Smoking Sage, Organic Fine Cut (Salvia officinalis)

The first to talk about it?

✦ Garden Sage · in one breath ✦

Bitter and herbaceous: a leaf of character that gives the smoking blend its body and its scent.

Daily

Signature INFUSEIntensity · scored out of 10

Intensity · scored out of 10
aromatic herb for smoking		10/10
bitter, herbaceous taste		9/10
fine cut for rolling		9/10
memory of Europe's gardens		9/10
herb for pairing		8/10

Register Holy Sage of Europe's gardens, finely cut leaf for smoking blends, bitter and herbaceous taste, scent of the Mediterranean · Mullein (soft base) · Calea, Blue Lotus, Pink Lotus stamens, CBD flower · organic farming, France

⊹ The path of the plant

Essence

⊹ CHAPTER II · ESSENCE ⊹

The Holy Sage, the herb of Europe's gardens.

Its Latin name, salvia, comes from salvus: safe and sound. Charlemagne has it grown in the gardens of his estates, the monk Walahfrid Strabo gives it first place in his poem, and the Provençal legend tells how it hid the Virgin and the Child from Herod's soldiers. Coming out of her refuge, Mary blessed it: « Sauge, Sauge sainte ! grand merci ! » (Sage, holy Sage! Many thanks!)

Our garden sage is certified organic, grown in France, and finely cut, especially for smokers. It is one of our favorites for composing a tobacco-free smoking blend: a grey-green leaf with a bitter, herbaceous taste, frank, carrying the warm scent of the Mediterranean, its native land. It gives the blend its aromatic body.

On a soft base of Mullein, it pairs with Calea, Blue Lotus, Pink Lotus stamens, a CBD flower. A base, a plant of character, and the flavors are yours.

𖥸𖥸𖥸

Also to discover: the other sage, our White Sage in sticks, for the smoke that cleanses the space.

Tradition

⊹ CHAPTER III · TRADITION ⊹

The name. Salvia comes from the Latin salvus, “safe and sound.” Officinalis refers to the officina, the storeroom where monasteries kept their herbs. In the first century, Pliny the Elder describes it in his Natural History (Book XXII): the elelisphakos of the Greeks, the salvia of the Latins, a plant resembling mint, white and fragrant.

Charlemagne's gardens. Around the year 800, the Capitulare de Villis, Charlemagne's ordinance on his estates, lists in chapter 70 the plants to be grown in the imperial gardens. Sage appears there, salviam, between costus and rue. Some forty years later, on the island of Reichenau, on the shore of Lake Constance, the monk Walahfrid Strabo writes the Hortulus, the poem of his little garden: sage leads the way, first of the twenty-four plants he sings.

The verse of Salerno. The Regimen sanitatis Salernitanum, a medieval poem placed under the name of the medical school of Salerno (12th or 13th century), devotes its most famous line to it: Cur moriatur homo cui salvia crescit in horto ? “Why should a man die whose sage grows in his garden?” The poem answers itself, with humility: Contra vim mortis non est medicamen in hortis, against the power of death, the gardens hold no remedy.

The Holy Sage. Provence tells of the flight of the Holy Family. Herod's soldiers search the countryside; Mary asks the flowers for refuge, and the sage opens, spreads its leaves and hides the mother and the Child. When the soldiers have passed, Mary strokes it with her hand and blesses it. The Provençal poet Joseph Roumanille drew from it his tale La sauge, in the 19th century: « Sauge, Sauge sainte ! grand merci ! » (Sage, holy Sage! Many thanks!)

From Chinese tea to the pipe. Sage has travelled far. Maud Grieve recounts, in A Modern Herbal (1931), that the Chinese traded Dutch merchants three times the quantity of their finest tea for it. She also reports that its dried leaves were smoked in pipes. At INFUSE, sage enters smoking blends for its taste: bitter, herbaceous, aromatic.

The other sage. White Sage (Salvia apiana), sacred to the nations of California, belongs to the same genus: it is the sage of smudge sticks, burned to cleanse the space. Garden sage is the sage of Europe's gardens, of the kitchen and of rolling blends.

Preparation

⊹ CHAPTER IV · PREPARATION ⊹

INFUSE offers garden sage as a fine-cut leaf, made for smokers, in 30 g, 60 g and 90 g pouches. A bitter, herbaceous, aromatic taste: an herb of character.

In a smoking blend. The fine cut is ready to roll. Sage carries the taste of the blend: it goes in as the aromatic part, on a soft base of Mullein; on its own, its bitterness is frank. Plants to pair according to the evening: Calea zacatechichi, Blue Lotus, Pink Lotus stamens, Damiana, a CBD flower. Mullein brings the softness, sage the scent, the other plants their character.

As an infusion. This is also the sage of Europe's kitchens and herbal teas: a teaspoon of leaves in a cup of simmering water, 5 to 10 minutes covered, then strain. A cup now and then.

Suggested ritual

The evening blend

To compose your own smoking blend, by hand.

The base: a good pinch of Mullein, crumbled between the palms.
The scent: a pinch of fine-cut sage, for the green bitterness.
The character: a plant chosen for the evening, Calea, Blue Lotus, Pink Lotus stamens, or a CBD flower.
Mix with your fingertips, feel the scent of the sage rise.
Roll slowly, with respect for the plants that go into it.

Cautions

☀︎ Cautions

Smoking blends: smoking any plant, whatever it is, exposes the airways to combustion. Sage goes into blends with neither tobacco nor nicotine, and all smoke remains irritating to the lungs.

Thujone: sage leaf contains thujone, a molecule that is toxic in high doses. As an infusion, a cup now and then; the European Medicines Agency limits leaf preparations to two weeks of continuous use. If you have epilepsy, ask a doctor's advice.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding: avoid (insufficient safety data, European Medicines Agency).

Allergies to Lamiaceae (mint, rosemary, thyme…): avoid in case of a known sensitivity to this botanical family.

Legality: an aromatic plant freely available in France and in the European Union. Some countries regulate the distance selling of herbal smoking products (Netherlands, Belgium): check the rules in your country.

Reserved for adults (18 and over).

If in doubt: your doctor before the plant. This page tells of a tradition, a legend and a taste, and it is no medical protocol.

⊹ FREQUENT QUESTIONS ⊹

We answer.

What is garden sage (Salvia officinalis)?

Garden sage is an aromatic plant of the Lamiaceae family, native to the Mediterranean basin, with grey-green leaves and a warm scent. Pliny the Elder describes it in the first century, and Charlemagne has it grown on his estates around the year 800 (Capitulare de Villis). Ours is certified organic, grown in France, and finely cut for smoking blends.

Can you smoke sage?

Yes: finely cut, its leaf goes into smoking blends with neither tobacco nor nicotine, for its bitter, herbaceous taste. Maud Grieve already reported that its dried leaves were smoked in pipes (A Modern Herbal, 1931). All smoke, even from plants, irritates and damages the lungs. Reserved for adults (18 and over).

What does smoking sage taste like?

Bitter and herbaceous, frank, aromatic, with the warm scent of kitchen sage. On its own, its bitterness is pronounced; on a soft mullein base, it gives the blend its body and its scent.

What can you mix smoking sage with?

On a soft mullein base, sage brings the scent. Add a plant of character according to the evening: Calea zacatechichi, blue lotus, pink lotus stamens, damiana, or a CBD flower.

What is the difference between garden sage and white sage?

They are two plants of the same genus. White sage (Salvia apiana), sacred to the nations of California, is burned as a smudge stick to cleanse the space. Garden sage (Salvia officinalis) is the sage of Europe's gardens: at INFUSE, it is finely cut for rolling blends.

What precautions apply to sage?

All smoke irritates the lungs. The leaf contains thujone, toxic in high doses: as an infusion, a cup now and then, for two weeks at most according to the European Medicines Agency. Avoid during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and with an allergy to Lamiaceae; with epilepsy, seek medical advice. Reserved for adults.

All questions

Is sage legal?

Yes, Salvia officinalis is an aromatic plant freely available in France and in the European Union. Some countries regulate the distance selling of herbal smoking products, such as the Netherlands and Belgium: check the rules in your country.

⊹ Chapter · Questions ⊹

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