New Jersey tea
Ceanothus americanus
Leaf · cooling · astringent
Liberty tea — a caffeine-free, slightly astringent cup from a roadside shrub.
In the mouth
How it tastes
Mild, pleasant, slightly astringent, tea-like. Caffeine-free. The old liberty cup.
Traditional use
The leaf stood in for store tea when the cupboard was proud or poor. Folk houses steeped it as a daily pot, caffeine-free, gently tightening.
In the cup
1 tsp dried leaf, steeped 6–8 minutes. Do not use the root as if it were the leaf.
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
Who it feeds
The living bloom
The promise
A careful hand
Ordinary tea for a healthy adult.
Leaf only. Tannin-astringent. Long ethnobotanical use; thin modern clinical studies. Do not casually swap in the root — that is another job.
Read the whole promiseSits well with
Blackberry leaf
Rubus allegheniensis
A sour, tightening leaf for a loose bowel and a raw mouth.
Sore throat · Crampy cycle
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Raspberry leaf
Rubus idaeus
A mineral, tightening leaf — sour air for a heavy cycle or a loose bowel.
Crampy cycle · Sore throat
Brighten, circulate, and clear
Strawberry leaf
Fragaria vesca
A delicate, fruity-leaf tea — the plant’s other gift besides the berry.
Sore throat
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.