Conversation:

In reading the various entries it's obvious that there are a number of different views regarding tea, however, I was wondering what you all thought of herbal tea. I myself, am a fan of herbal tea. I often drink it in the evenings, although it is just as perfect at any other time of the day, but especially so when I'm not in the mood for anything caffinated.

Personally I don't count herbal tea as proper tea; I see them more as infusions, although I do drink peppermint tea for me digestion

Is it 'tea' at all? Considering it isn't made from tea, or camellia sinensis, to give it its proper name, shouldn't it in fact be called a tisane?

Personally I think of herbal tea as an infusion

Me too!

Herbs and Fruits make a drink that is called a tisane. I like Camomile myself. However, a lot of people call them tea. So I went to the Oxford dictionary and here is what I found.

tea
• noun 1 a hot drink made by infusing the dried, crushed leaves of the tea plant in boiling water. 2 the dried leaves of an evergreen shrub or small tree native to south and east Asia, used to make tea. 3 a drink made from the leaves, fruits, or flowers of other plants. 4 chiefly Brit. a light afternoon meal consisting of sandwiches, cakes, etc., with tea to drink. 5 Brit. a cooked evening meal.
— ORIGIN Chinese.

tisane /tizan/
• noun a herb tea.
— ORIGIN French.

So by the third definition of tea, tea and tisane are both the same.

Also, the definition of Tisane identifies it as tea. Those crafty Oxford linguists!