Recipe
Greek mountain tea — boiled the Greek way
- Herb:
- Greek mountain tea Sideritis scardica
- Method:
- Decoction
- Plant part:
- Leaf
About 15 minBeginnerRecipe science profile
Procedure
- Break 2–3 dried ironwort stems and put them in a pan with 500 ml of cold water.
- Bring to the boil and simmer 3–5 minutes; the water turns golden.
- Take off the heat, cover and let it steep another 5 minutes, then strain.
- Serve with a teaspoon of honey and a slice of lemon; in Greece it is drunk hot morning and evening.
Extraction
- Herb:
- 2–3 dried flowering stems (about 4 g) per 500 ml
- Solvent:
- brief boiling for 3–5 minutes followed by further steeping; Greeks boil rather than steep
- Shelf life:
- drink within 24 hours
- Target compounds:
- phenylethanoid glycosides (verbascoside), flavonoids (hypolaetin, isoscutellarein) and diterpenes enter the water; boiling releases more than steeping alone
Notes
A traditional drink per EMA HMPC for coughs with a cold and mild digestive complaints. Caffeine-free, fine in the evening too. No data in pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Why it works
Ironwort contains phenylethanoid glycosides (verbascoside), flavonoids and diterpenes that a short boil releases from the tough stems better than steeping alone — which is why Greeks boil mountain tea. The review by Todorova & Trendafilova 2014 summarises anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antioxidant activity from the laboratory and animals; EMA HMPC recognises traditional use for coughs and digestive complaints on the basis of long tradition, not clinical trials.
Literature
- EMA HMPC: Sideritis herba — European Union herbal monograph — Traditional use for cough associated with a cold and for mild digestive complaints.
- Todorova M, Trendafilova A (2014): Sideritis scardica Griseb., an endemic species of Balkan peninsula: Traditional uses, cultivation, chemical composition, biological activity. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 152(2):256–265 — Review of traditional use, composition and predominantly preclinical data.
Related
Greek mountain tea — Herb card
Decoction — Processing method detail