In Aajonus Vonderplanitz's framework, tea, whether herbal, green, or black, is fundamentally not a food of the Primal Diet. It is not a health-promoting beverage in any commercially available or conventionally prepared form. Aajonus's position on all varieties of tea is consistent and unambiguous: the preparation method of steeping dried plant material in hot or boiling water creates a product that is acidic, enzyme-deficient, cauterized, and ultimately harmful to digestion and bodily function.

The category "tea" encompasses herbal teas, commercial green teas, black teas, sun teas, and all decoctions made from dried leaves, stems, roots, or any plant material that has been subjected to heat, drying, or processing. Aajonus's entire framework rests on the principle that live enzymes, intact fats, and biochemically active raw nutrients are what allow the body to heal and thrive. Tea, in any standard form, destroys all of these properties.

However, Aajonus does not treat all tea-like preparations as equivalent. He draws a sharp distinction between prepared commercial teas and the concept of obtaining herbal nutrition through raw, unheated, freshly juiced plant material. In his view, vegetable juice is your tea, a live, enzyme-rich, biochemically active substitute for what people think they are getting from herbal beverages.

There is one specific tea-like preparation Aajonus does describe positively: a raw marijuana tea prepared in a specific blended cold-process method, used therapeutically for long-term marijuana smokers undergoing detoxification of accumulated tars. This is discussed in detail below.

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Aajonus identifies several intersecting mechanisms by which all standard teas, herbal, green, and black, damage the body rather than heal it:

Enzyme Destruction: When herbs are steeped in hot or boiling water, all enzymes are destroyed. Aajonus consistently held that enzymes are the foundational currency of biological function. Without enzymes, the nutritional compounds present in the plant material cannot be properly utilized, and the digestive system is burdened rather than assisted. He stated directly: "When you cook herbs or even dehydrate them, they turn acid in the system."

Excessive Acidity: Dried leaves, stems, and roots, the foundation of all conventional tea, are deficient in enzymes and "turn overly acidic in the body." This acid burden is not limited to the digestive tract. Aajonus specifies that impaired digestion causes all other bodily processes to be impaired. The acid environment created by steeped dried herbs extends to the blood and neural fluids.

Impaired Digestion: Aajonus states: "dried leaves, stems and roots are deficient in enzymes and turn overly acidic in the body. Digestion is impaired. If digestion is impaired, all other bodily processes are impaired and health suffers." This is presented as a cascade: one impaired system compromises all others.

Heavy Metals in Water-Based Preparations: Even for sun tea, Aajonus raises the issue that water itself is a leeching substance. He says: "Sun tea. Still you're going to have heavy metals in it. You got dehydrated. Substance. There's no electrolyte. There's no ion activity." The water in tea preparations leeches minerals out of the plant material in an imbalanced fashion, pulling them into a medium that has no ionic activity to support proper utilization. He explains: "the water will start leeching the mint out. The oils out, yes. But still you're going to cause some of them to become free radical because of the imbalance of minerals that are going to draw out. It's going to break it down more for plants to eat rather than for a human to eat."

Boiling Water Steeping: Aajonus explicitly states: "Commercial liquid green teas are all steeped in boiling water." Boiling water far exceeds any threshold for enzyme survival and represents the most destructive form of heat exposure for any plant material.

Cauterization: In his discussion of grass powders and similar green food products, Aajonus describes the effect of high heat on plant material as "cauterized/cooked." The same logic applies directly to any plant material steeped in boiling water: it is cauterized. He states: "all enzymes are destroyed and the food is cauterized/cooked."

Aajonus acknowledges that many people report feeling better when consuming herbal teas and other plant-based preparations. His explanation is that this perceived benefit is primarily driven by carbohydrate stimulation rather than healing: "consider that people feel better because most of those foods are high in carbohydrates and raise the blood and nerve sugar." This explanation covers acai, camu camu, gogi, noni, and by implication, the plants used in herbal teas. The felt sense of improved wellbeing is neurochemical stimulation, not genuine healing.

For herbal tinctures specifically, ginkgo, ginseng, and similar, he warns: "They'll also make you acid and create... herbal tinctures like ginkgo and ginseng." When a patient noted that ginkgo helped with mental cloudiness, Aajonus's reply was that removing pineapple from the diet would resolve the root issue without the acid burden of the tincture.

Aajonus addresses green powders, wheatgrass powder, spirulina, and similar, in the same critical framework as teas made from dried plant material. He says these products cause "like any kind of over mineral reaction like heavy salts. They'll cause a stimulation to the adrenal glands, so it makes you feel better but it's not necessarily a healthy stimulation like coffee, caffeine." He draws the explicit comparison to coffee: the stimulation is real but it is not healthy. It is adrenal stress. He states: "I found that they're not good on an overall diet... They help people eat cooked foods."

Regarding the drying process for grass powders specifically: "Rarely are any grasses sun-dried. Usually, they are kiln-dried at temperatures above 118°F (48°C) and up to 138°F (59°C). They are also subjected to the same friction-heat from machines during the powdering processes that reach at least 176°F (80°C). They are not raw because all enzymes are destroyed."

Aajonus presents a measured but clear-eyed view of herbal therapy in his book We Want to Live: "HERBS AND HERBAL THERAPY are the use of plants as remedies for all maladies. The success rate of herbal therapies is double that of the medical profession. In conjunction with a healthy raw diet, fresh herbs stimulate and promote better health and ease detoxification. However, when herbs are steeped, cut, powdered or processed using heat above 90° Fahrenheit, they create as much toxicity as they supply healing properties. They cause an overly acidic digestive environment, blood and neural fluids."

This is a nuanced statement: herbal therapy itself has genuine merit, and the success rate is double that of conventional medicine. The problem is entirely in the preparation method. Processing above 90°F creates as much toxicity as healing. Steeping in boiling water dramatically exceeds that threshold.

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Commercially steeped green tea: "Commercial liquid green teas are all steeped in boiling water." This applies to all bottled and canned green tea products without exception.

Herbal teas steeped in hot water: Any herbal tea prepared by steeping dried or fresh herbs in water above 90°F creates excessive acidity and toxicity. Aajonus states: "when herbs are steeped, cut, powdered or processed using heat above 90° Fahrenheit, they create as much toxicity as they supply healing properties."

Dried herb preparations (teas made from dried material): Dried herbs have already lost their enzyme content before any water is added. Drying alone is damaging. Adding hot water compounds the damage. He says: "dried it can be toxic and create problems", stated in response to a question about a Chinese herbal remedy for lung congestion.

Sun tea: Even sun tea, which avoids boiling, is problematic in Aajonus's framework because water is a leeching medium that draws minerals into a free-radical environment without adequate ionic or electrolyte activity. He says of sun tea: "Still you're going to have heavy metals in it. You got dehydrated. Substance. There's no electrolyte. There's no ion activity."

Herbal tinctures: Tinctures made with alcohol or other solvents represent another problematic form. Aajonus says: "they're all processed and distilled usually or tinctured, which means that there's either alcohol placed in it or some other element to cut and extract and then you have the side effect of those." He confirms regarding herb tinctures being cooked: "They are." (In response to a patient stating she was certain that herb tinctures are all cooked.)

Kombucha tea: Aajonus's position on kombucha is unambiguous and severe: "No. It feeds on dead cellulose sugars. So the host for it is cooked." When asked whether kombucha can be made with honey instead of sugar without cooking: "Some people claim that they can make it with honey, no sugar and no cooking, but I do not know how. Honey is not dry or dead." He documents specific harm: "I have seen it cause severe hair loss and terrible gastrointestinal issues." When asked if the kombucha culture itself is problematic even when added to raw juices, his response was: "It is mutated and diseased."

Sun-steeped teas that have never been cooked: Aajonus writes: "TEAS that are steeped in the sun without ever having been cooked can supply certain minerals and provide obscure nutrients that an individual may be lacking. That is herbal therapy's claim to increase health." However, he immediately qualifies this: "However, dried leaves, stems and roots are deficient in enzymes and turn overly acidic in the body. Digestion is impaired. If digestion is impaired, all other bodily processes are impaired and health suffers." This suggests sun-steeped tea made from fresh, never-cooked plant material has a narrow theoretical benefit that is undermined by the enzyme and acidity issues.

Fresh herb juice (the recommended alternative): This is the form Aajonus consistently recommends instead of tea. Fresh herbs, juiced raw and unheated, retain their enzymes, their fragrant oils, and their biochemical activity. He states: "If a person is in need of the effects of an herb, it would be best to eat or juice the fresh herb." The key is that no heat is applied.

The marijuana tea exception: Aajonus describes a specific cold-process blended tea for therapeutic marijuana detoxification. This preparation does not involve boiling or steeping in hot water. It is described as a jar-blending method at room temperature. (See Therapeutic Protocols below for full details.)

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Aajonus warns that the problems with commercial green tea extend beyond the steeping process. The raw plant material itself may be chemically contaminated before it even reaches the consumer: "Sometimes, kerosene derivatives, distilled alcohol or other chemicals are sprayed on those foods to breakdown the oils and force them to dry faster."

He identifies a specific legal deception: "Since kerosene and alcohol are natural, they may legally call the product 'All Natural.' They know they mislead consumers and they do not care. Their interest is to supply products for abundant profits rather than produce quality products for which they obtain less profit."

This means that even a consumer who understands the problem with boiling and attempts to purchase "clean" green tea is still potentially ingesting kerosene derivatives and alcohol residues on the dried tea leaves, in addition to consuming a product whose enzymes have been entirely destroyed.

Aajonus provides specific guidance on how to obtain the benefits that people seek from herbal teas through raw juicing:

• Use fresh, raw herbs only
• Juice them and add to vegetable juice
• Limit herb content to no more than 5% of the total juice volume
• No more than 2 ounces per day unless suffering severe illness

He states directly: "Your vegetable juice or your herbs is your herb tea. Okay. You just don't cook it. Don't cook? You don't cook your vegetable juice... that's why we juice them."

On the fragrant oils that survive in juiced herbs: "anytime you're dealing with an herb that's that concentrated, you have a high proportion of oils that will still stay organic and it'll taste very flavorful." He contrasts this with the deterioration that occurs in water: "if you do that with celery, something that's mostly H2O, you know, it'll break down more."

Aajonus provides a direct comparison: "Well, the water will start leeching the mint out. The oils out, yes. But still you're going to cause some of them become free radical because of the imbalance of minerals that are going to draw out. It's going to break it down more for plants to eat rather than for a human to eat. It's better just to juice, put some mint leaves in your juice. Juice some mint leaves. That's what your vegetable juice is. Vegetable juice is your tea."

For people addicted to hot beverages, specifically for the heating and stimulating effect, Aajonus describes an alternative: "She would take fresh hot peppers, blend it with some lemon and blend it until the blender got warm, the water in the blender got warm and the peppers make it seem hot. And they do really the same thing. They will heat up the body. The hot peppers with the honey and lemon raise the blood pressure and that is mostly what people drink the coffee or tea for, to get them a boost. But it is a toxic boost, rather than a beneficial one." This method uses blender friction to warm the mixture without external heat.

In the context of a patient wanting to use ginger, Aajonus is explicit: "But never make ginger tea. You don't want to heat it." The instruction is to juice ginger or press it through a garlic press. He specifically warns against heating ginger even though it is a digestive aid, because heating it converts it into the same acidic, enzyme-deficient problem as any other herbal tea preparation.

This is reinforced in his Q&A exchange about Chinese medicine recommending dried ginger: a patient notes that "dried ginger is recommended by Chinese medicine because it is..." and Aajonus's position throughout is that dried preparations are inferior to fresh, raw, juiced forms.

In a Q&A exchange, a patient asks about "Clear Lungs," a Chinese herbal remedy, for lung congestion. Aajonus's response: "If the herb were fresh and you juiced it, it might have some value, but dried it can be toxic and create problems." This represents his universal position: fresh and juiced may have value; dried and processed creates toxicity.

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Aajonus does not describe a specific fat pairing requirement for herbal teas per se, since his primary recommendation is to avoid them entirely. However, within his framework for using fresh herbs and juiced herbs as part of vegetable juices, he consistently emphasizes that herbal and plant-based compounds that dissolve metals and toxins from the body must be accompanied by adequate fat to prevent those dissolved toxins from damaging tissue.

This principle applies when using herbs medicinally in juice form: the raw cream, raw butter, raw coconut cream, or avocado must be present in the diet simultaneously so that dissolved toxins have something to bind to rather than being reabsorbed or causing ulceration.

He also recommends raw cream or other raw fats be consumed before or with any detoxifying food. This principle would extend to any situation where someone is using herb-based preparations for detoxification.

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When using any fresh herb as a component of vegetable juice (as a substitute for what people seek in herbal teas), Aajonus applies a strict limit: "no more than 5% of the volume of juice no more than 5%... have that 2, 3, 4 times a day depending upon your need."

He explains the reason: "remember, anything other than those that I normally suggest are medicinal. And they will cause reactions in the body. Any of them. You can have them fresh, but you use them in small, no more than 5% of the juice."

Specific examples given in context include kale, spinach, cilantro, mint, and other herbs. He notes that oxalic acid from some greens "could cause neurological detoxification, spleen detoxification, something like that."

"No more than 2 ounces per day unless suffering severe illness." This applies to herb roots and tubers being juiced (like wild yam and licorice), but the principle extends to all medicinal herbs in juice form.

No specific quantity limits are given, but the preparation is described as an alternative to coffee and tea, used as needed for the warming and blood-pressure-raising effects. The method is: fresh hot peppers blended with lemon (and honey implied by context) until the blender friction warms the mixture.

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Aajonus's replacement for tea in all its forms is vegetable juice. He states explicitly: "Vegetable juice is your tea. If you want mint in it, just put a few leaves of mint in there. You can use whatever herb you like. Fresh and raw, just no more than 5%."

The vegetable juice serves the same nutritional and cleansing purposes that people seek from herbal teas, but does so with live enzymes, intact oils, and bioavailable minerals rather than the acidic, enzyme-deficient extract that tea produces.

Rather than making mint tea: "It's better just to juice, put some mint leaves in your juice. Juice some mint leaves." The mint goes through the juicer along with the primary vegetables, maintaining its oils in a biochemically active form.

"Juice it or put it in a garlic press and press it." Ginger can be added to vegetable juice, to food, or used in a small grated amount in a milkshake. A specific small quantity is noted for milkshakes: "You could grate a little ginger in that. For the flavor and to stimulate digestion. You have to be careful how much ginger you use though. Because it can keep you awake. Give you too much energy."

Aajonus discusses fresh-pressed herb juices (mint, ginger, basil) and their longevity in small jar containers in the refrigerator: "they're still in the fridge and they taste just like, just like I just juiced them... they probably won't have many enzymes left, but they'll still have the fragrant oils because anytime you're dealing with an herb that's that concentrated, you have a high proportion of oils that will still stay organic and it'll taste very flavorful."

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Aajonus documents a specific pattern of industry deception in the green tea market: "Sometimes, kerosene derivatives, distilled alcohol or other chemicals are sprayed on those foods to breakdown the oils and force them to dry faster. Since kerosene and alcohol are natural, they may legally call the product 'All Natural.' They know they mislead consumers and they do not care. Their interest is to supply products for abundant profits rather than produce quality products for which they obtain less profit."

This legal use of "All Natural" labeling to cover the application of kerosene derivatives is presented as a deliberate industry practice, not an accident of regulation. The same contamination practice is identified across the broader category of superfood powders and green food products: acai, camu camu, gogi, and noni are grouped with green teas as subject to these practices.

Aajonus places the suppression of herbal knowledge in the context of systematic regulatory capture: "Like 90% of the herbs that they use to make their medications are illegal to buy and use. They're considered drugs. Every time they go around the country and find some other plant that has a medicinal purpose, they'll get it marked as a drug so nobody can take it unless it's in their form, pill form. There are over 2,100 plants that are under those kinds of rulings under the FDA. 2,155, 2,156 plants and they grow about 10 every year. 10 more are added to the list."

He presents this as a deliberate strategy to force medicinal plants into pharmaceutical control, making it illegal for individuals to use them in fresh or raw form. This regulatory environment means that even people who understand the value of raw, fresh herbs and want to use them therapeutically face legal obstacles.

Aajonus acknowledges the historical success of herbal medicine while maintaining his preparation critique: "The success rate of herbal therapies is double that of the medical profession." He frames traditional herbal use as having been practiced in fresh or appropriately prepared forms, and the problem as one of modern processing. He notes that when indigenous or traditional cultures had no fresh vegetables available, dried and boiled preparations were better than nothing: "at times when there's no fresh vegetables available, but mainly it's not good." This historical emergency use is contrasted with the contemporary practice of choosing dried herbal teas when fresh alternatives are available.

These are grouped with commercial green teas as products where: (1) preparation involves boiling or chemical processing, (2) "All Natural" labeling is applied despite chemical contamination, and (3) people feel better primarily due to carbohydrate-driven blood and nerve sugar elevation rather than genuine healing. Aajonus says: "people feel better because most of those foods are high in carbohydrates and raise the blood and nerve sugar."

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