Mugwort Dream Infusion

Artemisia vulgaris, mugwort, cut leaf and flowering top, silver-backed on the underside and faintly bitter on the tongue — a wayside herb that in the old European calendar was gathered specifically on midsummer's eve, when its folk reputation was said to be strongest. Ours is wild-crafted from the Carpathian foothills rather than field-grown. Mugwort has long been drunk as a bedtime tea across European folk tradition, and folklore associates it in particular with vivid, memorable dreaming and a settled night's rest — a reputation that has followed the plant for centuries without ever quite being explained. It keeps company with wormwood and southernwood in the same bitter, aromatic branch of the daisy family. Steep a teaspoon per cup for four minutes only — mugwort turns sharply bitter if left longer, and a little honey softens what remains. Keep the cup small; this is a strong-tasting herb best taken shortly before bed rather than throughout the evening. This tea is traditionally associated with restful sleep and is not a treatment for insomnia or any sleep disorder; it is not a substitute for medical advice, and mugwort is not recommended during pregnancy. Organic and caffeine-free, meant for a single quiet cup at the end of the day.