Boxes of Yanabah teas, named after a Navajo matriarch beloved by the makers, appeared in the gift shop at Monument Valley for about 6 bucks (a tad on the costly side, but that is a tourist shop). Naturally I had to try something new, and bought the basic flagship variety. Greenthread is a common native forb in the aster/sunflower family, liberally sprinkled across the Great Plains from Texas to the Dakotas and west across the southern Rockies into Navajo and Hopi lands, where the herb is dried and bagged into this naturally caffeine-free product.

The aroma and flavor are very smooth, mellow and soothing, remarkably resembling chamomile, with a slightly more earthy or grassy overtone, while the in-cup tea brews up quite reddish, like a more translucent rooibos. If I had to assign a formula to help you to decide on this tea overall, I'd say it's 80% chamomile, 20% rooibos, but in a different herb than either. While not ideally strong for me, the tea's flavor is pleasant, and rolls down the throat in a very soothing way. Even though I used my usual artificial sweeteners, Yanabah likely would be amazing with honey, perhaps as a bedtime potion, for those who like the relaxing properties of chamomile. Folks who don't like to sweeten their tea may find this one naturally sweet regardless.

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