Kanna Tea: What Is Known and What Is Not
Tea is a modern product with traditional echoes, and almost nothing about it has been studied directly.
Kanna tea turns up in searches as if it were the classic way to use the plant. The record is more modest than that. Tea is one of the forms sold today, the traditional accounts we could verify describe other preparations, and no study we found has tested tea itself. This post lays out what is documented, how amounts are stated on tea labels, and what the fermentation research does and does not show. We describe preparation only in the historical and labeling sense, and we do not recommend an amount.
Kanna tea is made from dried Sceletium tortuosum and is one of several forms sold, per WebMD [1]. Documented traditional use centers on chewing the fermented plant and on tinctures [3]. No published study tested kanna tea, and alkaloid levels vary by plant source [2], so the amount per cup cannot be assumed from a label that states only grams of leaf.
What is kanna tea?
It is a tea product made from the dried, aerial parts of Sceletium tortuosum.
WebMD lists tea alongside capsules, liquid extract, dried ground powder and gummies as forms of sceletium, and says each form may contain different amounts of the plant's chemicals [1]. A 2022 paper on the plant's chemistry notes that S. tortuosum is used in herbal teas, supplements and phytopharmaceuticals [2]. For background see what is kanna.
Directions for brewing differ from maker to maker, and we have no study that tests one method against another, so we leave steeping advice to the product label.
Is kanna tea a traditional preparation?
The sources we could open describe chewing, tinctures and smoking, not tea.
A 1996 review gathered about 300 years of historical accounts of use among the Khoisan and described how the fermented preparation, kougoed, was made. Its abstract lists chewing the dried product after fermentation, chewing the material directly, smoking the residue after chewing, and tinctures [3]. A second source places kanna in tincture form among European colonial farmers [4]. Some web pages state that infusions or decoctions of kougoed were used traditionally. That may be true, but we did not find it in a source we could open, so we are not asserting it. The honest summary is that tea is a modern product category that borrows the plant's history.
What is fermented kanna tea?
It is tea made from plant material that went through the traditional fermentation step, which changes the alkaloids.
In a 2009 study, fermented plant samples were analyzed over time. Mesembrine fell from 1.33% to 0.05% and delta-7-mesembrenone rose to 0.11% by day 10 [6]. The same paper tested pure mesembrine in water, and the compound changed there too, with sunlight and water appearing necessary, while it did not change in methanol [6]. Two cautions apply. This is one study, so we cannot say other methods or batches behave the same way. And a tea is a water extraction, so the water result is relevant in principle, but the study did not brew tea and does not tell us what ends up in a cup. The 1996 review also suggests traditional and modern preparation methods reduce potentially harmful oxalates [3]; it is an author suggestion in a review, not a measurement of any tea.
How do kanna tea labels state the amount?
Usually as grams of leaf per tea bag or per scoop, which says little about the active compounds.
| Label wording | What it tells you | What it does not |
|---|---|---|
| "2 g kanna leaf per bag" | Weight of plant material | Alkaloid content, which varies by source [2] |
| "Kanna extract, 50 mg per serving" | Weight of a concentrate | Which extract, or standardized to what |
| "Fermented kanna" | A process was used | The resulting alkaloid profile [6] |
| "Standardized" | A marketing term unless defined | A guarantee of consistency [7] |
The human trials used the standardized extract Zembrin, at 8 mg or 25 mg a day for 3 months in 37 healthy adults [5] and, in an imaging study, as a single 25 mg dose [4]. None used tea, and those figures cannot be converted into a number of tea bags or a leaf weight. See kanna dosage for why. Our kanna label guide goes through the rest of the panel.
What does the research say about kanna tea?
Nothing directly; the evidence is about a standardized extract in small trials of healthy people.
In a 2013 imaging study of 16 healthy volunteers, a single 25 mg dose of the extract was associated with reduced amygdala reactivity to fearful faces [4]. In a 2020 pair of studies in 20 volunteers, the same dose was associated with lower self-reported anxiety before a simulated public-speaking task in one study, and the other showed no treatment effect [8]. These were short, small studies of one extract, and several authors were affiliated with the extract's owner. A 2021 review noted that the plant has not yet been studied in a clinical population [9]. We summarize the research in kanna benefits; any "kanna tea benefits" claim that goes beyond this is extrapolation.
How does kanna tea compare with capsules and drinks?
Tea trades dose clarity for a closer connection to the plant.
A capsule has a Supplement Facts panel with an amount per unit. A canned drink has a fixed serving. A tea depends on how much leaf goes in the cup and how it is brewed, and no study has measured how much of the plant's alkaloids end up in a cup of kanna tea. We found no head-to-head human study of any kanna formats, so none of them can be called stronger, faster or better on evidence. Our post on kanna drinks vs capsules covers the format question in more detail. If you are comparing products, a tea that names its plant part, origin and whether it is fermented is easier to evaluate than one that just says "kanna."
Does kanna tea have safety cautions?
Yes, the same ones as other forms, and a tea label will not necessarily mention them.
WebMD lists headache and upset stomach as common side effects. It lists possible interactions with MAOIs, SSRIs, SNRIs, tricyclic antidepressants, antipsychotics, triptans and St. John's wort, and says it is not known whether sceletium affects pregnancy or breastfeeding [1]. If any of that applies to you, talk to a doctor or pharmacist before trying a kanna tea. See is kanna safe. For other forms, compare capsules, powder and tincture, or see best kanna supplements.
This page is general information, not medical advice. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Kanna products are not intended for any disease or health condition. kannadrinks.com is published by Psilly Goose, a kanna drink maker.
References
- WebMD. Sceletium: Uses, side effects, interactions. webmd.com
- Reddy K, Stander MA, Stafford GI, Makunga NP. Mass spectrometry metabolomics and feature-based molecular networking reveals population-specific chemistry in some species of the Sceletium genus. Front Nutr 2022;9. PubMed
- Smith MT, Crouch NR, Gericke N, Hirst M. Psychoactive constituents of the genus Sceletium N.E.Br. and other Mesembryanthemaceae: a review. J Ethnopharmacol 1996;50(3):119-30. AGRIS record
- Terburg D, et al. Acute effects of Sceletium tortuosum (Zembrin), a dual 5-HT reuptake and PDE4 inhibitor, in the human amygdala and its connection to the hypothalamus. Neuropsychopharmacology 2013;38(13):2708-16. PubMed
- Nell H, et al. A randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial of Extract Sceletium tortuosum (Zembrin) in healthy adults. J Altern Complement Med 2013;19(11):898-904. PubMed
- Patnala S, Kanfer I. Investigations of the phytochemical content of Sceletium tortuosum following the preparation of "kougoed" by fermentation of plant material. J Ethnopharmacol 2009;121(1):86-91. PubMed
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Using dietary supplements wisely. nccih.nih.gov
- Reay J, et al. Sceletium tortuosum (Zembrin) ameliorates experimentally induced anxiety in healthy volunteers. Hum Psychopharmacol 2020;35(6):1-7. PubMed
- Olatunji TL, et al. Sceletium tortuosum: a review on its phytochemistry, pharmacokinetics, biological and clinical activities. J Ethnopharmacol 2021;280:114476. PubMed
Frequently asked questions
What is kanna tea?
A tea made from dried Sceletium tortuosum plant material. WebMD lists tea among the forms sceletium is sold in [1], and a 2022 plant-chemistry paper notes the plant is used in herbal teas, supplements and phytopharmaceuticals [2].
Is kanna tea traditional?
Traditional accounts we could verify describe chewing the dried, fermented plant, tinctures, and smoking the residue after chewing [3]. We could not confirm a traditional tea preparation from a source we could open, so be cautious about claims that tea is the traditional method.
What are the benefits of kanna tea?
No study we found tested kanna tea. The human trials used a standardized extract in healthy adults [4][5], and their results should not be applied to tea. See what the research on kanna shows.
How much kanna is in a cup of tea?
There is no standard. A tea bag label may state grams of leaf, which is a different number from milligrams of extract or alkaloids, and alkaloid levels vary by plant source [2].
Is fermented kanna tea different?
Fermentation changed the alkaloid mix in one lab study, with mesembrine falling from 1.33% to 0.05% over 10 days [6]. No study compared teas made from fermented and unfermented material.