Blue Heart Gardens

2TB crushed herbs (leaves, blossoms, roseships) for 250mL water at 100C, steeped 15 minutes.

After a day more productive than I’ve had in months, both for fiction, cooking, and general stamina as I bounce back form a medical setback. I’m tired. The GOOD tired that comes from working hard, versus the sickly tired that comes with chronic illness. So now it’s time for a gorgeous tisane and some meditative sipping.

Blue Heart Gardens is a local business, run by a woman who’s a farmer, a forager, a gardener, and a poet. See? She’s all about vitality and life. The herbs for her tisanes are sustainably wild-foraged and organically grown.

Ya know, it’s really hard to wait out the 15-minute steep time. I can’t wait to try this one.

Dry leaf: subtle mint, chamomile, some faint florals from the rosehips. A very pretty melange of bright green leaves, tiny white elderflowrs (I adore elderflower, especially as a flavouring in tonic water), creamy chamomie blossoms, and dark red roseships.

Wet leaf: slightly duller green, with much bigger chamomile and roseship pieces as they absorb water. Aroma: faint and resinous mint with a slightly bitter edge — most agreeable — and lots of bright chamomile.

Liquor: light brass, slightly cloudy.

Oh wow, this is like drinking medicinal sunshine. Some mineral notes, lots of chamomile and elderflower, and a slight bitterness from leaf resin and possibly the rosehip. Gentle minty finish, but not at all assertively minty. A mediative tisane. I don;t think I;ve drunk anything else quite like this.

2TB crushed herbs (petals and leaves) to 250mL water at 100C, steeped 20 minutes.

Yes, that steep time is correct, and the vendor promises a second steep with different flavour notes.

Dry leaf: exceptionally pretty with lots of bright, bright green from the blackcurrant leaf, pink rose petals, blue cornflower petals, twists of dark and light green form the fireweed, and tiny white elderflowers. Aroma: very resinous, which I think is the fireweed, an ingredient I’m not familiar with.

Wet leaf: still very bright green, much the same aroma with perhaps that resinous, leafy scent a bit stronger.

Liquor: dark gold, clear.

Flavour: gently herbaceous and subtly sweet. I’m having trouble coming up with a comparison. Maybe a bit like green yerba mate, only much softer? Medium-to-heavy mouthfeel, which I expect is some resin from the leaves. The slightest bit lemony in aroma. Very soothing to drink.

I’d not heard of Ivan Chai til today. Fermented fireweed tisane is used as a medicine tisane and tonic in Russia. The name ‘Ivan Chai’ comes from the West. Fireweed is also called rose-pink willow herb, or just willow herb.

It’s really good.