https://genuineessiac.com/account/register"

Please let us know if you still are having trouble. We can always make desired changes over email rather than you having to deal with logging in.

We ship Free 2-3 day mail domestically via USPS.com for individual orders (non-wholesale). For more info. on how we ship and how shipping methods might affect the herbs please see: USPS and the essiac herbs. We also offer UPS shipping for a fee. International customers may choose between USPS, UPS and DHL. If you order online or over the phone, we process and ship your order by Tuesday or Friday, whichever comes first. Cutoff for orders is noon EST on Tuesday and Friday.

Most orders within the US will come in 2-3 business days, but keep in mind that timeframe is an average. Most international orders take 2-10 days to arrive from date of order. DHL is typically the fastest, followed by UPS and USPS tends to be on the slower side. Go here to read more about international shipping and why ordering from us intertnationally helps save you money compared to buying essiac in your country.

Yes, you will receive the tracking number when your order ships. Please note that the USPS tracking updates are not as often or detailed as with some carriers, especially for international orders. However you will always get notification when the order is shipped as well as when it arrives in your country and is delivered. If you never received tracking and you need it please contact us. Your tracking may have ended up in spam, so please check there too.

Yes, we include instructions and contact information should you need further product support. The instructions are provided in ounces. We have metric instructions on our website.

No, we ship everything direct from our warehouse.

Your herbs will arrive in the specified number of 1 oz., 4 oz. or 1 lb. sealed and labeled packets. These units are stand-alone packages complete with brewing and serving size instructions. Wholesale orders do not have our website or our contact info. on the label in case you wish to resell them.

You can see this page for more information about our wholesale program.

We ship on Tuesdays and Fridays. All orders received by noon on Tuesday or Friday make the shipping cutoff. Orders coming in after those dates go out on the next ship date. We ship US orders 2-3 day mail and after we've shipped it takes 2-3 business days on average to arrive to you. We also offer UPS shipments for a fee, and you will be able to choose the UPS service speed that best meets your needs.

For international orders, average wait time is 2-10 days with DHL being the fastest typically, UPS coming next and USPS typically being slower. However, in some rare cases it can take a couple of weeks for the herbs to clear customs once it arrives in your country. This is unusual but it happens. Unfortunately that is out of our control. Please plan orders accordingly. We can also use your Fed Ex account for wholesale orders if you prefer. (Contact us to inquire on the availability and options). Go here for more information on international shipping speeds and the cost savings of ordering from us even if you live in another country.

Before ordering, please confirm with your country's regulating bodies that they will allow herbal tea into your country. You may want to tell them that the Essiac herbal tea contains these eight herbs: blessed thistle, burdock root, kelp, red clover sheep sorrel including the root, slippery elm bark, turkey rhubarb root, and watercress. However, note that we do not write these ingredients out on the customs slip - we simply write "herbal tea." 

We include a special note that allows the product to be brought into Australia with Australian orders. Customers are solely responsible for any fees or duties to receive our products into the destination country. The same terms and conditions that apply to our domestic orders apply to international returns.

You will not owe VAT, but there may be other customs fees. The charges are similar for a small parcel and a large parcel, so we suggest ordering the largest parcel you can use within 2 years to save as much money as possible on customs fees.

Within the US, all non-wholesale orders ship for free. You may select UPS to ship your orders as well for a fee. International shipping charges vary by location and we offer DHL, UPS and USPS for most countries. You can see a shipping quote once you select the product you’d like and enter your address in our shopping cart. Go here for more information on international shipping and the cost savings you'll enjoy ordering from our site.

We accept returns for unopened bags of tea for up to 30 days from date of purchase. We will replace your parcel for free if the product arrives damaged in some way. Contact us if this occurs and we will assist you. Your satisfaction is our goal. Click here to learn how to return your Essiac.

Orders cannot be canceled once they are placed. Because of the way orders are processed through our fulfillment system, we cannot reliably intercept cancellation requests before shipment.

If you no longer want the product, you may return it using the instructions found at the link above.

You also may receive a replacement for any order that arrives in damaged condition. Simply contact us in that case and there is usually no need to return the product that was shipped to you.

We're based out of Haverhill, Massachusetts, USA.

We have been making and distributing Essiac since 1986. This website was launched in 2018 during a rebrand and we've been selling direct to consumers online for the past 21 years.

The eight herb Essiac Tea formula we carry has been taken by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world.

Yes. You may call 1-603-433-8003. You can also email support @ genuineessiac.com or use messenger on our Facebook Page Genuine Essiac" We answer phone calls from 9am-5pm ET Mon-Fri and 9am-3pm Sat-Sun. We respond to emails within 24 hours Monday thru Saturday. You can use our contact form for your convenience.

Only one - stevia that you can use to add to Essiac. Order it by clicking here. We are the Essiac experts!

Our Essiac formula includes red clover as one of the eight herbs in the traditional blend, so we do not offer a version without it. Removing any of the herbs would change the composition of the formula.

If you’ve been advised to avoid red clover, it would be best to follow the guidance of your healthcare professional.

You can read more about red clover and its role in Essiac tea here: Red clover and Essiac Tea.

No. Kelp is one of the eight herbs included in the traditional Essiac formula, so we do not offer a version without it. Removing any of the herbs would change the composition of the blend.

Kelp makes up only a small portion of the formula and naturally contains iodine in small amounts. Each 3 oz serving contains approximately 22 mcg of naturally occurring iodine from kelp. For reference, the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for iodine in adults is 150 mcg per day, and the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) is 1,100 mcg per day.

If you have been advised to avoid iodine or kelp, it’s best to follow the guidance of your healthcare professional.