Gathered in the Latvian countryside
📍 Home: Latvia, the countryside
Linden flowers grow high up in the trees, so most of ours are gathered by local people in Latvia. They know where the cleanest trees grow: deep in the countryside, far from busy roads, where nothing is ever sprayed. The trees bloom for just a few weeks, from the end of June into July depending on the summer. This year I was home in Latvia at the right moment and picked some of the flowers myself. We make the extract by hand in our own lab.
Linden (Tilia cordata) is a tall, long-living tree native to Europe, and its sweet-smelling flowers are loved by bees. In Latvian and other Northern and Eastern European folklore, linden was a sacred tree of truth, love and fertility.
What’s in the flower: flavonoids, phenolic acids, soft plant polysaccharides (mucilage), tannins, carotenoids and natural vitamin C.
Why we chose it: linden’s polysaccharides hold on to water, which is why we use it to help skin feel soft, supple and well moisturised. Its gentle tannins help skin look smoother and more refined, and it leaves dry, tight-feeling skin comfortable and calm.
Find it in: Glowing Skin Serum Gel
Feed it from within 🍵
Every family in Latvia knows linden tea. Because the flowers grow high in the trees and bloom so briefly, it’s a little bit of a luxury, almost a “posh” tea for us, yet everyone loves it. When winter drops below −30°C, a hot cup of linden tea with a spoon of honey is how we warm up. And when someone feels under the weather, out comes the linden tea and a warm blanket, a tradition passed down by our grandmothers for generations.
As it steeps, the water turns a beautiful golden colour and the whole kitchen fills with the scent of linden blossom. Every cup brings back the smell of a Latvian summer, even in the middle of winter.
How I make it: 1–2 teaspoons of dried linden flowers in a cup of just-boiled water, covered and steeped for 10 minutes. Add honey to taste.
If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, have a medical condition or take medication, please check with your doctor or pharmacist before drinking herbal teas.
