Beyond the tea leaf

Herbs, fruit and other infusions, explored through ingredients and flavour.

Fresh peppermint leaves beside dried peppermint and a clear herbal infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Peppermint and its cooling aroma

Peppermint's cool impression sits on top of a leafy herbal flavour; it is not the same as a chilled drink.

Textured spearmint leaves with a pale mint infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Spearmint has a different kind of freshness

Spearmint offers an aromatic, sweet-seeming freshness that differs from peppermint's sharper cooling edge.

Dried yellow and white chamomile flower heads in an open sack

Beyond the tea leaf

Chamomile: look at the flower heads

Chamomile's small flower heads give a cup that can be floral, hay-like and gently bitter as well as sweet-smelling.

Deep red dried roselle calyces beside a ruby-coloured infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Hibiscus brings colour and tartness

The red material used for hibiscus infusion is the calyx of roselle, bringing both colour and a pronounced tart taste.

A cup of rosehip infusion beside fresh rosehips and leaves

Beyond the tea leaf

Rosehip in a fruit infusion

Rosehip supplies a rounded fruit character; the bright red of many rosehip blends often comes partly from hibiscus.

Fine red-brown rooibos pieces beside a reddish amber infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Rooibos: a red cup without tea leaves

Rooibos comes from a South African shrub, giving a reddish cup with a character distinct from black tea.

Green rooibos needles beside a light golden infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Green rooibos has a lighter character

Green rooibos is a less-oxidised expression of the same plant, with a lighter colour and a fresher herbal direction.

Chopped brown honeybush leaves and stems with an amber infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Honeybush and its softly sweet aroma

Honeybush is its own South African botanical, with floral and fruity variation hidden behind a sweet-sounding name.

Broad textured lemon balm leaves beside a pale herbal infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Lemon balm smells citrusy without a lemon

Lemon balm gives a soft citrus-herbal scent without supplying the sharp acidity of lemon juice.

Long narrow lemon verbena leaves beside a clear golden infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Lemon verbena and its long fragrant leaf

Lemon verbena's long leaves carry a distinct citrus perfume with a herbal and sometimes floral background.

Cut lemongrass stalks and dried pieces beside a pale golden infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Lemongrass is a stalk, not a citrus peel

Lemongrass brings a clean citrus aroma from fibrous grass material, with little resemblance to the sourness of lemon juice.

Fresh ginger slices beside dried ginger pieces and an amber infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Fresh and dried ginger taste different

Fresh slices and dried ginger share an ingredient, but their texture, concentration and aromatic balance are not identical.

Ridged fennel seeds in a bowl and wooden spoon

Beyond the tea leaf

Fennel brings a rounded anise-like flavour

Fennel's small ridged fruits give an anise-like sweetness with a rounded herbal background.

Small anise fruits and star-shaped star anise arranged in separate dishes

Beyond the tea leaf

Anise and star anise are different ingredients

Anise and star anise share a sweet aromatic resemblance, but they come from different plants and have different forms.

Rolled cinnamon sticks showing their bark layers

Beyond the tea leaf

Cinnamon adds more than sweetness

Cinnamon contributes bark, warmth and a sweet-smelling aroma; it does not need to make an infusion sugary.

An open dried cardamom pod revealing its dark seeds

Beyond the tea leaf

Cardamom: the aroma inside the pod

The small dark seeds inside green cardamom pods hold the spice's lively, sweet and citrus-like character.

Whole dried cloves piled on a metal teaspoon

Beyond the tea leaf

Clove is a small ingredient with a big voice

Cloves are dried flower buds whose forceful fragrance can dominate a spice infusion long before they dominate its volume.

Dried orange peel pieces and fresh peel beside a clear infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Orange peel adds fragrance and a bitter edge

Orange peel offers a citrus fragrance and a possible bitter edge, a different contribution from orange juice or blossom.

Thin dried apple slices on a pale surface

Beyond the tea leaf

What dried apple contributes to fruit tea

Dried apple often supplies the quiet middle of a fruit infusion, even when a more colourful ingredient leads the label.

A fruit infusion blend with hibiscus, apple, rosehip and a few dried berry pieces

Beyond the tea leaf

Why a berry infusion may taste mostly of hibiscus

A berry name describes the intended flavour, while the ingredient list reveals which fruits and botanicals build it.

Food-grade dried pink rose petals beside a light floral infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Rose petals: fragrance without perfume overload

Rose petals can add a clear floral note, but their colour and visual abundance do not predict the strength of the cup.

A small dish of dried lavender flowers beside a pale herbal infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Lavender needs room, not a crowd of flowers

Lavender's small flowers can leave a large aromatic impression, so balance matters more than a generous-looking handful.

Tiny dried elderflowers beside fresh cream-coloured flower clusters and a pale infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Elderflower and its delicate floral note

Dried elderflower gives a gentle floral cup whose character is different from the sweetness of elderflower cordial.

Dried linden flowers with long pale bracts beside a golden infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Linden blossom includes more than flowers

The pale leaf-like pieces in linden blossom are often bracts belonging to the flower cluster, not stray tea leaves.

Textured grey-green sage leaves on a living plant

Beyond the tea leaf

Sage brings a savoury herbal character

Sage gives an infusion a distinctly savoury herbal character, far from the fruit-and-flower expectation of many herbal teas.

Small thyme leaves on fine stems beside dried thyme and a golden infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Thyme and the flavour of tiny leaves

Thyme's tiny leaves bring a firm culinary-herb aroma, with a dry edge that differs from mint or soft flowers.

Needle-like rosemary leaves growing along woody stems

Beyond the tea leaf

Rosemary has a resinous side

Rosemary's needle-like leaves carry a resinous, savoury fragrance that gives herbal blends a very different direction from citrus or flowers.

Roasted barley grains beside a brown-gold mugicha infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Mugicha is roasted barley, not leaf tea

Mugicha is made from roasted barley, giving a cereal-like aroma without the tea leaf found in hojicha or genmaicha.

Roasted buckwheat kernels beside a golden sobacha infusion

Beyond the tea leaf

Sobacha and its toasted grain aroma

Sobacha's toasted aroma comes from buckwheat, a seed used like grain rather than a form of wheat or tea leaf.

Chopped dried yerba mate leaves in a black bowl

Beyond the tea leaf

Yerba mate is herbal, but not caffeine-free

Yerba mate comes from a different plant than tea, yet it naturally contains caffeine and should not be grouped with caffeine-free herbs.