Framboos

Raspberry leaf is the leaf of Rubus idaeus, the thorny Rosaceae shrub that gives the red raspberry. Far beyond her fruit, her leaf has been known since Greek Antiquity as "the women's herb" — companion of the feminine cycle from first menstruation to menopause. INFUSE offers her as whole organic leaves from France, as tea or as non-tobacco smoking base.

Across ancient Greece, European midwives, Cherokee and Algonquin women, Slavic tradition and French folk medicine, raspberry leaf is the plant of the feminine cycle and bodily transitions — menstruation, end of pregnancy, postpartum, menopause. She is one of the rare plants that tradition accompanies throughout a woman's life.

Place about a teaspoon of whole leaves in 250 ml of simmering water (around 80°C, never boiling), cover and let infuse 5 to 10 minutes, then strain. Feminine tradition also knows the long infusion — a large handful of leaves in one litre, left several hours, for a nourishing drink to sip during the day.

The tradition of European midwives reserves this use for the last trimester, never in early pregnancy, and always under the watch of a midwife or healthcare professional. INFUSE gives no medical advice — we transmit an ancient transcultural use and invite each woman to be accompanied.

Yes — in Europe, raspberry leaf has served for centuries as a non-tobacco smoking blend base. Her cottony texture and her neutral, lightly fruity taste make her a soft base, without nicotine or addictive substance. Any smoke remains smoke however — vaporisation is gentler for regular use.

The short infusion (5 to 10 minutes) gives a light, fruity, everyday tea. The long infusion (several hours, sometimes overnight) extracts more of the leaf's minerals and gives a denser drink — it is the herbalists' "nutritive" way, to drink fresh or warm during the day.

Because cultures separated by oceans and centuries — ancient Greeks, English midwives, Cherokee women, Slavic grandmothers — arrived independently at the same conclusion: raspberry leaf accompanies the feminine cycle at all her ages. This transcultural convergence is one of the strongest signatures of a traditional plant.

She counts among the gentlest plants of European pharmacopoeias. Caution applies mostly to early pregnancy (to avoid before the last trimester), history of miscarriage, and Rosaceae allergy, rare. In case of medical treatment, signal her use to your practitioner. Do your own research (DYOR).