Le Cercle de l'Ombelle · Moon 4 out of 12
April — The first shoots
Spring · 11 references pickeds this moon · harvesting the green surge
First movement
The harvest
The essentials at a glance
The first shoots · Spring
11 references pickeds this moon, of which 6 contain caffeine.
Harvesting the green surge.
April is the moon of young shoots. We do not yet harvest the whole plant, but its first surge: nettle stems that appear before flowering, when they are more tender than they will ever be again, the hollow stems of horsetail, rich in silica, the first leaves of plantain. Pick young, dry quickly and in the shade to preserve colour and fragrance: such is the rule of the month. At the same time, on the other side of the world, the southern winter begins and South American maté comes into harvest: its leaves are cut from April to September, when the cold has concentrated their aromas. April thus blends the freshness of our spring ditches with the vigour of the South American hollies. It is a green, lively moon, the moon of beginnings, when the herbalist turns to what has just been born rather than to what will ripen.
April brings the famous russet moon, the one that follows Easter and under which, it is said, young shoots turn russet. It is not the moon that freezes: its clear, cloudless nights let the earth lose its warmth, and frost takes the dawn by surprise. Gardeners then cover their seedlings, and the young leaves picked this month, nettles and plantains, are precisely the most tender, and so the most exposed.
Second movement
The moon lesson
This moon harvests 3 plants ; here are their botanical profiles and their rituals.
Nettle
Urtica dioica · Urticaceae
Nettle is a perennial of rich soils, recognisable by its stinging hairs, which prick at the slightest touch. This trait, dreaded in the garden, disappears completely on drying: dried nettle no longer stings at all, as its fragile hairs break when they lose their water. The young shoots are harvested in spring, before flowering, when they are at their most tender and greenest; picked later, the leaves become tough and grainy. As an infusion, nettle gives a cup of clear green, with a pronounced vegetal taste reminiscent of green vegetables and herb broth. It is one of the longest-harvested plants in Europe, once as useful at the table as in rope-making, where a fibre close to linen was drawn from its stem.
Field horsetail
Equisetum arvense · Equisetaceae
Horsetail is a living fossil: it belongs to a lineage of plants far older than flowers, which already covered the Earth in the age of the great coal forests, three hundred million years ago. With no flower, no fruit and no true leaf, it reproduces by spores like ferns and rises in hollow, jointed, dark green stems. These stems are so rich in silica, the mineral of sand and glass, that they were once used to scour pewter and polish wood, hence its nickname of scouring rush. It is harvested in spring, when the sterile stems are bright green and upright. As an infusion, it gives a subtle, mineral and herbaceous cup with an almost velvety texture.
Photo: Dmitry Lyskov, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
Ribwort plantain
Plantago lanceolata · Plantaginaceae
Ribwort plantain is the wayside herb par excellence: its spear-shaped leaves, streaked with parallel veins, grow in rosettes in every meadow in Europe. The young leaves are picked in spring, when they are supple and a clear green; later on, they become fibrous. Dried, they give a green, gentle note, faintly damp like undergrowth, which rounds out herbal infusions. It is one of the quiet faces of the April harvest.
Photo: MacrofyStudio, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Third movement
Tasting at home
The Moon Basket of April
Nettle
Feuilles d'Ortie Piquante Bio
100°C · 10 min · 12-15 g/L
Pure nettle leaves from organic farming, dried whole, and perfectly harmless once they have passed through the teapot. Dry, they smell of green hay and earth after a storm; the infusion gives a deep green liquor with a clear vegetal taste, between mild spinach and caffeine-free green tea, with a singular minerality on the finish. It is one of the most widely used plants in French herbalism, to be drunk on its own, as a daily habit or slipped into home-made blends. Naturally caffeine-free.
Tisane Vive Ortie Menthe Bio
100°C · 10 min · 12-15 g/L
Nettle leads this lively blend: mint, rosehip and goji berries surround it, guarana adds its subtle kick, liquorice its sweetness. The dry blend, green flecked with red, smells of grass and berries; the golden-green liquor sets the clear vegetal note of nettle against menthol, with the tang of the berries running through it all. Invigorated by guarana, it is the infusion for mornings that start at full speed.
⚠ Precautions: Contient de la réglisse. Déconseillé en cas d'hypertension artérielle, de maladie rénale ou cardiaque, et pendant la grossesse. Éviter une consommation élevée ou prolongée. Riche en caféine (plusieurs sources : maté, guarana, matcha, thé). À consommer avec modération, de préférence pas en soirée. Déconseillé aux enfants, aux femmes enceintes ou allaitantes et aux personnes sensibles à la caféine.
Field horsetail
L'Herboriste Bouleau & Ortie Bio
100°C · 5-10 min · 12-15 g/L
Horsetail, birch leaves and nettle form the vegetal heart of this organic herbalist's infusion, made gentle for every day by rosehip, anise, fennel, verbena and liquorice. The dry blend, very green, smells of the forest in spring; the golden-green liquor balances the frank, lightly mineral vegetal character of the leading trio with the rounded aniseed note of fennel, the discreet tartness of rosehip and the natural sweetness of liquorice. Caffeine-free, it is the great herbal infusion to drink through the seasons.
⚠ Precautions: Contient de la réglisse. Déconseillé en cas d'hypertension artérielle, de maladie rénale ou cardiaque, et pendant la grossesse. Éviter une consommation élevée ou prolongée.
Grimoire de l'Herboriste Bio
100°C · 5-10 min · 12-15 g/L
A true book of herbal lore: nettle, lemon balm and horsetail write its pages alongside lady's mantle, raspberry leaf, St John's wort and yarrow. The dry blend, herbarium green, smells of the herbalist's loft; the golden-green liquor marries the mineral notes of nettle and horsetail with the soft lemon of lemon balm, over the fine tannic weave of the leaves. Naturally caffeine-free, it is the herbal infusion for studious evenings, the herbalism of days gone by, page after page.
⚠ Precautions: Contient du millepertuis. Le millepertuis peut diminuer l'efficacité de nombreux médicaments, notamment les contraceptifs oraux, les antidépresseurs, les anticoagulants et certains traitements, et augmenter la sensibilité au soleil. À ne pas consommer en cas de traitement médicamenteux sans l'avis d'un médecin ou d'un pharmacien. Déconseillé pendant la grossesse et l'allaitement.
Plantain & orchard herbs
Tisane Sureau & Camomille Bio
100°C · 10 min · 12-15 g/L
In this organic infusion, ribwort plantain and fennel welcome elderflowers, lemon balm, chamomile and lime blossom, a bouquet of hedgerows and meadows of a kind rarely composed any more. The dry blend, pale and downy, smells of a sunken lane in June; the pale gold liquor pairs the unmistakable musky floral note of elderflower with the honey of lime blossom and chamomile, the plantain bringing its soft greenness and the fennel its roundness. Caffeine-free, rustic and delicate, it is the evening infusion for lovers of the countryside.
Herbes Fruitées du Verger Bio
100°C · 10 min · 12-15 g/L
Nettle meets the orchard: apple, pineapple and hibiscus bring fruitiness, maté and rooibos support it, ginger and lemongrass brighten it. The dry blend, green and gold, smells of haymaking and apples; the golden liquor balances the clear vegetal note of nettle, the sweetness of apple and the tang of hibiscus, with maté adding its subtle lift. Lightly caffeinated by the maté, it is the sap-filled morning infusion.
A source of pleasure, not a medicine. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, undergoing medical treatment or have a medical condition, seek the advice of a healthcare professional.
The moon's ephemeral
A limited series, available for the duration of the harvest of april. When the moon passes, the ephemeral goes with it.
The Twelve Moons subscription
Every moon, twelve times a year, the harvest basket arrives at your door: 6 references, two per type, making 72 references over the year, the story of the picking and the ritual.
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All the moon harvests
The other references picked this moon, to record in your tasting notebook.
Douce Quiétude Mélisse Hibiscus Bio
⚠ Precautions: Contient de la réglisse. Déconseillé en cas d'hypertension artérielle, de maladie rénale ou cardiaque, et pendant la grossesse. Éviter une consommation élevée ou prolongée. Contient du millepertuis. Le millepertuis peut diminuer l'efficacité de nombreux médicaments, notamment les contraceptifs oraux, les antidépresseurs, les anticoagulants et certains traitements, et augmenter la sensibilité au soleil. À ne pas consommer en cas de traitement médicamenteux sans l'avis d'un médecin ou d'un pharmacien. Déconseillé pendant la grossesse et l'allaitement.
Chai Thé Vert Sencha Épicé Bio
Chai du Matin Thé Vert Bio
Maté Vert Pur d'Argentine Bio
100°C · 5-10 min · 14-17 g/L
Pure green maté from organic farming: the leaf that Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay have drunk for centuries from the gourd through the bombilla. Dry, it smells of sun-dried grass and green hay; the infusion yields a yellow-green liquor with a frank, grassy, vegetal bitterness, the clean astringency that marks true maté and a characteristic dry finish. Caffeinated and invigorating, it is the drink for mornings and studious days, from the gourd for purists, from a teapot for everyone else.
Alizé d'Herbes & Maté Stévia Bio