John and I have just finished making another batch of fermented Rosebay Willowherb tea. It’s a laborious process that involves stripping the leaves off the stem and rolling them up in the palm of your hand to break down the cell structures.
These little balls are put in a glass bowl and covered with a tea towel. Every 12 hours I give it a stir. Gradually, the leaves start to ferment and the smell changes. After 48 hours I stop the fermentation process by drying them in the oven at 90 degrees C.
What made this such a wonderful evening was that we listened to music while we stripped and rolled the leaves. Oboe concertos by Marcello and Albinoni, followed by Rachmaninov’s 2nd piano concerto. Somehow music bypasses all thought and hits you right in your core. In my mind it is strongly related to how I experience the natural world, my Highland Cathedral. The sense of marvel and wonder I feel when observing new growth on a tree, perfectly shaped oyster mushrooms or a foxglove breaking through concrete, irrepressible – that’s a feeling that words cannot express, but music can.
Returning briefly to the Rosebay Willowherb: the resulting tea is beautifully coloured and delicately (but distinctly) flavoured. It’s our current favourite and I foresee many more music filled hours of ‘rolling leaves’ at the kitchen table!
The healthy forager 