Is there anything more comforting than a nice cup of tea when you’re sick? If you’re a tea lover like me, you may be wondering: What’s the best tea to drink when sick? This lineup of teas comes from Sporked’s extensive tea taste tests (yum) and should help you weather the storm that is flu season.

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If you have a cold, Stash Peppermint Tea is just the thing to make you feel a little less like hot garbage. In her ranking of the best peppermint teas, Sporked editor in chief Justine Sterling recommended Stash specifically for a sore throat. “If your throat is ailing you, this peppermint tea will help ease the pain with its rounded flavor and icy quality,” Justine writes. We can’t make any promises, but the minty, cooling nature of this tea should have you rejoining the league of the nose-breathers in no time.

Sometimes being sick can make you anxious because you never know what tomorrow will bring. That’s when we take a step back and sip a cup of calming green tea. In Sporked’s best green tea ranking, managing editor Gwynedd Stuart put 365’s organic green tea at the top of the list. “If you’re looking for something simple and reliable, this is the best green tea you can buy,” she wrote. In desperate, sick times, relying on an old standby to help nurse you back to health is a safe bet.

If the kind of “sick” you’re referring to includes tummy troubles, this one’s going to be crucial. As a person who experiences motion sickness from simply swinging in hammocks and sitting in a swivel chair the wrong way (true story), I can tell you that one of the best teas to drink when sick is ginger tea. Senior staff writer Jordan Myrick called Trader Joe’s Organic Ginger Turmeric Herbal Tea the “best for a sick day” in their ranking of the best ginger teas. “If you’re congested or have a sore throat, this tea would punt you right back to perfect health,” they wrote. The black pepper in this tea really adds an extra bit of spice that should aid in clearing up those sinuses.

Chamomile tea is, in fact, the mom friend of the tea world, especially when it comes to sick tea. This decaffeinated tea is so gentle and comforting, it’s hard to turn down a cup even when your arms barely have the strength to bring it to your face. In their best chamomile tea ranking, Tadin Herb & Tea Co.’s chamomile herbal tea took the top spot. Jordan describes this extremely balanced tea as being “fragrant without being too flowery, and sweet without tasting sugary.” Tadin has found the perfect balance, and it’s perfect for comforting you in your hour of need.

Lying in bed all day when you’re sick can make you feel a bit sluggish, but a warm and lightly caffeinated beverage like Earl Grey tea may be your ticket to sitting upright just long enough to slurp up some much-needed soup. In Jordan’s ranking of the best Earl Grey teas, Good Earth’s Earl Grey black tea is sitting pretty the top spot. This tea “has floral notes and hints of vanilla, and the flavor is bold without being overpowering,” Jordan notes. Who says the best tea to drink when sick can’t contain a comforting marriage of flavors? A warm cup of this beautifully complex tea is sure to put some pep back in your (sick) step.

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