Greek Tea

I did a little research on Tilio (TEE-lio) tea. That delicious “other” Greek tea (the most common Greek tea is Mountain Tea (Tsai vouNOU), and I'm still not really certain what Mountain Tea is). But I was drinking Tilio last night with a friend and we were trying to place the sweet flavor. Vanilla? Licorice root? Well it turns out that Tilio is from the dried flower of the Linden Tree (AKA basswood, AKA limetree (no citrus relation)).

Varieties of Linden trees are native to both North America and Europe. And it’s a common tree in New York City. More urban foraging to do! It also makes good honey, because bees love it ’cause it’s so sweet. It’s known as a general and mild sedative. Best of all a very strong linden infusion “is said to keep Eastern European country girls’ skin clear and glowing when used as a facial rinse.”

I wonder why these great teas haven’t caught on in the yuppie and foodie set?

Linden tree flower