Dried Herbs

VIRGINIA FARM-BASED APOTHECARY

Dried herbs, sold one plant at a time. This is our loose herb shelf — single botanicals, cut and sifted, in 0.5 oz and 1 oz sizes rather than pound bags. Buy the one herb you actually need, learn what it does in a cup, and build your own blends from there.

Sold By The Ounce0.5 oz to try, 1 oz when you know you like it. No pound bags.

One Plant Per BagSingle herbs, cut and sifted. Nothing blended in, nothing hidden.

Packed To OrderSmall lots, packed as ordered, so what arrives still smells like something.

Blend Them YourselfEvery page tells you which other herbs it pairs with and why.

Bulk Herbs, Without The Bulk

Most places that sell loose herbs sell them by the pound, which is wonderful if you run a clinic and wasteful if you are making one cup at a time. A pound of mullein will outlive its own smell long before you finish it. We pack the same cut-and-sifted herbs in half-ounce and one-ounce sizes so the bag on your shelf is always fresher than the bag you would have finished in three years.

How To Choose A Herb Here

Start with what you want the cup to do, not with the herb name. Below, the shelf is grouped by the job people usually buy them for. Pick one from a group, read its page — every one tells you the amount, the water temperature, the steep time, what it tastes like and which other herbs on this shelf it blends with — then add a second herb once you know the first one.

Quiet evening herbs

The cups people reach for after dinner. Most are mild on their own and better in pairs.

California Poppy
Passion Flower
Lemon Balm
Catnip Leaf & Flower
Lavender Buds
Mugwort

Cold-season & steam herbs

Bowl-of-hot-water-and-a-towel herbs, plus the soft ones that make a steam blend drinkable.

Mullein Leaf
Eucalyptus Leaf
Thyme
Elderflower
Hyssop Herb
Marshmallow Leaf

Kitchen herbs

The cooking shelf. Dried herbs are more concentrated than fresh, so they go in earlier and in smaller amounts.

Rosemary
Oregano
Thyme
Lemongrass
Lavender Buds
Peppermint Leaf

Bright, fruity & citrus

Tart reds and clean lemons. These are the herbs that make an iced pitcher worth making.

Hibiscus Flowers
Rose Hips
Lemon Verbena
Lemongrass
Lemon Balm
Spearmint Leaf

Long-infusion herbs

Herbs that give more to a jar overnight than to a mug in five minutes.

Nettle Leaf
Oat Straw
Marshmallow Leaf
Mullein Leaf

External use only

These two are never brewed and never swallowed. They belong in infused oils, salves and compresses on unbroken skin.

Arnica Flowers
Comfrey Leaf

Two herbs on this shelf are never brewed: Arnica Flowers and Comfrey Leaf are for external use only, in infused oils, salves and compresses on unbroken skin. Do not make tea from either one. Both product pages say so in several places, and we would rather repeat it than have it missed.

Blending Your Own, Briefly

A blend usually has three parts. A base that gives the cup body and little flavor — mullein, oat straw, marshmallow leaf, nettle. A lead that carries the taste — peppermint, hibiscus, lemongrass, rose hips. And an accent used at a fraction of the rest — lavender, hyssop, mugwort, rosemary. Three parts base, two parts lead, half a part accent is a starting ratio that almost always works.

Sizes & What You Get

0.5 oz — the size to try an herb you have never used, or to keep a fast-fading aromatic fresh.
1 oz — the size for an herb you already drink or cook with regularly.
Cut: cut & sifted, screened for dust and oversized stem.
Contains: one plant. No fillers, no flavoring, no anti-caking agents.
Packed to order at our Virginia farm-based apothecary.

Brewing, Steeping & Steaming Basics

Leaves and flowers — 1–2 tsp per 8 oz, water just off the boil, covered, 5–10 minutes.
Hips, stems and hard material — simmer gently 10–15 minutes instead of steeping.
Mucilage herbs (marshmallow leaf) — cold infuse in a jar for 4–8 hours.
Mineral-style long infusions (nettle, oat straw) — a heaped handful in a quart jar overnight.
Steams — a tablespoon in a bowl of hot water, towel over the head, eyes closed, five minutes.
Always cover the cup while steeping aromatics, or the good part leaves with the steam.

Storage & Freshness

Keep dried herbs airtight, out of sunlight and away from the heat of the stove. A closed jar in a cupboard beats a beautiful jar on a windowsill every time. Most cut-and-sifted leaf and flower holds its character for about a year; loud aromatics like lemon balm and lemon verbena fade sooner. The honest test is your nose: if it still smells like the plant, it is still good.

Safety, Plainly

Herbs are strong plants and a few of them interact with real medicine. Arnica and comfrey are external use only. St. John’s Wort affects how the body processes a long list of prescription drugs, including hormonal birth control. Several herbs here should be avoided in pregnancy. Sedating herbs do not mix with driving. Every product page carries its own Safety Notes section — please read it, and talk to your pharmacist or prescriber if you take anything regularly.

Our Virginia Farm-Based Apothecary Approach

We are a small apothecary, not a warehouse. We buy botanicals in small lots, smell and taste every batch before it goes on the shelf, and pack to order rather than sitting on inventory. If a lot does not smell like it should, it does not go out. That is most of the difference between a good dried herb and a dull one.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Herbs are traditional foods and botanicals, not medicine. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking prescription medication, or managing a health condition, talk with your healthcare provider before using any herb.

Dried Herbs FAQ

What does “cut and sifted” mean?

Cut and sifted means the dried plant has been chopped to a consistent small size and then screened to take out the dust and the oversized stems. It is the standard tea-and-tincture cut: big enough to strain easily, small enough to measure by the spoon.

How much dried herb do I use per cup?

As a rule of thumb, one to two teaspoons per 8 oz of water for leaves and flowers, and a little more for stems, roots and hips. Strong-flavored herbs like lavender, hyssop and mugwort want a quarter to a half teaspoon. Every product page gives its own amount.

Is 1 oz a lot?

It is more than it looks. An ounce of a light leaf like mullein or nettle is a surprisingly large bag and will make roughly 25 to 40 cups. An ounce of something dense like rose hips is a smaller bag but goes further per spoon. The 0.5 oz size exists so you can try one first.

Can I mix these together?

That is the point of buying single herbs. Every product page has a “Blending With Other Herbs” section that names specific partners from this same shelf and tells you the ratio and what the resulting cup tastes like. Start with two herbs, not five.

Are any of these not safe to drink?

Yes — Arnica Flowers and Comfrey Leaf are external use only and must never be brewed or swallowed. Several others carry real cautions around pregnancy, sedation or prescription medication, and St. John’s Wort interacts with a long list of drugs. Read the Safety Notes on each page.

How should I store dried herbs?

Airtight, out of direct light, away from the stove. Heat, light and air are what take the smell out of an herb. Whole and cut herbs generally hold their character for about a year; the loudest aromatics, like lemon balm, fade faster. Judge by smell rather than by a date.

Do you sell these in bulk?

Not by the pound. This shelf is built for people making a cup or a small batch at a time, which is why it is priced by the half ounce and the ounce. Buying small and often is also how you keep an herb cabinet that actually smells like something.

What is the difference between these and your teas?

Our teas are finished blends, built and balanced to be poured straight into a cup. These are the single ingredients. If you want to build your own blend, adjust a ratio, or use one plant on its own for cooking, steaming or infusing, this is the shelf for that.