First noticeably smoky day here for a couple of years (lucky us), so I am busting out some smoke tea herbs. Dates on jar lids are not accurate — I moved to a paper inventory.
It has been smoky so often here in the PNW the past 10 years that I grow specific plants just for this purpose, mainly mullein. I guess that is a #ClimateDiary entry
I keep dried plants as whole as possible for storage (less surface area to oxidize or for oils to evaporate), so now I get to witch out with the mortar and pestle to smash them up for tea.
Anyway I am not a clinical herbalist but here is my method for formulating herbs (choosing which ones to mix):
- pick a main one (mullein)
- add one herb to enhance the action you’re interested in (in this case expectorant, so I am adding plantain as another drawing-out herb that is more soothing/moistening)
- if needed, add one herb to counterbalance or do something else (anise hyssop to make it taste good, and to have one mildly warming herb against the two mildly cooling ones)
Going to steep one cup and taste it, then maybe adjust and make a big batch for the fam
Lol this tea came out so bland– mullein and plantain teas both taste like brown water, so I suppose it takes more than 1/3 anise hyssop to make it delicious. I like tea with some bitterness and body so I tried adding burdock root– closer. (Never hurts to add a liver tonic anyway.) Little touch of lemon verbena syrup that was in the fridge from making mocktails and this has become quite pleasant 💚
I don’t think it needs the marshmallow root that I pulled out in case it was too astringent. Mullein and plantain are both pretty balanced– tannins plus mucilage
Having had my smoke tea, I am sitting at the stove stirring a pot for dinner and going “ahem” a lot. Expectorant tea doing its thing 💚