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Tag: herbal teas

  • Papné Manufactory – herbalists

    A mixture of dry herbs

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    Driving in the countryside on gravel roads and finally on a muddy one, we arrived at the property of the Szabó family.

    We were met by Ms. Szabó Adél-Júlia, who was a very agreeable woman. She was taught about herbs from a young age by her grandmother and her mother and her husband also learned about herbs from an early age.
    The company is run by Ms. Szabó Adél-Júlia and her husband, who work as a minister in a unitarian church and as a manager, respectively. In their spare time, they spend some of it growing and collecting herbs, drying them in the attic on hot summer days and using electrical dehumidifiers on cooler ones.

    A mixture of dry herbs
    A mixture of dry herbs

    First, we went to a small house where we were shown their dehumidifiers and their storeroom. All the herbs were stored in transparent plastic boxes. They had started storing them in cardboard boxes, but the dried herbs extracted humidity from the air and after some time, mold appeared. Then, they had to throw away the whole harvest and turn to plastic instead.

    Ms. Szabó Adél-Júlia opened each box and helpfully picked up some of the herbs from each one.

    The unitarian church and the old oak tree
    The unitarian church and the old oak tree

    After having showed some of the contents of each box, we followed her outside where we could see a huge 600-year-old oak tree located between the church and their house, while a tower was next to the church.

    Next, we crossed a cemetery before arriving at their field of herbs, where the field had been covered by canvas through which rows of holes had been perforated. An herb was growing in each hole, as expected. Some of the herbs were being grown without a canvas and they also were growing some currant bushes. They also go outside the property to pick herbs in the nearby forest.

    She teaches kids about herbs for free.

    They are producing herbal and fruit trees with the following ingredients:
    ⦁ spearmint
    ⦁ oregano
    ⦁ rose petals
    ⦁ lavender
    ⦁ lemon balm
    ⦁ stinging nettle
    ⦁ dog rose
    ⦁ chamomile
    ⦁ horse mint
    ⦁ elderberry flower
    ⦁ acacia flower
    ⦁ marigold
    ⦁ yarrow
    ⦁ eastern purple coneflower
    ⦁ stinging nettle
    ⦁ walnut leaf
    ⦁ isop
    ⦁ horse mint
    ⦁ spruce tips
    ⦁ monarda didyma
    ⦁ cowslip
    ⦁ raspberry
    ⦁ blueberry
    ⦁ apple
    ⦁ dog rose fruit
    ⦁ wild cherry
    ⦁ blackcurrant, white currant, and redcurrant

    The teas are sold in Romania and Hungary.

    I have also visited the herbalists Halasagi Csibi  and Balazs Dávid .

  • Halasagi Csibi herbalists

    Flowers are left to dry in a draughty loft

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    Having driven some time in the countryside of Harghita with mostly meadows ans scattered houses, we have to descend down to a valley, pass a small village and drive on a muddy and bumpy road for some minutes until we arrive at a house in the middle of a forest. Upon arrival, a young woman led us to a room where an old lady was using a sewing machine. Since I don’t know any Hungarian, I just have to listen to my guide talking to her, wondering why he’s talking to an old lady using a sewing machine. In fact, we had come to visit the house of a herbalist, not a seamstress. Fortunately, after some time, I’m told that she’s 83 years old and that she started collecting herbs many years ago. She was sewing dried herbs into insoles when we arrived, but she’s doing the same with waist belts and pillows . In this way, it’s possible to be in close contact with herbs. She almost quit collecting herbs when her husband died, but somehow she was able to go on doing it. Her grandson, who now runs the company, was introduced to herbs when he was 3 years old.

    According to their web site, the heat of the body will lead to that essential oils of the herbs will start to evaporate, ensuring a pleasant fragrance and a refreshing effect on the entire body.

    Afterwards, we went outside where her granddaughter showed us their herbal garden with various herbs like lemon balm and peppermint. Since the season lasts from May to July and we arrived in September, the garden wasn’t as colourful and fragrant any more, but that’s part of slow pix: visiting once and just having to accept whatever is available.

    Next, she served us one their own herbal teas while we were sitting on the veranda. In fact, they are offering

    After having enjoyed drinking a cup of tea, we went up to the attic which was used as a drying room for their herbs. This is different from other herbalists I have visited who were using solar-powered ovens to dry them.

    Finally, we walked around on the property and we passed a poster announcing that there is music festival for three days in June. Then, anyone can come, set up a tent and join the festival.

    Just before we should go, we were invited to dinner, but my guide had some plans, which made him turn down the offer. Anyway, it was great to visit such a beautiful place inhabited by such relaxed people.

  • Balazs Dávid- herbalist

    david_vara_w500

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    Having passing several villages on pebbly roads and lots of beautiful scenery, we arrived at the village of Siklód. Looked at from the top of a nearby church tower, the village looked like houses, which had been spread around haphazardly between hills and deciduous groves. Having arrived, we had to ascend a rather steep and curvy road in order to arrive at the house of Dávid Balazs and his family.

    In fact, we drove so far on more or less bad road because Mr. Balazs has worked as a herbalist in his spare time for many years and he has good results, having cured quite many. He has always been hiking and collecting herbs  in forests, he has read a lot about herbs, he has cured his own kidney problems, he cured his daughter when she was ill with inflammation and he cured his son of asthma by means of herbal teas. When he had cured his son, his friends asked him to make herbal teas for them as well and, gradually, he started thinking about founding a company. Moreover, his grandmother was a herbalist, his grandfather was a healer, using herbal creams, and his mother-in-law was a herbalist such that he didn’t started from scratch.

    He started 4-5 years ago with herbal teas, making combinations of 5-6 types of herbs because the effects cancel each other out if he adds more types. He wasn’t registered the first 2 years, but he got registered the third year after having completed much paperwork and a complex procedure. Now, he is certified and he can sell his products anywhere and his dream is to cure other people with herbs. He has 3 employees for collecting, sorting and mixing, while he does marketing and selling himself. He has a Facebook page, which he finds useful. He’s going to farmer’s markets where he speaks to many people even though he sells little, and he has one free weekend a month. He hasn’t decided if should quit his bank job or not.

    Each mixture of herbs is meant to cure or alleviate a part of the body or a specific disease:

    He also makes herbal creams in order to cure or at least alleviate the following:

    Other products include:

    together with strong essences based on:

    Dávid has not decided if he should expand the product range or not, but he won’t expand the range for now. He’s only collecting herbs from forests in the vicinity of where he lives because a large variety of herbs grow in this area and he’s always aiming for making products of the highest quality.

    Regarding feedback from customers, he was interviewed by a radio station in Hungary. Afterwards, an old man with eye problems called him, and Mr. Balazs sent him herbal tea. He got cured, then he came to Mr. Balazs’ place and bought a lot of herbal tea. He has also got feedback from people with liver diseases and respiratory diseases and it seems like about 1 of 3 are cured or at least get better after 3 months drinking 3 cups of herbal tea daily.

    There are large meadows and deciduous forests around the village of Siklód and we followed Mr. Balazs on a herb-collecting hike. In addition to wearing an apron with lots of pockets, he always had a pair of hand pruners ready to cut some herbs and put them in one of his many pockets. He flitted from one group of herbs to another one, always cutting them carefully and leaving at least half, seemingly never hesitating which herbs he should collect. When we returned to the village, where we had a beer at the only place selling it, then sitting outside we could watch the daily procession of cows and goats returning from grazing a local meadow before going home to their owners in order to be milked.

    Having got home, Mr. Balazs used a special kind of tool in order to cut up the herbs, then laying them on a coarse netting surrounded by a wooden frame. Finally, he inserted the frame into a solar oven, through which hot air would flow and dry the herbs quickly the next morning.

    Next, my guide made a wonderful goulash, which felt like the end of a fantastic holiday.

    If somebody wants to make their own goulash, here is a recipe.