Mullein (Verbascum thapsus): tea and smoking base

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4.4/55 reviews, including 1 left on our Etsy shop

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coupe trop grossière pour tout fumer ! Soit 1/3 de gaspillage non fumable .. Dommage car la Molène est qualifiée d'alliée des poumons ...
cyril falguières
Daily · verified purchase · 28 October 2024

✦ Mullein · in one breath ✦

Soft and neutral — a smooth base for tobacco-free blends, and an easy-drinking infusion.

Daily

Signature INFUSEIntensity · scored out of 10

Intensity · scored out of 10
neutral smoking-base		10/10
soft neutral taste		9/10
felt leaf		9/10
herb to blend		8/10
gentle infusion		8/10

Register felt leaf, neutral base for tobacco-free blends, gentle barely-sweet taste, smooth infusion · raspberry leaf (base recipe) · Calea, Mexican tarragon, Blue lotus, poppy petals · organic farming, France

⊹ The path of the plant

Essence

⊹ CHAPTER II · ESSENCE ⊹

The felt leaf — a gentle base for tobacco-free blends.

Our mullein is certified organic, grown close to home, in France. Her downy leaves, with their neutral, smooth taste, barely sweet, make her an herb that is easy to blend.

She is an all-gentle base for composing your own tobacco-free blend: her cottony texture lights up with ease and leaves all the room to the plants you add to her. For a fruitier note, she is paired with organic raspberry leaf. Once the base is made, the flavours and the characters are yours: Calea Zacatechichi, Mexican tarragon, Blue lotus, pink lotus stamens, poppy petals…

She is also enjoyed as a simple infusion: one to two teaspoons of dried leaves in a cup of hot water, ten to fifteen minutes, then strain — a soft, smooth drink.

ᚸᚸᚸ

Also to discover: our ready-to-use Indian Mix.

Tradition

⊹ CHAPTER III · TRADITION ⊹

Mullein runs through the written history of Western herbalism as few other plants do. Pliny the Elder and Dioscorides mention her from the first century. Hildegard of Bingen sets her down in the twelfth in her Physica, under the name Wullena, for the voice and the breathing — and in the medieval monasteries she accompanied the liturgical chants. On the other side of the Atlantic, planted by the European settlers, she naturalised so well that many Native American nations adopted her into their own practices — her use is found among the Cherokee, the Iroquois, the Hopi, the Abenaki, and in the traditions of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Two thousand years of documented use, on two continents: she is a plant of long memory.

Her felted leaves earned her a shower of popular names: Bouillon-Blanc, Our Lady's Candle, Saint Fiacre's Herb, Quaker's blanket — a whole belonging to the familiar flora of roadsides and cloisters. Three gestures return in that memory. The breath, first: the dried leaf enters the teas of the breathing, married with other softening plants such as marsh mallow. The leaf to smoke, next: mullein is one of the classic bases of tobacco-free smoking blends — neutral, soft, with no dominant flavour, she serves as the foundation for more aromatic herbs. It is on that account that she enters, at INFUSE, into tobacco-free blends, by tradition of use. The flowers, finally: they are classically made into an ear oil (often with garlic and St John's wort), a gesture of popular care passed down from generation to generation.

Mullein makes no noise. She gives no visions, opens no portals. She softens, she lines, she accompanies the breath. She is a plant of the everyday in the noble sense: the one taken in the evening, without ceremony, and which has kept its modest promise for two millennia.

Preparation

⊹ CHAPTER IV · PREPARATION ⊹

INFUSE offers mullein as whole dried leaves, in 30 g and 60 g pouches. A light, smooth, faintly sweet taste — a versatile herb, above all as a smoking base and as a soothing infusion.

As an infusion (the evening gesture). Tradition typically uses a teaspoon of leaves in a cup of simmering water (around 80 °C — not boiling, to preserve the mucilages), left to infuse 5 to 10 minutes. Always strain carefully: the fine star-shaped hairs on the underside of the leaf can irritate the throat if they are not held back. A muslin or a fine filter does the job perfectly. Rather in the evening, as a tea that settles.

As a tobacco-free smoking base. Her cottony texture lights gently and her neutral ground leaves all the room to the signature plants added in layers. A rounder variant: a pinch of raspberry leaves. Signature plants to marry according to the intention: Damiana, Mugwort, Calea zacatechichi, Wild Dagga, Wild Poppy petals, Pink Lotus stamens. Mullein brings the body and the softness, the others bring the character.

As a flower oil (traditional gesture). Folklore prepares an ear oil from the flowers (sometimes with garlic and St John's wort). INFUSE sells the leaf.

Suggested ritual

The tea of the settled breath

For the evening, when you want to offer something soft to your breathing.

Bring the water to a simmer without boiling it (~80 °C). While it heats, take a real minute — put the phone down, feel the breath come in and go out, without forcing it
A teaspoon of leaves in the cup, the water poured over it, 5 to 10 minutes covered. Watch the water tint gently
Strain with care — this is non-negotiable with mullein: hold back the hairs, keep only the clear liquid
Drink slowly, in small sips, letting the softness line the throat. Feel the warmth go down. No goal to reach — just a breath accompanied
To roll by hand: roll your blend slowly, with respect for the plants that go into it. The gesture counts as much as the plant

Cautions

☀︎ Cautions

Straining is obligatory. The fine star-shaped hairs on the underside of the leaves can irritate the throat (in a tea) or the skin (in external use). Always strain the tea carefully; for external application, wrap the leaf in a muslin or a cheesecloth.

Ear oil — important contraindication. Mullein flower oil must never be used in case of a severe ear infection or a suspected perforated eardrum: it would make that kind of infection worse. In case of persistent ear pain, consult a doctor before doing anything.

Allergies to Scrophulariaceae: avoid in case of a known sensitivity to this botanical family.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding: insufficient data. Avoid smoked plants; seek the advice of a health professional before any sustained use as a tea.

Smoking blends: smoking any plant, whatever it is, exposes the airways to combustion. Mullein serves as the base for blends with neither tobacco nor nicotine, but no smoke is without effect on the lungs.

Legality: freely available in France and in the European Union.

Reserved for adults (18+).

If in doubt: your doctor before the plant. This page documents a traditional use and a folklore, not a medical protocol.

⊹ FREQUENT QUESTIONS ⊹

We answer.

What is mullein (Verbascum thapsus)?

Mullein is a biennial plant of Europe and North America with felt-like fluffy leaves and an upright flowering stalk that can exceed two metres. Known since Pliny and Dioscorides, used by European herbalism and Native American traditions (Cherokee, Iroquois, Hopi) as a plant of the breath and throat, and as a soft base for tobacco-free smoking blends.

How do you prepare mullein tea?

One teaspoon of leaves in steaming water around 80 °C — not boiling, to preserve mucilages. Steep 5 to 10 minutes then filter carefully through muslin or a fine filter. Filtration is non-negotiable: the fine star-shaped hairs under the leaves can irritate the throat if not strained out.

Can you smoke mullein?

Yes: her leaf is the classic base of smoking blends with neither tobacco nor nicotine. Several North American peoples smoked her after she arrived from Europe (Moerman, Native American Ethnobotany). All smoke, even from plants, irritates and damages the lungs, and no study shows a benefit from her smoke. Reserved for adults (18+).

How do you prepare mullein for smoking?

Crumble the dry leaves between your palms until they turn to a soft, cottony fluff. Mullein is a base, mild and neutral; on her own she tastes of little. Blend her with raspberry leaf for a fruitier mix, then add a pinch of a plant with character: damiana, mugwort, rose petals, blue lotus, Mexican tarragon. To make the blend sweeter, toast it for ten seconds in a hot dry pan, starting with a small amount. Our Herbal'mix and Indian'mix are ready-made blends. Reserved for adults (18+).

Does smoking mullein clean your lungs?

No study shows it. The "lung cleanse" travels widely online; every smoke, mullein's included, carries tar, fine particles and carbon monoxide into the lungs, and since 2000 the US Federal Trade Commission has required herbal cigarette makers to say so on the pack. Mullein's European reputation for the throat belongs to her tea. Her smoke has another story: after she arrived from Europe, the Menominee smoked her "as an Indian tobacco", and so did the Hopi, Iroquois, Navajo, Penobscot and other peoples (Moerman, Native American Ethnobotany).

Why use mullein as a tobacco-free smoking base?

Its cottony texture lights with softness, its taste is neutral and smooth, and it contains neither nicotine nor psychoactive. It is the classic base of European smoking blends — paired with raspberry leaf, or more aromatic herbs (Damiana, Mugwort, Wild Dagga) for character.

All questions

Do you need to filter mullein tea?

Yes, always, and carefully. The fine star-shaped hairs under the leaves can irritate the throat if left through. Muslin, a fine cloth or a coffee filter work perfectly.

What precautions with mullein?

Always filter the tea. Flower oil for the ears must never be used in case of perforated eardrum or severe ear infection — consult a doctor first. Avoid in case of allergy to Scrophulariaceae. During pregnancy, breastfeeding and in children: professional advice before any sustained use.

Is mullein legal?

Yes. Freely sold in France and the European Union.

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