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Navajo Tea

A couple of weeks ago, Andy (one of my coworkers) gave me this wonderful gift. It is Greenthread Tea, Navajo Tea, Hopi Tea, or Indian tea depending on who you ask. Andy is Navajo and he says it is Navajo Tea and that is good enough for me.

His daughter picked it from a wild crop growing on the Navajo reservation. It is harvested by pinching off the stems from the main plant so it is not driven to extinction. It has to be cleaned up a bit to eliminate spider webs and so forth and then it is bundled and tied with a small bit of cloth. One bundle weighs about 5 or 6 grams and is boiled in 5 or 6 cups of water for 5 or 6 minutes.

This results in a dark yellow/orange/brown tea that has an earthy aroma and a slightly astringent taste like green tea. Andy says he sweetens it with sugar and enjoys it hot or iced. I can't wait long enough to drink it cold and think that a small amount of honey compliments it very nicely.

Supposedly, it has medicinal benefits of some sort, but I just love it for its taste.

Tags: Greenthread, Hopi, Indian, Navajo, Tea, tea

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Comment by Ron Da Bomb on August 17, 2008 at 5:34pm: Quite intriguing. As we near the end of summer and the cool autumn evenings prevail, I think this tea would be quite enjoyable. Thanks for the informative post and thanks Sarah for the link!

Comment by psychomom on August 17, 2008 at 8:00pm: We enjoyed this tea when we would travel from Utah to visit my Grandma in the summer and she called it 'cota tea'. I still drink it when I can find it but have never heard it called greenthread, thanks for the info.

Comment by Samara on August 18, 2008 at 7:14am: This is the same as cota? Or something different?

Comment by mombat on August 18, 2008 at 9:32am: Nice post
Samara,This is the same as Cota, it is called Navajo tea, Mormon tea, Cota, it is realted to the Spanish Broom plant that blooms so well here. It is good for colds and other lung stuff.

Comment by Samara on August 18, 2008 at 9:38am: I was told by a local agriculturalist that Mormon tea and cota are two different things.

Comment by Jill on August 18, 2008 at 9:39am: I recently tried this as well and really liked it. You can also use this plant to dye fabric and other natural fibers, if you don't want to drink it, that is.

Comment by Samara on August 18, 2008 at 9:44am: Mormon tea, I was told, is a natural source of ephedra, and it would make sense, then, that Mormon tea would be used as a tonic for respiratory problems.

Comment by Rich on August 18, 2008 at 10:08am: This stuff grows in abundance in any vacant lot around the city and the west mesa. Does wonders for babies with colic.

Comment by Samara on August 18, 2008 at 10:39am: which is recommended for babies w colic, Navajo or Mormon? I'd be nervous to dose a baby with ephedra