Leaves and Snails

Welcome to Leaves and Snails online tea shop!

I channelled my love of foraging and mixing herbs into a small tea making business. 

I forage and collect leaves and herbs from local woods, farms and gardens and grow some herbs myself. I ferment and dry leaves and mix my teas at my home in Elrick, Aberdeenshire.

Why Leaves?

The base leaf for my tea mixes comes from the common, but often overlooked Rosebay Willow Herb, which I combine with other flavourful leaves. I collect leaves with care, leaving flowers for bees.

Why Snails?

Snails love Rosebay Willow Herb, so they are natural ambassadors for my product! Many of them end up in my kitchen after leaf picking!

Warning: No snails are used in tea making!
Why fermenting?
Most of the leaves for tea go through the fermentation process. Fermentation is a complex chemical and biological process, which transforms the insoluble (non-extractable) substances of the leaf into soluble and easily digestible and more nutritious. Preparation of tea leaves consists of 4 stages: Withering, Rolling, Fermenting and Drying. This process takes around 3 days.
Herbs with a high essential oil content, like mint, thyme, lemon balm, and oregano, do not go through fermentation, only drying.
Leaves and Snail tea mixes are not medicinal, but have health benefits, due to the vitamin content in the ingredients. For example: Rosebay Willow Herb, which grows widely (and wildly) in Aberdeenshire, when fermented can promote relaxation; help with digestive issues, improve mood and concentration and support the immune system. It is rich in vitamin A and C, also contains vitamins B1, B2, B6, B9, potassium magnesium, iron and selenium.

I find the ritual of collecting leaves, mixing them with herbs and making tea incredibly therapeutic and hope my product will help you to connect with nature and your inner self.

Look for the answers in a teapot with Leaves and Snails tea!

​

​