Monday, November 1, 2010

Pineapple Sage Tea - Salvia elegans

A while back, in my post four herbal teas you may not know about, I mentioned Pineapple sage, Salvia elegans, a cousin of the common sage plant, native to the mountains of Mexico and Guatemala. That post was in March, shortly after I planted the plant. The plant grew fabulously over the summer here in Delaware, and it recently bloomed, producing beautiful red blossoms:



You can read a little more about pineapple sage on Wikipedia's page on Salvia Elegans. The plant has some interesting medicinal uses, some of which are supported by a little bit of scientific evidence, such as antidepressant, anti-anxiety, and blood-pressure-lowering effects. But I'm here to talk more about how this tea tastes, and why it's not commercially available.

A Transient Herbal Tea:

The leaves of pineapple sage have an incredibly pleasing scent...strong, sweet, and suggestive of pineapple. The best way I can describe it is that it's a bright, cheerful smell. It makes sense that the fresh leaves would yield a delicious beverage when infused in water. The brewed tea smells a lot like the fresh leaf, but the light, sweet, candy-like pineapple aroma is balanced by a mild herbaceous quality, vaguely reminiscent of common sage. Upon drinking a single cup of this drink, I thought to myself: why isn't this plant used more in herbal blends? Why haven't I seen it available commercially? I searched far and wide and was unable to find any tea company that sells this plant.

Apparently, after reading more, I learned that it does not dry well; this is one plant that is best used fresh. And I'm afraid that it seems unlikely that this plant will make it through the Delaware winter; it's planted in the warmest spot, near my house, and I'm going to trim it back and mulch it, but I doubt it's going to make it. I've grown enough for about 10 cups of pineapple sage tea, on top of the ones I've enjoyed throughout the summer and fall. I guess the lesson here, which is easily reinforced by local fruit or vegetable harvests, is that some of the best food and drink needs to be savored while in season!

6 comments:

  1. dry in air brew with everything leaves stems etc. but steep once let it rest and steep again. got one of the autotea makers and just run it twice. different taste from fresh leaves more subtle and a bit tart.

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  2. Hmm, this is interesting...reminds me of the "rinse" when practicing Gong Fu brewing of Chinese loose-leaf teas. This sort of approach definitely produces better results with some teas, so I don't see why it wouldn't work with this! Perhaps I'll try it, if I ever dry some more of this!

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  3. I bet it would make a tasty vodka infusion to enjoy year round

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    1. I could see that working quite well! I've never tried it but it sounds like a good idea.

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  4. Did you just use the leaves and hotwater?

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    1. Yes, I just used the (fresh) leaves and hot water. My experience has been that pineapple sage doesn't dry well--at least it doesn't retain the characteristic pineapple aroma that is suggestive of sweetness. But one of the other commenters above seems to enjoy it dried.

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