Spring is here, and we can feel the summer sun hot on its heels! What better way to toast the arrival of these warmer months than with cool and delicious iced teas? (June is the month for National Iced Tea Day, after all!) I like to keep a pitcher or two in my refrigerator, both for flavor variety and so that I opt for caffeine or caffeine-free, depending on my needs. 

The older I get, the more I realize that what my Dad really wants for Father’s Day is for me to show my love in ways that prove how much I know him as an individual and how much I want him to be happy and whole. The gifts that he most appreciates are also usually homemade, practical, and showcase the skills and knowledge I have acquired through the years.

Lavender is one of my favorite herbs for a busy, worry-prone brain. This fragrant member of the mint family helps to calm the mind and make space for a nervous person to sort through their thoughts and set aside unproductive ones—an important first step toward making a lasting mindset change.

Here at Mountain Rose Herbs, we understand that the modern commercialization of Mother’s Day sometimes makes it easy to forget that this holiday is rooted in age-old celebrations from around the world. One of the most ancient “mother holidays” was a festival held by the Greeks in honor of Rhea, the mother of the gods. At dawn, people made offerings of cakes, drinks, and flowers in her honor. Other celebrations, like the sixteenth century “Mothering Sunday,” evolved over the centuries to become a day in which grown children visited home and little ones picked flowers for their mothers. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

When choosing a tea, the endless variety can be a little daunting. Formosa oolong? Green sencha? Perhaps genmaicha? How about pu’erh, or Darjeeling? What gives each of these teas its unique flavor? Many people don’t realize that these varieties' wide range of distinctive styles and tastes all begin with the same humble leaf: Camellia sinensis.

Althaea officinalis, or marshmallow, is one of my favorite herbs. I love to grow this ancient botanical in my garden because it’s a stunning plant with a fantastic history. People have long viewed marshmallow as a food as well as a gentle remedy, because it is both pleasantly edible and a demulcent. When it’s growing in your garden, you can cook the young stalks and leaves just like any other pot herb or green; they’re wonderful in a salad, you can boil them or fry them, and they disappear into smoothies!

If you love yerba mate for its nutritional richness, fresh green flavor, and ability to provide non-jittery energy, then we have a new cup companion you need to meet! Guayusa (pronounced gwy-yoo-suh) tea offers a subtly smoother and less caffeinated sipping experience compared with mate, paired with its own similar but distinct blend of beneficial vitamins and minerals to support everyday well-being.

While looking forward to a fresh new year, it’s important to take a moment to reflect on the past and the lessons learned along the way. We had a blast creating a variety of botanically inspired recipes for you, from natural body care formulations to herbal remedies that will keep you well all year long. Here are seven selections from 2018 that really stood out:

Bitters seem to be all the rage these days—and for good reason! Among their many benefits is their much-touted ability to stimulate digestive function. These dandy-orange bitters are no exception. They make a great all-purpose bitter that’s traditionally been used to support normal digestion and is also quite handy as a bitter for mixed drinks!

Food preservation has been around for thousands of years. From drying acorns for extended storage to turning grapes into wine, the act of preservation has allowed people around the globe to enjoy various foods and botanicals well past their harvest season. As a chef and homesteader, I often find myself having way more fresh ingredients than I can use before they turn. This is where food preservation comes into play! I do my best to appropriately utilize as much as I can so that my family may enjoy the spring, summer, and autumn harvest well into the cold winters of Maine. Extra cabbage gets salt and turns to sauerkraut, excess peaches get pureed and dehydrated into fruit leather, and the list goes on. Over the years, I have become particularly fond of vinegar and its acidic properties to capture the essence, flavor, and minerals naturally found in fruits and herbs.