From the sky you send rain on the hills, and the earth is filled with your blessings.  You make grass grow for the cattle and herbs for us to use… (Ps 104, 13-14).

Origins

Like many other people when the Covid lockdown was imposed in March 2020, our Community was searching how to be more respectful to our planet. Travel responsibly? Eat sustainably? Be more careful about what we buy? Reduce our waste? We were also reflecting on our carbon imprint, and on the fossil fuel energy we use to earn our living.

The Tisanes de Taizé (Taizé Herbal Teas) project was born.

These herbal teas are from plants grown without artificial fertilizers and pesticides in the community’s herb garden (a surface of 1,800 square metres), or sourced responsibly from the fields, hedgerows, and woodlands near Taizé. These are some of the plants used: Allium ursinum, Primula veris, Achillea millefolium, Sambucus, Papaver rhoeas, Hypericum perforatum, Mentha aquatica, Tilia, Crataegus.

The teas are air-dried in the dark under the roof of an old barn and are packed in fully recyclable (or compostable) packaging. The blends are from traditional recipes (for example, from Hippocrates of Kos, Pliny, Confucius, Hildegard of Bingen, John Bartram), or else are new creations blended for their health properties and their taste. When spices are added to a herb tea blend they are Fair-trade-sourced ingredients bought by the community, to support small sustainable farming projects in Asia, Africa, Central and South America.

The variety of herbal teas on sale changes according to season, depending on weather conditions and the availability of the different plants used.

Several brothers work on this project each according to their own capacity and where possible their inclination for gardening, foraging, or logistics. Older brothers (80–99 years old!) process and package the herbs. Since Spring 2024 we have been able to employ a local person for 27 hours a week to work in the garden.

Sel et Terre Sea Salt mixed with herbs

For seasoning stews, for use as a barbecue spice rub, or for sprinkling on salads and sandwiches, this product can also help reduce salt in one’s diet (the herbs add flavour so you use less salt).

We procure our sea salt from a cooperative of 70 farmers founded in 1927 on the Île de Ré (Atlantic Coast, France). Sea salt is produced in salt marshes, which are shallow basins that hold seawater. The water evaporates in the sun, leaving the salt behind.

Our Herbed Sea Salts are crafted with fresh herbs from our own garden, or sourced in the natural environment around Taizé. The herbs are processed within 12 hours of harvesting to maximize freshness and taste. One kilogram of fresh herbs are mixed with two kilograms of salt, and left to macerate for several day or weeks, depending on the plant used. The mixture is then dried and sifted. Since Autumn 2024 we use an electric dehydrator to speed up the process, powered with electricity from our solar panels.

Health

Unfortunately we cannot make any health claims for our products, for example by highlighting particular health benefits on the label, because the European Commission and the Member States have not agreed on a procedure for the evaluation of such claims. Herbal infusions have yet to be evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority.

But we think we can tell you:

“God said, Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food” (Genesis 1:29).

and

“Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, than to eat the finest steak where there is hate” (Proverbs 15:17).