Nettle and fireweed
Two northern European leaves drunk as everyday infusions, one plain and green, the other fermented and surprisingly close to black tea.
botanical
What is being compared
Point by point
| Aspect | Nettle | Fireweed |
|---|---|---|
| Processing | Simply dried. What you drink is the plain leaf. | Bruised, oxidised and dried like black tea, which changes it completely. |
| Taste | Green, mineral and slightly savoury — closer to a vegetable broth than to tea. | Malty and fruity with real body. The most convincing caffeine-free stand-in for black tea there is. |
| The sting | Gone entirely once dried or steeped. Handling the fresh plant is a different matter. | Never stings. The plant has no such defence. |
| Tradition | Widely gathered across Europe and drunk plain. | Was Russia’s principal hot drink before imported tea displaced it, and is being revived. |
The short answer
Fireweed is the better drink and the harder one to buy well made. Nettle is easy to find and rewards being treated as a savoury infusion rather than as a tea substitute.
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