I’ll be upfront about this…I sat on this herbal tisane for quite some time before giving it a sip!
The herbal tea I’m referring to is the currently sold out Organic Egoma Tea (also known as Perilla Leaf) on the Yunomi’s website. Egoma is a kind of perilla leaf, related to the shiso perilla leaf commonly served with sashimi (raw fish cuts) at sushi restaurants. Because I follow a vegan diet I do not eat raw fish nor did I have much knowledge about this connection because of it.
What I did find out – thru my own personal research – is that Perilla is an annual plant native to Southeast Asia and Indian highlands, and grown in the Korean peninsula, Southern China and India.
Thanks to Wiki…I found out it’s an annual plant growing 60–90 centimeters (or 24–35 in) tall, with hairy square stalks with the leaves being 7–12 centimeters (2.8–4.7 in) long and 5–8 centimeters (2.0–3.1 in) wide, with a broad oval shape, pointy ends, serrated (saw-toothed) margins, and long leafstalks. The leaves are green with occasional touches of purple on the underside.
The flowers of the plant bloom on racemes at the end of branches and the main stalk in August and September. The calyx, 3–4 millimeters (0.12–0.16 in) long, consist of upper three sepals and the hairy lower two. The corolla is 4–5 millimeters (0.16–0.20 in) long with its lower lip longer than the upper. Two of the four stamens are long.
The research I found went on to describe the fruit, too, but because this tisane uses only the herb of the plant I will end my description there.
Because I’m always intrigued by what plants have to offer to the human body I then found out about the potential benefits. Perilla seeds are rich in dietary fiber and dietary minerals such as calcium, iron, niacin, protein, and thiamine – as well as – dietary fiber and dietary minerals, such as calcium, iron, potassium, and vitamins A, C and riboflavin. Perilla seed oil has anti-inflammatory properties, and perilla leaf components are under preliminary research for potential anti-inflammatory properties. Perilla oil, with one of the highest proportion of omega-3 fatty acids, is beneficial to human health and in prevention of various diseases like cardiovascular disorders, cancer, inflammatory and rheumatoid arthritis, and others.
As far as the specific leaf in this offering on the Yunomi website I found out that it comes from the Chasandai Tea Factory.
Onto the actual herbal tea bag itself! We’re talking about Shimane-grown Organic Egoma Herbal Tea Bags from Chasandai Tea Factory in the Shimane Prefecture region. It’s classified as a Finishing Factory, was established in 1911, has 33 employees, and the CEO is Akemi Miyo.
One of the reasons it took me a while before blogging about this is because of the aroma. To be honest, I really wasn’t digging it. Dry – it smelled a little like glue…glue and herbs, basically. I was a little afraid that the herbal flavor was going to be so intense I would have a hard time with it but I was WRONG! The flavor was fairly mellow. Sure it was an herbal but it was a nice herbal. A comforting herbal tisane…that I didn’t have a problem at all sipping on. It was even a little sweet, a little savory, and possible even a little croissant-like. Those were my first impressions, too, and the more I sipped on it the more I enjoyed it.
This is a classic case of NOT pre-judging it purely based on aroma. Shame on me, eh!? I should have known better because I hate the smell of Valerian Root but LOVE the benefits. I think I will throw this herb and tisane offering in that category of ‘things I need to add into rotation but might need to plug my nose while steeping’.
I’m looking forward to more herbals like this. I might make it a personal goal to find other new-to-me-herbals to blog about here at SororiTea Sisters.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Yunomi
Description
- Name: Shimane-grown Organic Egoma Herbal Tea Bags
- Net weight: 12g (2g x 6bags)
- Ingredients: Shimane-grown Organic Egoma leaf
- Supplier: Chasandai Tea Factory
- Location: Shimane Prefecture
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
