The cup
A cup is a promise. These ratings, flavors, and asterisks are the house rule — drawn from herbal literature and safety reviews, written for this stillroom. Not a diagnosis. Not a prescription.
Not in this cupboard
Hedeoma pulegioides / Mentha pulegium
Pulegone. Liver, kidney, seizures, multi-organ failure. Documented deaths from the oil and from teas, including in infants. Even a ‘small’ pot has caused serious harm. There is no safe recreational cup. Not in this cupboard.
Dictamnus albus
Strong phototoxicity: sap plus sun can blister and stain the skin for a long time. Internal use has been tied to liver injury. No established tea dose. Not in this cupboard.
14 promised teas
Limit the cup
Eupatorium perfoliatum
Intensely bitter, hay, a fever-cup taste. Not a pleasure pot.
Limit the cup
Hydrastis canadensis
Fierce bitter, yellow-root, drying. A smear, not a mug.
Limit the cup
Equisetum arvense
Grassy, silica-dry, a little marsh.
Limit the cup
Hamamelis virginiana
Astringent, woody, a little floral-bitter. Distillate is for skin, not a daily pot.
Limit the cup
Borago officinalis
Leaf and flower: fresh mild cucumber, a soft honeyed or green note. Flowers are lighter and more floral-sweet.
Limit the cup
Quercus robur
Harsh tannin, wood, a binding cup. A wash more than a beverage.
Limit the cup
Artemisia abrotanum
Lemon-camphor, too fierce for a mug. A sachet leaf.
Limit the cup
Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium
Maple-hay if you insist — this is a scenting plant, not a daily pot.
Limit the cup
Pogostemon cablin
Not a kitchen tea. The dried leaf is earth-musk for the jar.
Limit the cup
Comptonia peregrina
Cinnamon-maple if you crush it. A light hedge cup at most.
Limit the cup
Anthoxanthum odoratum
Vanilla-hay. A sheaf, not a decoction.
Limit the cup
Carphephorus odoratissimus
Vanilla only when wilted. A scenting leaf, not a cup.
Limit the cup
Galium odoratum
When dried: sweet vanilla, hay, distinct coumarin. The May-wine cup.
Limit the cup
Rhododendron groenlandicum
Aromatic, resinous, spicy-pine or camphor, a northern character. Strong if you over-brew it.
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.