July 19, 2026

Happy Sunday!

I want to tell you a story. Anna is "everywoman," and I say that because I was once her long, long ago, and I've taught thousands of women who were like her, too. It's a story of frustration...and the best solution.

Anna had enough herbs in her cupboard to make a small apothecary. Unfortunately, she had no idea what to do with most of them.

There was nettle she’d bought after reading about how much calcium it has, lemon balm she’d grown and dried herself, a bag of beautiful red hibiscus she purchased because she heard they “were good for the heart,” and some peppermint that smelled so fresh she couldn’t resist adding it to the cupboard too. She had rose hips, chamomile, oatstraw, and several roots she’d purchased for reasons she couldn’t remember.

All the herbs had been bought or grown with the best of intentions. Someday, she was going to make her own herbal teas. Someday, she would stop relying on those tired little tea bags with mysterious "natural flavor" from the grocery store (that she recently discovered contain microplastics!).

Someday, she told herself, she would know exactly which herbs to reach for when she wanted an herbal blend her body or mind needed.

But truly, her collection of herbs was mostly an expensive group of good intentions.

She had actually tried making a few blends.....

Once, she put nettle, chamomile, peppermint, and hibiscus together because they all had great “health benefits.” The result tasted horrible, and she didn’t realize that the combination wasn’t really all that good for a person. She even tried adding honey so it would go down easier…but it just didn’t work.

Another time, she packed several spoonfuls of herbs into a little tea ball. The herbs swelled into a tight green lump, the water remained nearly clear, and the tea tasted like almost nothing.

When she tried to use one of the roots she had purchased (she thought) for stress relief, she poured boiling water over it and waited ten minutes, but the stubborn pieces looked exactly the same when she was finished, the water had barely changed, and she couldn’t figure out why.

Was she supposed to simmer them? Steep them longer? Grind them first? Use more?

She just didn’t know.

Eventually, Anna stopped trying to use her herbs. They remained lined up in her cupboard, looking rather pretty whenever she opened the door, while she went back to drinking coffee, soda, and the occasional store-bought boxed tea.

Then, one afternoon, her daughter stopped by after a long, difficult day. She was tired, emotionally wrung out, and wanted something warm to drink while they talked.

Anna opened the cupboard and realized that she just didn’t know what she didn’t know. She really wanted to be able to work with these herbs and realized she was tired of not knowing where to begin.

That afternoon helped Anna realize that owning herbs wasn’t the same thing as knowing how to use them. She needed to understand why some herbs belong together….and some just don’t. Plus, she realized that she was actually pretty limited in her knowledge of how to actually make a good cup of tea.

So, Anna began learning about herbal tea differently. She took a course called The Art of Herbal Tea for Pleasure and Health.

Inside that course, she learned that the flavor of an herb could reveal something about its actions and energetics and how they work on the human body. She discovered why leaves and flowers are prepared differently from hard roots, bark, and berries. She learned the differences between an ordinary cup of tea, a long medicinal or nourishing infusion, a cold infusion, and a decoction—and why choosing the right method for the plant and the intention for the blend matters.

She also learned that formulating a blend isn’t the same as tossing several “healthy” herbs into a bowl and hoping they do what she wanted them to do while also tasting great. That's just a recipe for failure.

She realized she wanted to learn to build and balance an herbal tea blend the right way. And also to make the blend taste as good as possible in the process.

Anna finally decided to learn from someone who knew about herbal teas.

Her first truly successful blend was a brilliant ruby red, spiced and fragrant with herbs she had chosen for both their actions and their flavor. She poured it over ice and drank it on the porch instead of opening a soda.

It was refreshing, beautiful, and so delicious that she immediately made another jar.

Soon, tea became part of the rhythm of her days. She made nourishing infusions, refreshing teas for warm afternoons, and comforting blends when she wanted to slow down in the evening.

When friends visited, she could offer something far more interesting than an ordinary store-bought tea bag, and they began asking her for her herbal blends so they could make them at home, too. She started giving these away as welcomed gifts!

When someone in her family needed some help, Anna no longer stared helplessly at her cupboard. She knew where to begin, what questions to ask, and how to choose an appropriate preparation.

The best change of all for Anna was that she finally began using her herbs!

They had become part of her everyday life—supporting hydration, nourishment, pleasure, hospitality, and the care she offered her family and friends.

Anna hadn’t memorized every herb in the world, and she didn't need to. But she had learned how to think about herbal tea. She understood the foundational methods well enough to use proven formulations confidently and even begin creating some blends of her own.

She is now even considering starting her own tea shop!

Perhaps you have a little bit of Anna’s story hiding in your cupboards, too? I know I did at one time.....

If you have herbs you want to use, tea blends you want to create, or people you’d love to care for with more confidence, The Art of Herbal Tea for Health and Pleasure will show you how.

Inside the course, I share everything I know about herbal tea—preparation methods, tools, safety, dosing, flavors, herbal actions, formulation practices, and the art of creating blends that support health while still tasting wonderful….and a LOT more.

The course also comes with my complete 220-page Big Book of Herbal Teas, filled with more than 140 ready-to-use formulations for health, wellness, different seasons, and pleasure.

Right now, the entire course and book are 50% off—just $63!

And for the past two years, the ONLY way anyone could enjoy this course was by joining our Confident Herbalist Tribe.

But for a few more days, everyone has an opportunity to enjoy the course, without joining the CHT (unless you want to). AND to top it off, you can enjoy 50% off the usual price, too!

I hope herbs become a mainstay in your life, and herbal tea is a wonderful place to begin!

Here’s what students say about The Art of Herbal Teas for Pleasure and Health:

Use coupon code: TEA50 to take 50% off!

The sale ends Monday night. I hope I get to see you inside!

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Here's a quick peek: Videos, an amazing 220 page text, and best of all...learning how to create delicious, effective herbal tea!

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🌼Three Herbal Tea Blends to Help with Smoky, Polluted Air

This article will help you create a tea blend with herbs that are supportive of your lungs and respiratory health. If you're dealing with smoky skies from recent fires, are living in a city with lots of pollution, or just need a little help taking a deep breath, these options may help!

​Herbs and Tea Blends to Support Your Lungs​

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🌼Encouragement and Inspiration

On aging....

"Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day." --2 Corinthians 4:16

My latest article over on Keep Your Lamp Lit...Always (KYLLA) is out! And guess what? There's an herbal tea blend for supporting healthy bones in there, too, along with a few insights on Future You choices.

I've begun drinking this herbal tea blend once again because it's got some pretty amazing herbs for supporting the bones, teeth, hair, nails, etc.

You can find it on my Substack, which is where KYLLA is--and where I write more "outside" of herbal and aromatic education and get to some nitty gritty things.

​Keep Your Lamp Lit...Always​

(It's free to join.)

NOTE: If you're not interested at all in my "Encouragement & Inspirations" you can also find that Healthy Bones Tea HERE on my HHH herbalism website.

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Let's go drink some tea!

Hugs, Health, and Herbs!

Heidi

P.S. Don't forget to enjoy 50% off of my Art of Herbal Tea for Pleasure and Health course.... Use the code: TEA50

P.P.S. Here are some cone flowers (Echinacea) from the gardens: