Richards has an extensive menu of herbal blends to choose from, but many people want something created just for them. A typical exchange involves the customer describing what’s bothering him or her (say a headache, an upset stomach or an allergy flare up). Then Richards asks about specific symptoms (sinus pressure? Itchy eyes? A sore throat?). Using the answers and the person’s dominant dosha (more on that later), she crafts a custom herbal blend.
It’s all very simple and straightforward. But at the same time you get the feeling you’ve managed to step back in time to an era when bile green concoctions like NyQuil hadn’t been invented yet and people looked at plants the way we now view Sudafed. It’s the sort of place where you wouldn’t be surprised to see Pocahontas waltz through the door. (Okay, you would be surprised, seeing she’s dead and all, but if she was alive and in need of some red clover blossoms or ginseng root, this is where she’d go.)
Natural flu busters
Since we’re in the depths of cold and flu season (and everyone around me seems to be going down like NFL running backs who have been hit with nasty bouts of fever, chills and vomiting), I decided it was time to trek up Munjoy Hill and find out how I can ensure I don’t succumb to a similar fate.
The first thing Richards did was hook me up with The Flu Shot. A mixture of fresh pressed garlic, minced ginger root, just squeezed lemon juice, honey and hot water, the drink tasted more like a savory Asian soup than an herbal tea. It was ridiculously good tasting, and I could have downed a few more. (Instead I made a note to self: Don’t breathe on anyone for the next 24 hours.)
“The Flu Shot is most effective at the onset of a cold or flu,” Richards explained. “It cleanses the blood and gives an immune boost. And it’s delicious. I think that’s why people really like it.”
Her other go-to blend at this time of year is Sniffle Tea with a Sore Throat Kiss. This blend is made up of thyme, cinnamon, ginger, catnip, lemon juice, licorice and slippery elm root. Depending on a person’s symptoms and needs, Richards adds in extra herbs.
“Everybody’s cold tea is a little different,” Richards said. “But everyone benefits from certain herbs recognized by Western medicine and Eastern herbology.”
Do the dosha
From her apothecary lined with jars of herbs and dried roots, Richards practices an Ayurvedic system of herbal medicine based on balancing the body’s vital elements (space, air, fire, water and earth). Ayurveda comes to us from India and has been in use for thousands of years (unlike our newfangled Western obsession with pharmaceuticals). According to this medical tradition, each of us can be classified according to our dominate body type, or dosha. These are known as vata, pitta and kapha. At the most basic level, vatas tend to be thin, kaphas more heavy-set and pittas somewhere in the middle. For a more through explanation, I suggest you go see Richards. I’d help you out, but I’m having a mini-meltdown after reading online that my dosha type is susceptible to “mental diseases.” (I’m sure this explains a lot to those of you who know me.)
To avoid the drama of mental breakdowns (vatas), heart attacks (pittas) or stomach ulcers (kaphas), each dosha type needs to watch out for different actions and foods that will throw the body into imbalance and bring on a cold or other illness.
As Richards explained: “A vata type probably got the cold because she was hurried and didn’t eat enough and didn’t drink enough water, so she added more air to her type. The kapha type was probably staying home, eating too much dairy ... the pitta was eating too many fiery foods, caffeine and salty foods.”
And when things get out of whack, specific herbs can help get you back to where you want to be.
“Determining what is out of balance is the key to determining which herbs are needed to boost the immune system,” Richards explains.
Each time she mixes up an herbal blend, Richards, a former Portland public school teacher, carefully explains which herbs she’s putting in and why. Her ability to make complex ideas easy to understand combined with the effectiveness of her cures has won Richards many fans.
One regular who appreciates the herbal medicines at Homegrown Herb & Tea is Anna Maria Tocci, who is a co-owner of the nearby North Star Café. She popped in to pick up some Sniffle Tea while Richards was giving me a dosha lesson.
“The first time I had it was phenomenal,” Tocci said. “I’m hooked.”
And with that, one more satisfied customer headed back out into the cold, and Richards set to work helping her next patient. As for me, I’m feeling great. With the minor exception of my newfound worries about becoming unhinged at any moment. I guess I need to head back up the Hill and find out what I can do to keep that little problem at bay. If I don’t, you’ll recognize me on the street. I’ll be the one raving about doshas.