Mallow Crush

If you live in the Northern hemisphere, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced at least one heatwave since the start of summer. It’s easy to dehydrate in our increasingly hot climate, but you can maximize your hydration by adding herbal teas to your summer regime and I have a deliciously simple 3 herb tea recipe that will be perfect for the job. The infusion is inspired by some of my favorite herbs from the malvaceae family.

Hibiscus, Hibiscus sabdariffa is a natural choice for a summer tea, as it’s known as a refrigerant herb, and has a cooling effect which helps to regulate body temperature. It also contains small amounts of potassium, calcium and magnesium so it will replenish important electrolytes that might be lost due to dehydration. Since hibiscus is also diuretic and somewhat astringing, it’s useful to blend it with herbs that are moistening, or mucilagenous.

All plants in the malvaceae family contain mucilage, so you might be wondering, how did hibiscus sneak into the family? It’s because the entire plant contains mucilage, except the part used for the hibiscus tea which are the plant calyces, not the petals! (I know you wanted to know that).

Marshmallow root, (Althea officinalis) is the most well known medicinal herb in the family. It’s cooling in quality, mildly sweet and everso gooey. It’s also the root that was used to creat the original marshmallows, before corn syrup was used.

The third herb in the blend is linden, (Tilia spp). It’s just finished blooming in London, and likely Brooklyn too, and is such a popular herb in France, that locals dedicate a festival to Linden each July in the South of France. It’s fragrant, gentle in personality and flavor, and also offers a lot of good plant goo that you only start to notice after a long steep… Take a peek at my recent instagram post on linden to learn more about how to create linden mucilage.

What’s So Great About Plant Goo Anyway?

Mucilage holds moisture in the body and keeps our tissues hydrated. It won’t replace water if you are dehydrated, but it will enhance your ability to absorb any water you do drink, adding a a soothing coating to dried out inflamed tissue….Herbalists use mucilagenous herbs for inflamed tissue that needs soothing…So it’s perfect for sore throats, acid reflux, urinary tract infections, kidney stones and many other health issues.

Summertime Tea Recipe

2 Tablespoons or 7g of Hibiscus, (Hibiscus sabdariffa)
1 Tablespoons or 4g of Marshmallow Root, (Althea officinalis)
2 Tablespoons or 4g of Linden Flowers, (Tilia cordata)
2 1/2 cups of boiling water.

Method
Add the herbs to a french press or a mason jar and pour over boiling water. Cover the tea while it infuses. Allow the blend to cool and steep for at least 4 hours before straining out the herbs. (The longer you infuse the herbs before straining, the more mucilage you will extact. This tea is delicious chilled, so once you’ve strained out the herbs, you can store it in the fridge and serve with a squeeze of lime, and a sprig of mint.

It’s tart and delicious and makes excellent ice cubes too.

Swamp Rose Mallow

Even though the hibiscus variety used in this tea is native to Africa, we do have a native hibiscus in North America too, known as swamp rose mallow, (Hibiscus moscheutos). Known for its saucer sized flowers and blooms that mesmerize. These perrenial plants love to grow near water, which offers us some insight into their benefits for hydration.

I infuse the fresh swamp rose mallow flowers in jojoba oil for a luscious and hydrating addition to the PH Nourishing Face Cream and the new PH “Luminous Me” Face Mask…The flowers feel incredibly decadent when used as part of a skincare regime.

It’s easy to fall in love with a plant family with so much beauty to offer, but if all I’ve said hasn’t convinced you yet, then perhaps the fact that cacao, a.k.a chocolate is also a member of the malvaceae family might be what does it….Puzzled by the connection? In the case of cacao, it’s the fleshy fruit that surrounds the cacao beans/seeds that contains the mucilage, and while I’ve never eaten it myself…It’s high on my herbal wish list and I’ve heard it’s quite delicious too.

Enjoy your summer!