Radiance Herbs and Supplements: Frequently Asked Questions
I want to begin working with herbal teas in my regular self-care routine but I really don’t know where to begin when I walk into your store. Please help.
If staff is available, please ask one of us to give you a brief tour of our herb section. We are most happy to give you the basics and introduce you to our bulk herb wall, our self-serve system, and our extensive reference library. We are delighted to offer a wide selection of high quality single plants, tea blends, culinary herbs and spices, and white, green, oolong, and black teas.
If you’re feeling shy about asking one of our herbal educators for assistance, take a look at the bulk herb wall yourself-particularly the jars with green labels. These are tea blends, most of which we formulate in-house, to address various common concerns—such as sore throats, sleep, and colds/flu. The formulas are based on traditional uses of the plants included in the blend.
Among the green labels, you’ll find jars with names such as: Lung Tea, Liver Tea, Nerve-ease, Sandman’s Sleepytime, Pregnancy Tonic, Nursing Tea, Women’s Nutri-Tea, Throat Coat, Cold Comfort, Intesti-Flu, Flu Re-Leaf, Tummy Tea, Into the Dreamtime, Relaxing Tea, and so on. Most of these teas are made from leaves and flowers and can simply be steeped as you would teabags when you choose to enjoy them. Some consist of roots and barks and require simmering for 20 minutes or so. Feel free to ask for suggestions as to the best preparation for each tea. And be sure to read How do I prepare these herbs? which follows.
Each jar has a label that lists all the ingredients. Please check the label to make sure you like the plants the blend contains. All Radiance house blends are composed of organically cultivated or ethically wildcrafted herbs to the best of our ability to work with available supply. Please be assured that a bit of blessing and healing intention are also added when the blends are created by our staff elves!
Do I need to weigh the herbs before I buy them?
No, we will weigh each herb at the cash register. The scales on the self-serve herb islands are there for your convenience in estimating the cost of your purchase in advance or figuring out proportions given in some formula you have researched. All you need to do is to write down the jar number located on every jar lid for each herb you are buying-and our staff, the electronic scales and the cash register at the checkout will do the rest. We do suggest you write the name of each plant on your bags as well as the number, so that you will be clear once you get home as to which herb is which.
What’s the best way to store herbs once I get them home?
Herbs stay freshest when stored away from light, heat, air, and moisture-these will degrade the flavor and the active constituents over time. An ideal storage choice would be an airtight glass jar such as a canning jar that is kept in a cupboard or otherwise away from sunlight. Amber jars are great when herbs must be stored on an open shelf. Paper bags are another choice, although best for short-term. Plastic containers or bags are not recommended for long-term storage, as harmful substances from the plastic might contaminate your herbs. Be sure to label all herb containers with the plant or tea name and the date. This may help at some future moment when all the green leaves begin to look alike!
What’s the shelf life for dried herbs?
This depends on the condition and age of plants you start with. If freshly dried and still vital (as ours mostly are), most leafy herbs will keep their taste and effectiveness for about one year; roots can stay vital longer. Flowers and more fragile herbs may need to be used sooner, generally within six months. With ground culinary spices, it’s best to buy small quantities and replace them more frequently. The effectiveness of any type of plant parts that contain aromatic oils are less durable, so take special care with these. Again, be sure to store herbs in effective containers away from light, air, heat, and moisture.
I am used to buying teas in teabags. Why are all your herbs sold loose, in bulk?
If you were to grow or gather your own herbs, you would dry them as whole as possible then store them in well-labeled airtight jars, ready for use. This allows herbs to stay as fresh as possible over time. What you see on our herb wall is an expanded version of that.
We buy herbs in bulk for several reasons involving quality and environmental concerns.
Quality. When you buy herbs in teabags, they have been cut very finely-essentially, to make it possible to get plant material into small bags. In general, the more finely leaves and flowers have been cut, the more quickly they loose their potency. There are some fine companies in the marketplace that do their best to ensure good quality herb in their teabags, but unless you open up the teabags before purchasing them you cannot assess their freshness. Some companies are moving toward larger, pyramidal-shaped teabags to allow “full-leaf” plant material to fit. This is getting closer to what we offer.
With bulk herbs, we are able to request from our suppliers the most coarse cut possible for our leafy herbs. We are able to acquire flowers in their whole forms, just as if we had gathered them ourselves. With many roots, the size of the cut is not as much of an issue, as their properties are more stable and require a bit of vigorous cooking to extract them. The powdered herbs we carry are ones that remain relatively stable in that form. Powdered valerian root is perhaps one exception to that, but customers buy it so frequently that we continue to offer the freshest we can find.
Buying in bulk, our herbalists are able to assess quality before herbs ever make it to our herb wall. If necessary, poor quality herbs are rejected. We do our best to keep botanical names up to date on our jar labels, so if we need to purchase a different species than we usually carry you will be so informed. You can see what you’re buying—and purchase as much or as little as you wish. Vibrant herbs sold in bulk are the best deal going!
Environmental responsibility. By buying in bulk, we are all doing more to lessen our impact on our environment. Boxed herb teas in teabags, while convenient, consume lots of resources and energy in their manufacture, packaging and transport hither and yon. All of this is invisible when you see the beautiful packaging that draws your attention; and only a small percentage of the true cost-environmentally speaking-is reflected in the high price you pay for what you are getting.
Carefully grown herbs- Organically cultivated, properly dried and minimally processed-sold in bulk in jars allow you to see what you are getting, purchase only what you need, and support organic farming. Though transportation impacts remain an issue, buying in bulk involves the least possible impact, short of growing and drying your own herbs. A good percentage of our plants come relatively directly from the farms or wildcrafters who provide them. This percentage is something we seek always to improve upon. We encourage you to bring your reusable containers from home when you shop. We deduct the weight of the bag or other container when we are ringing up your purchase.
How do I prepare these herbs? You sell a lot of different tools for making teas!
Please read the question that follows for more details, but here are the basics.
At home, it is often easiest to just let your herbs “swim around” in the hot water for the designated time, then strain into your mug or teacup. We have a number of different strainers with fine mesh that make this simple. Many of our herbs are deliberately sold “whole” or cut into relatively large pieces to preserve freshness-and this method allows the best extraction as the large pieces unfurl.
If traveling or at the office, however, the re-usable small closed infusers or muslin bags act like teabags and can make tea-making with loose teas a snap-anywhere.
What’s the difference between a tea, an infusion, and a decoction?
Preparation really depends on the person’s intention and the plant in question. The distinction between tea, infusion, and decoction lies in the proportion of herb to water, the length of time the herb is in contact with the water, and the amount of heat the concoction is subjected to.
For beverages and most acute health situations, teas will suffice. For tonifying and nutritive purposes, infusions are generally indicated. Decoctions are used in either case when dense plant material-such as most roots and barks-is used.
Teas are made from leaves and flowers primarily. To prepare tea, first put some water on to boil. For each cup of tea you wish to make, add between 1 tsp. to 1 T. dried herb to your mug, teapot or canning jar. Crush or crumble the herb between your fingers, if necessary, to make a better extraction. Pour the freshly boiled water over the leaves or flowers. Cover the steeping vessel to retain the herb’s volatile properties. Steep for 5-15 minutes. Strain, then enjoy. Assorted utensils for making teas include-Tea balls, tea pot, mug, jars, strainers, muslin bags.
Infusion An herbal extract in which the plant is steeped in water for an extended period. This method is used for leaves, flowers, and roots (if they contain highly volatile constituents, such as valerian). A therapeutically beneficial infusion generally involves both more quantity of herb and more steeping time than a beverage tea.
To prepare an infusion, use about 1/4-1/2 cup of herb for each quart of water. First, set your water on to boil. Meanwhile, place the herb in a canning jar or teapot. Cover with boiled water and let steep from one hour to overnight. Strain and store any unused portion in the refrigerator for up to three days. Utensils for making infusions include-Canning jar with lid, strainer or unbleached cotton cheesecloth.
Decoction A preparation made by gently simmering plant parts in water for 20 minutes or longer. In general the harder, denser parts of plants are prepared this way-roots, barks, seeds with water-soluble constituents. To prepare a decoction, use about 1/4-1/2 cup of herb for each quart. Add roots, etc., to cold water. Allow the plant parts to simply sit in the water for 15 minutes or longer, if possible-this allows for a better extraction. Eventually, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. Simmer gently for 20 minutes or for as long as several hours, depending on the plant[s]. If you are able, and have only simmered for a short time, just set the pot aside and let the plants steep a while longer. When finished, strain and store unused portion in the refrigerator for up to three days. Utensils for making decoctions include—Glass, ceramic, or stainless steel pot; strainer or unbleached cotton cheesecloth; jar for storage.
