Nettle Lemon Balm Tea

A blend of dried stinging nettle leaf and lemon balm. The nettle gives an earthy, grassy, faintly mineral base, and the lemon balm adds a soft citrus scent. Steeped in a covered mug at 96°C for six minutes.

Origin & Story

Nettle is the herb that fights back. Fresh stinging nettle, Urtica dioica, is covered with fine hairs that deliver formic acid, histamine and other irritants, which is why a brush against it stings. Drying, steaming or steeping in hot water breaks the hairs down, so dried leaf is as safe to handle as any other herb.

Nettle's use as a household plant goes back a long way. It grows wherever the soil is rich in Europe, North America and beyond, it was eaten as a spring green, and before cotton became cheap and abundant its fibers were spun into cloth in parts of Europe.

As a tea, nettle tastes of what it is: earthy and green, a little grassy and faintly nutty, with a clean mineral finish. Steeped longer, it gets deeper and darker. It is closer to a light vegetable broth than to a floral or fruity herbal tea, which is why it is so often blended.

Lemon balm is the usual partner. Its lemon scent sits on top of nettle's green base without covering it, and the two have shared European gardens and kitchens for a long time.

Steep 3 g of nettle and lemon balm in 240 ml of water at 96°C for six minutes in a covered mug.

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