Here's another sample accepted from my sister-in-law's clay jar full of different, mainly unusual organic teas. What a hodgepodge of strange ingredients is listed, including burdock, dandelion, something called "cleavers herb", and the one that gave me the most pause, stinging nettle.

Stuff that makes skin rashes on people isn't something I'd normally advocate pouring into one's own piehole. Still: 1) I am not allergic to nettle that way, and 2) reading up on its uses indicates that many people ingest daily doses for many days on end, with no ill effect. So, being someone who has eaten more exotic things like fresh guitarfish flesh, I figured to take the plunge.

Overall, my impression was unfavorable. The dry-bag smell was decent, somewhat spicy and vegetal, as if making weak ginger and black pepper rather grassy in aroma. Neither ginger, black pepper, or any form of grass is listed as in ingredient, however. The in-cup smell was much different: unpleasant, sappy, gooey, somewhat rotten or decayed in character. Its scent reminded me of what might result from scraping the dried residue off the bottom safety rim of my weed whacker into a strainer, then making tea from it. The taste was about halfway in between the dry-bag and wet-bag aromas, and marginally tolerable when judiciously sweetened. I won't be buying any of this concoction unless on strict doctor's order's (unlikely!).

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Comments:

Alex Zorach wrote: on October 15th, 2018

It's funny, all of these herbs you mention grow wild (many as invasive plants that I am often trying to remove) in the wild area behind my home.

You don't need to be afraid of stinging nettle in herb teas. I have been stung by this plant, and it can be quite painful, but as a dried herb steeped in tea, it is delicious, and you can also eat it as a cooked green. It has a distinctive flavor that is very different from spinach and other commonly-consumed leafy greens, and I've read that it's quite nutritious as well. Cooking kills the stinging hairs, and, perhaps because the plant doesn't need to produce toxins or bitter chemicals to defend itself because it has another defense, it tastes rather good among cooked greens.

All that said, I am not a fan of these "detox" blends...I think they are more than a bit of a gimmick. The body detoxifies itself on its own through your liver and kidneys, and, while there are certain circumstances where consuming certain herbs can protect the liver against certain types of damage, these interactions are highly specific. That, and these blends often tend to taste really bad!

I highly recommend though seeking out pure nettle tea if you have a chance. If you have some nettles growing near you, just get some gloves and gather and dry them! They can taste quite good, when they're not blended with other weird things.

Tchuggin' Okie wrote: on October 15th, 2018

Thanks, Alex. Maybe the other ingredients were contributing to that offputtingly gooey, saplike aroma. I know nettle grows around here, and I've deliberately handled some in Arkansas to see if I react to it (I don't, just like I don't react to poison ivy). I'll have to try that (the nettle, not the poison ivy!) when I find some.

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