Ingredients · Herb
Dandelion Leaf
Taraxacum officinale · Asteraceae (daisy family)
What it’s like, and how to use it
- 212°F / 100°C
- Steep 10–15 minutes
- Use 1–2 tsp per 8oz
- Bitter flavor benefits from honey or lemon
- Drink between meals for best mineral absorption
How to use it
Young leaves in salads (blanched or raw — bitter like arugula). Sauteed greens with garlic and olive oil (Italian tradition). Dandelion leaf tea for diuretic support. Dandelion pesto. Added to green smoothies. Traditional French salade de pissenlit with bacon lardons and poached egg.
With food
Bacon and eggs (classic French salad). Garlic and olive oil (Italian preparation). Lemon (cuts the bitterness). Honey (sweetens the earthy flavor). Arugula and bitter greens (flavor family). Goat cheese. Walnuts.
With spices
Ginger (warming contrast to bitter coolness). Fennel seeds (carminative complement for digestive comfort). Turmeric + black pepper (anti-inflammatory stacking with luteolin). Rosemary (hepatoprotective synergy). Cinnamon (metabolic complement).
With tea
Burdock Root (the classic duo). Nettle (a nutritive partnership — minerals from both). Peppermint (a digestive addition). Milk Thistle (the traditional pairing). Dandelion Root (the whole-plant approach — leaf and root were always used differently).
Its story
Where it comes from
Native to Eurasia and now naturalised virtually worldwide — one of the most successful plant colonisers on Earth. Every part of the plant is edible. The young leaves are eaten as salad greens in France and Italy, sometimes blanched to reduce the bitterness. In Chinese medicine, pu gong ying is a heat-clearing herb. The dandelion clock is one of the most recognisable plants in the world.
What happened
The French name pissenlit — wet the bed — tells you everything about its traditional use. Arab physicians described dandelion as a diuretic in the tenth century. European herbalists have long distinguished the leaf from the root, and used them differently. The dandelion-and-burdock combination is one of the oldest partnerships in Western herbalism. Young dandelion greens have been a spring salad staple in France and Italy for centuries.
Good for
What the research looked at
Traditionally used in Herbal Medicine as a diuretic — the French name, pissenlit, says what the tradition thought of it.
Naturally rich in potassium.
A nutritive leaf, with vitamins A, C and K.
Naturally caffeine-free, green and frankly bitter — closer to rocket than to tea, and eaten as a salad green across France and Italy.
What’s in the leaf
Luteolin (flavone — anti-inflammatory, moderate GABA-A affinity). Chicoric acid (phenylpropanoid — antioxidant, may support immune function). Chlorogenic acid (same antioxidant compound as in coffee). Potassium (high mineral content — compensates for diuretic potassium losses). Taraxasterol (triterpenoid — anti-inflammatory).
These teas are foods, sold as such. Nothing on this page is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
On the shelf with it
Sold on its own, and in these blends.
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Sold outDandelion Leaf, Organic
Regular price From $10.00 CADRegular price -
PMS Tea, Organic
Regular price From $20.00 CADRegular price -
Sold outDetox Tea, Organic
Regular price From $10.00 CADRegular price
