Salad burnet
Sanguisorba minor
Young leaf · cooling · refreshing
Cucumber in a leaf — a salad herb that also makes a clean cup.
In the mouth
How it tastes
Fresh, mild cucumber with a subtle nutty or green note. Clean and refreshing, cold or hot.
Traditional use
Young leaves in a salad bowl and a summer pot. Folk houses used it as a cooling, mild astringent green when the day was hot.
In the cup
A handful of young leaves, steeped 5–7 minutes, or crushed into cold water. Excellent iced.
Blood
Sour blood · sour
Sour is cooling and astringent. It draws and binds, thickens thin blood, starts saliva, and hydrates even as it tightens. Sour plants carry the antioxidants of fruit. They move mucous and support the lungs — large doses irritate. Lemon-family plants show up again and again in sinus cups.
Read sour bloodReached for
The promise
A careful hand
Ordinary tea for a healthy adult.
Young leaf is a salad and a cup. Generally non-toxic in food amounts. Mild tannin — a huge daily pot could theoretically bind iron or bind a bowel. Thin data in pregnancy; keep it culinary. Allergy caution if you react to the rose family.
Read the whole promiseSits well with
Parsley
Petroselinum crispum
The garnish that was once a draining green.
Puffiness · Indigestion
Mineralize, soothe, and restore fluid
Lemon
Citrus limon
The bright slice that finishes almost every stillroom cup.
Chill & congestion · Indigestion · Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Borage
Borago officinalis
Star-flower — cucumber-cool, a lift for a heavy heart.
Frayed nerves · Feverish & flushed · Hollow energy
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Traditional kitchen and folk use only. This is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are pregnant, nursing, on medicine, or unwell, ask a clinician before drinking anything as a remedy.