Not-for-Sale Mountain Tea

Wild-harvested çaj mali (Sideritis) from high meadows above the Vjosa — whole stems, flowers on.

The name is the point: the mountains that grow this tea are not for sale, and neither is the story. Hand-picked in early summer above 1,000 metres, dried in shade, packed as whole stems the way every Albanian household keeps it.

The ritual: Simmer, don’t steep: stems in cold water, bring to the boil, three quiet minutes, honey if the day earned it.

Plainly stated

• Whole stems with flowers, shade-dried
• Harvested June–July, one season per batch
• Named harvest area on every pack
• Naturally caffeine-free