Vanilla Leaf Tea

 

IF YOU HAVE spent even a little time wandering lower and mid-elevation trails in the Pacific Northwest, you’ve seen vanilla leaf (Achlys triphylla), a common native plant that can grow in lush, luxuriant carpets of jaunty green on the forest floor.

 

When you find a good dense patch, it doesn’t take long to collect enough for a year’s supply of tea. Just grab the young leaves in bunches and snip the stalks with kitchen shears. When you get home, you can trim the rest of the stem if you prefer.

Native Americans used vanilla leaf as an insect repellent and to perfume their homes. Once in the dehydrator, the plant’s common name rings true: the room fills with the slightly sweet and calming aroma of vanilla. As a tea, it has the same affect. It’s laid back, with a reserved herbally essence that’s mellowed by the hint of vanilla. Really, it’s a wonderfully soothing tea, like a chamomile. You can adjust the flavor to suit your own taste by mixing in other wild ingredients such as rose hips.

9 thoughts on “Vanilla Leaf Tea

  1. k

    Thanks for the idea – I have know of using it to keep the insects at bay, but never thought of it as a tea. With all the vanilla leaf around here these days, I will definitely have to try it!

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  2. Jeff

    What timing! I just learned this plant and this use (vanilla tea) from Brian Luther during the Cispus Foray yesterday. He mentioned harvesting once the flowers have started wilting. Have you tried harvesting at different times or noticed any difference?

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  3. Langdon Cook

    Anonymous – I imagine you can use it fresh for tea like stinging nettles, but dehydrating first really brings out the vanilla.

    Jeff – I’ve only harvested young plants when the flowers are either just appearing or absent. Report back here on your experiments.

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  4. sethh

    Where have you seen vanilla leaf referenced anywhere else as a tea? I couldnt find anything in the old books or online. Was this a recent discovery or some old folk method that never made the press?

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  5. Anonymous

    I’d be careful with this one. According to HerbVideos.com, “[Vanilla Leaf] contains coumarins which thin blood (anticoagulant) and may make the use of Achlys risky.” Could be a good tea for menstruation then? But bad if you have thin blood or are on any medications that already thin your blood.

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