Journal
Flowers
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Lavender: A Flower With a Caution Label Attached
The most-used herbal tea in the western world is also one of the easiest to use badly. What…
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A Floral Blend: Building a Loose-Leaf Tea That Tastes Like Something
Flowers are the easiest herbs to overdo. A short method for making a floral blend that stays balanced,…
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Citrus Blossom: The Flower That Comes From the Same Fruit as the Peel
Dried citrus blossoms are the perfumed waste of the citrus harvest — the part that never becomes fruit.…
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Chamomile: The One Herb Almost Everybody Already Agrees About
The best-selling herbal tea in the world, with an unusually solid evidence base for mild anxiety and sleep.…
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Jasmine: The Flower That Is Picked at Night and Used by Morning
Jasmine only gives up its scent after dark, which is why it is picked at dawn and why…
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Osmanthus: The Flower That Smells Like Apricots in the Middle of Autumn
Four varieties, one fragrance, and a very short season. How to tell Jin Gui from Yin Gui from…
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Magnolia Bud: The Flower That Went Into a Patent
Xin Yi Hua has been used for blocked noses for two thousand years, and it is one of…
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Lily Flowers: A Delicate Bloom, and a Different Ingredient Entirely
Dried lily flowers are a pretty, mild infusion. The Chinese pharmacy item called Bai He is not the…
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Lotus: The Flower, the Seed, and the Root Are Three Different Herbs
A lotus petal makes a pale, faintly sweet, cooling cup. The seed makes a nutty one, and the…
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Plum Blossom: The Winter Flower That Became Tea
Plum blossoms open in the cold, on bare branches, weeks before anything else. What the dried bud tastes…
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Honeysuckle: Picking the Right Moment
A honeysuckle bud and a honeysuckle flower are two different things in the cup — one is sweet…
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Snow Chrysanthemum: The Red-Gold Flower That Is Not a Chrysanthemum
It is called chrysanthemum, it is not a chrysanthemum, and it brews a deep copper cup that tastes…
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