Flori de Tei

Good Afternoon,

I was given a gift of 2 branches from a tree that is in flower now in Romania. Richard and I have been searching for the source of the wonderful honey scent that permeates the air whenever we go out lately, and now we know that we should have looked upwards to the tall trees whose top leaves seem to be turning over and becoming lighter in colour. The light colour comes from the small insignificant yellow flower, and now that I know the tree, I can see similar trees on the hill tops, all turning their leaves towards the sun. M has told me before that she has a tree in her garden with yellow flowers which make you calm, but I failed to guess what it was, and was looking for hypericum ( St John's Wort), or Evening Primrose,(PMT treatment). Natural remedies seem to be used a lot more in Romania than the UK.

I asked M to write the name down for me, and now know that the tree is a type of Lime, or Linden tree, and the flowers are called lime blossom in English, smelling of honey, not lime. (Check out the Jo Malone perfume.)

I have dried the flowers as insructed for 3 days in the sun between layers of newspaper, and today, I have drunk a cup of the infusion mixed with local honey from a colleague of R's whose dad has hives (bee, not the medical condition). The honey is also made from bees harvesting Linden trees, so the mixture feels v natural & approriate.  I can tell you that it tastes v good, and as it helps cure insomnia, colds, 'flu, bronchitis, mental tension, intellectual strain  digestive disorders, and contains antioxidents, I will probably drink some more.

For anyone interested, you can order the tea from the internet or watch a video of a Romanian song featuring the flowers. Watch until the end. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuvGrjxYt0Q