Sip the Benefits of Rose Hips tea

Roses are among the world’s most iconic flowers. Rich in symbolism, the rose has come to represent a myriad of contradictory symbols throughout history, from purity and sin to life and death. Beyond the seductive petals and cautionary thorns of the ornamental, domesticated rose, the oblong berries, or “hips” of the humble wild rose enjoy their own important association with health—a well-earned symbol, thanks to our ancestors around the world who used them as a food and an herbal medicine.

Fruity, tangy and refreshing, our Organic Rose Hips & Hibiscus tea tantalizes the taste buds, while carrying on an herbal tradition used for millennia. As a healthy choice for promoting everyday wellness, we enjoy it warm in cooler months and chilled on ice when we’re under the sun!

Rose hips come primarily from the dog rose (Rosa canina) bush, a wild rose that takes its name from Pliny the Elder (23-79 BC), who first referenced its use by Gallic tribes to treat dog bites. This wild, thorny rose bush is native to Europe and Asia, but it has since been naturalized in North America and grows widely throughout the world. The dog rose often serves as a natural border, forming in hedges around meadows, forests, and pathways, and any other place where there is slightly acidic, loamy soil and good daytime sun exposure. After the flowers die and the petals fall off its branches, the rose hips begin to form. Our rose hips are harvested in the wild by hand at the peak of ripeness, when they are at the height of their potential.

Long enjoyed as a food throughout history, rose hips have rightly earned a reputation for promoting good health. The ancient Chinese, Greeks, Romans and Persians used them in traditional herbal medicine. During the Dark Ages, legend has it that raiding Vikings fortified themselves with rose hips while invading foreign lands. During World War II, when food sources were limited, British children took doses of rose hip syrup to promote wellness.*

Rose hips continue to be a staple in herbalist apothecaries, used for a variety of reasons associated with their richness in flavonoids and tannins. Our herbalists formulated this tea with rose hips’ everyday benefits in mind, blending in hibiscus for flavor.*