With the tingling sensation Echinacea gives to the tip of your tongue and its incredible immune boosting properties, it is hard to deny this plant’s power.* The plants of the Echinacea genus are indigenous to North America, but their name is derived from the Greek word ekhinos which means spiny, prickly, hedgehog or sea urchin. This name was probably chosen because there’s a large, spiny, cone shaped center within the daisy-like purple flower.
While the beauty of this elegant bloom is what draws you in, the whole plant is used in herbalism. Inside our tea bags of Echinacea Plus® we include a mix of flower, stems, leaves and a root extract from Echinacea purpurea along with the flowers, stems and leaves of Echinacea angustifolia. By using whole plants in our teas, we get to experience a complex and powerful array of plant based constituents, including the alkylamides that are partly responsible for that tingly feeling.
Our Echinacea Plus® tea is blended with lemon grass and spearmint leaf, to balance out the taste with a hint of mint and a twist of citrus. Once we have the perfect formula, we share this balanced blend and give thanks to the plants and our elders who passed along this vital herbal wisdom.
To learn more about the history of Echinacea and how to grow this beautiful purple flower, see our recent post Echinacea 101.