Greek Mountain Tea (Sideritis)

Greek mountain tea is made from the flowering stems of Sideritis scardica, a plant of rocky slopes above 1,000 meters on Olympus and other Greek mountains. The cup is pale gold, floral and smooth, with a light citrus note and an earthy edge. Steeped in a teapot at 95°C for five to seven minutes.

Origin & Story

On the high slopes of Olympus, Parnassus, Taygetos and the Pindus, shepherds and hikers pick a small gray-green plant with fuzzy leaves and yellow flowers, and the tea made from it is called, simply, mountain tea. Sideritis scardica grows mostly above 1,000 meters, on rocky ground, and is still gathered by hand in early summer when the stems carry their flowers.

The whole flowering stem goes into the pot. Stems are tied in bunches and dried in the shade, so that leaves and flowers keep their color and aroma. Sideritis takes its name from the Greek sideros, iron, and the plant has been known to writers since antiquity: the physician Dioscorides described it in De Materia Medica in the first century.

Wild plants are limited. Sideritis is among the species considered endangered in the wild, which is why cultivation has grown. If you buy it, look for stems rather than powder: it should smell of flowers and herbs.

Brew it like a bundle of herbs: a few stems or a teaspoon of cut tea in water just off the boil for five to seven minutes, or a short simmer of five to eight minutes if you use whole stems. Greeks often add honey, a slice of lemon or a stick of cinnamon.

Steep 3 g of Greek mountain tea in 240 ml of water at 95°C for five to seven minutes.

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