Chef Dimitra
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Olympus Mountain Tea (Tsai tou Vounou, Τσάι του Βουνού)
Created by
On Olympus, tsai tou vounou is whole Sideritis scardica steeped gently, not boiled flat, then sweetened with thyme honey and lemon when the mountain cold reaches the bones.
Beverages
Greek
Comfort Food
2 min
Active Time
13 min cook•15 min total
Yield4 cups
Olympus tsai tou vounou is not tea from leaves, and it isn't black tea made gentle. It is whole dried flowering stalks of Sideritis scardica, gathered from the high slopes around Olympus, pale green and silver, with a scent of thyme, hay, and clean stone. In winter it sits beside the bed, beside the homework, beside the person who has caught a chill.
The method is almost nothing, which is why it has to be right. Bring the water to a boil, pull it off the heat, tuck in the whole stalks, cover the pot, and leave it alone for ten minutes. Boil it hard and the fragrance thins out, like a good voice shouted hoarse. Covered and quiet, it gives a golden infusion without bitterness.
Sweeten it after straining, if you like, with Greek thyme honey, and squeeze lemon in only at the cup. My mother kept Sideritis in a paper bag in Thessaloniki, and every house I knew had its own mountain in the cupboard: Olympus, Parnassos, Taygetos, Crete. The region is the dish's surname, even for a cup of tea.
Sideritis has been named in Greek medical writing since antiquity; Dioscorides, in the first century CE, described sideritis as an herb associated with wounds from iron, sideros in Greek. Today's tsai tou vounou is not one plant but a regional family: Sideritis scardica around Olympus and northern Greece, Sideritis raeseri on Parnassos, Sideritis clandestina on Taygetos, and malotira in Crete. Because wild stands were thinned by heavy gathering in the twentieth century, cultivated Greek Sideritis is now the better choice for a household pot.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh water
Quantity
1 litre
dried Sideritis scardica (tsai tou vounou)
Quantity
8g
whole flowering stalks, lightly bent to fit the pot
Greek thyme honey (optional)
Quantity
40g
lemon (optional)
Quantity
1
cut into wedges or thin slices
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh water | 1 litre |
| dried Sideritis scardica (tsai tou vounou)whole flowering stalks, lightly bent to fit the pot | 8g |
| Greek thyme honey (optional) | 40g |
| lemon (optional)cut into wedges or thin slices | 1 |
Equipment Needed
- •small saucepan or kettle, 1.5 litre
- •teapot with lid, 1 litre
- •fine sieve
Instructions
- 1
Set the pot
Put 1 litre of fresh water in a small saucepan or kettle. Bend the dried Sideritis stalks gently so they fit the pot, but don't crush them into dust. The flowers, leaves, and thin stems all go in.
- 2
Boil the water
Bring the water just to a full boil, then take it off the heat. Wait half a minute so the violence leaves the water. This tea wants hot water, not punishment.
- 3
Steep it covered
Add the Sideritis, press the stalks under the water with a spoon, and cover the pot at once. Leave it for 10 minutes. The lid is the whole trick here: covered and off the boil, the mountain scent stays in the cup instead of disappearing into the kitchen.
If you like it stronger, use 10g tea for the same water. Don't keep boiling it to make it darker. That gives you a flatter, more bitter cup. - 4
Strain and finish
Strain into cups or a warmed teapot. Stir in honey while the tea is hot, if you're using it, and add lemon at the cup so each person can choose. It should be pale gold, herbal, and clean, with no harshness at the back of the tongue.
Chef Tips
- •Buy whole dried flowering stalks, not dusty tea bags if you can help it. Good Sideritis should smell herbal and clean when you open the bundle. If it smells like an old cupboard, it has given you everything it had.
- •Use cultivated Greek Sideritis when you can find it. Wild mountain herbs are not endless, whatever the market man says. Λίγα και καλά: a small bundle from a careful grower is better than a sack of tired stems.
- •Honey is traditional at the sickbed and in the winter cup, but the tea is good unsweetened. For a strict vegan table, use a little petimezi (grape molasses) or leave it plain. The fasting kitchen already knows how to be restrained.
Advance Preparation
- •No soaking or advance preparation is needed; the whole pot takes about 15 minutes.
- •Store dried Sideritis for 6 to 12 months in a tin or paper bag away from light. Once the scent fades, the tea will taste flat.
- •You can make a second, lighter pot from the same stalks within an hour: add 750ml just-boiled water, cover, and steep for 12 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 260g)
Calories
35 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
2 mg
Total Carbohydrates
9 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
9 g
Protein
0 g
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