Thyme for Tea

by Cynthia Graber

This week's sage

In my last post, I wrote I was going to make a big pot of thyme tea with the bunch I found in my CSA box. Then it occurred to me that the topic might merit additional explanation, as I’m frequently met with a rather confused stare when I mention some of favorite infusions.

I became acquainted with the joys of pouring boiling water over all sorts of fresh herbs when I lived in Israel. I learned first the names in Hebrew, then in English: melissa (lemon balm), luisa (lemon verbena), and many varieties of mints. My friend and I would wander out into her garden, grab fistfuls, and dump them into the teapot. 

Those herbs made sense to me as drinks. I was slightly more skeptical when another friend at work, who had a sage plant growing in her office window, told me to come in the morning and pick a couple of fuzzy leaves, drop them in a mug, and pour the water over. Sage? That’s for savory food, I thought. But with the addition of a little bit of sugar to take the edge off, I found my morning cup of sage tea delightfully earthy and refreshing.

Then I looked up information on sage and read that it has been used medicinally for thousands of years to, for instance, aid indigestion, calm inflammations and fevers, and strengthen the nervous system. It’s used in Chinese medicine to combat diseases that affect the brain.

I think thyme was the last addition to my list of fresh herb teas. I don’t remember where I first drank it—perhaps in Jordan?—but it became one of my favorites. 

Thyme, like sage, has been used for medicinal tea in the Middle East for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. It battles infections and headaches, combats coughs, helps the intestines, even fights athlete’s foot. 

Science caught up with folk medicine, as is so often the case. Thyme contains an oil called thymol, and studies have shown it and other oils in thyme to be a potent antibacterial agent. A study in 2004 showed that thyme oil could decontaminate lettuce infected with a bug that causes diarrhea and intestinal damage (hence the thyme-based hand sanitizer I recently purchased). Studies on sage show that it contains compounds similar to those used today in modern medicine to treat Alzheimers.

So when my CSA showed up last week with a lovely bunch of thyme, and me still without a full kitchen of ingredients, I decided the simplest use was a big pot of iced tea. I boiled a full teapot and poured it into a glass pitcher over the thyme, still bunched together. I left the thyme in for hours. The tea darkened, but never got overly bitter. I figured the worst that could happen was that it would become too strong, in which case I could water it down. I added local honey to sweeten it; personally I don’t like it too sweet, so I suggest adding small amounts of the sweetener of choice until it tastes just right to you.

I then gulped those glasses down (perhaps fighting any potential cough or intestinal problems?) and was sad to see it quickly disappear. My next CSA box had a bunch of sage, though: there’s my next pitcher of iced tea!

Comments

[April Paffrath]

Those herb chemicals are powerful! In my all-day class with Harold McGee and Shirley Corriher a month or so ago, I learned that those chemicals are why we don't actually *eat* bay leaves....we always remove them so the essential chemicals don't irritate our bodies and cause trouble.

Harold McGee also said that thymol is in Listerine, helping to make it so intense and germ-killing. (He also noted that if you want to order thymol from a science supply company, you have to answer a bunch of questions—there are serious dangers from burns etc.in its pure form.) All that from a concentrated part of the thyme plant. Shirley said that part of what makes herbs taste so zingy and wonderful are these chemicals that in large doses are dangerous—our bodies are interacting with the plants' natural defenses—and we so enjoy them in pasta, dinners and teas.

[Roz Cummins]

My dad always used to say "There is no healer as great as a tincture of time." At least that's what I *thought* he was saying. Because he had always just spoken this phrase and never wrote it down, I assumed that he was saying that the passing of time is the greatest way for a wound to heal or for a disease from which one can recover to resolve itself.

Then, two years ago, I had the privilege of taking a tour of the organic garden at Sook Harbor House in Sook Harbor on Vancouver Island. When the young woman who gave me a tour mentioned that thyme is used as a medicinal tincture, I suddenly realized that I had perhaps misunderstood my dad. Upon refelction, however, I think that he really was trying to suggest that time is a great healer, but it was still nice to be reminded of him as I stood in a beautiful and fragrant organic garden in one of the lovliest places I have ever been.

[Cynthia Graber]

What a beautiful story, Roz! Apparently, as I heard from a dermatologist I interviewed for a story, there's a case in a dermatology journal of a woman making her own compresses of thyme and curing her skin cancer, but at the time the dermatologist told me there were no additional studies on the topic.

April, I wish I could have been at that class. The sage tea I just made was in fact a bit bitter; sage apparently has a stronger flavor than thyme. I knew the proportions better when I made it by the cup as opposed to the pitcher. If anyone is considering it, I'd go a bit lighter on sage than thyme and perhaps not leave it in as long. All to taste, of course.

[Chris]

As I have fresh mint, lemon thyme and several other herbs, I am going to try this out. A few questions, tho: is it boiling water or under-boiling that you pour over the herbs (does it matter?) and is it impossible to make -hot- fresh herb tea without having to reheat (IE: after letting it soak for quite a while?)
And lastly- are there any common herbs that would be dangerous to drink as a tea?
Thanks for the posting and any answers you might have, Cynthia!

[Cynthia Graber]

Chris, these are alll good questions!
Boiling or not boiling? I don't think for herbs it matters. I'd say boiling. It's more of an issue for green, white, black teas, etc., real teas, which are much more finicky.
As to the time - the reason I let it steep for so long was because I was in no rush, I eventually wanted it chilled, and I figured if it got too strong then I'd just dilute it. But usually I make herbal teas and drink them right away, hot. You can certainly go out to the garden, pick some herbs, put them in a mug, pour over boiling water, stir in a little sugar, and drink in only a few minutes.
Are any common herbs dangerous to drink? I don't think so. My guess is that if it's safe to eat, it's safe to drink. There's nothing you're doing to the leaves by pouring boiling water over them that you wouldn't do if they were, say, bubbling in tomato sauce or baking in a pie.
Lemon thyme sounds wonderful.
Try your herbs on their own, try them in combination. And don't be stingy with the herbs. Except for sage, for which you only need a leaf or two in a mug, it's great to have a substantial amount. In Israel, if you order 'te im nana' in a restaurant - meaning tea with mint, but an Israeli mint - you get a big glass mug, a normal tea bag, and a huge handful of bright green sprigs of mint.
Enjoy!

[Roz Cummins]

Hi. Just read the question about whether there are herbs that are unsafe to drink. I believe that Pennyroyal is thought to be able to cause miscarriages and should be avoided by pregnant women.