Elderberry & Echinacea — Seasonal Rituals

Elderberry and echinacea anchor this collection: deep red, gently tart, USDA Organic cups for the hour when the light goes early and you want something warm in your hands. Elderberry, Sambucus nigra, has been steeped in European folk herbalism for centuries, and echinacea was used by Native Americans long before it reached Europe. Elderberries Echinacea Tea is the plainest statement of the pairing: the two of them with rosehips, hibiscus, ginger root and licorice, tart at the front and softly sweet at the finish, with no sugar added and no caffeine.

From there each blend tips the balance somewhere else. Echinacea Lemon Ginger Tea is the citrus one, with echinacea from North America, ginger from India, hibiscus from Egypt and lemon peel from California: bright at the top, peppery at the end. Elderberry Ginger Mint Tea pulls the other way, spearmint cooling the ginger while rosehips keep the berry tart, its sweetness coming from whole stevia leaf rather than sugar. Every box holds 16 bags: USDA Organic, CCOF-certified herbs blended in California, packed in compostable abaca hemp with no metal staples anywhere.

Not every tea on this page is a berry. The shelf is grouped by season and mood rather than by one plant, so a few warming moringa and turmeric blends stand beside the elderberries. Turmeric Cinnamon Moringa Tea is the bestseller of that group: turmeric root, Ceylon cinnamon bark and moringa leaf with ginger, black pepper and cardamom, round and naturally sweet instead of tart. If that is the register you want, the full turmeric blends line sits one page over.

Dried fruit and roots take longer than leaf tea. Use water just under the boil, keep the mug covered, and give it eight to twelve minutes; two bags in one mug makes a darker, jammier cup worth trying once. Our guide to five Ayurvedic herbs and how to brew them walks through ginger, turmeric, tulsi and moringa the same way.

A single box is $5.39, three are $14.99, and six work out to just under $4.50 a box, with free shipping on orders of $48 and up. And when the mood is spice rather than fruit, our seasonal warming teas pour the same evening a different way.