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Orchid Tea: A Remembrance

Orchid flowers are some of the natural world’s most cheerful productions. For many of us, they create joy merely by gracing our homes or gardens. It must be conceded that aside from their beauty, orchids have little practical value for human beings, with the singular exception of the orchid that give us our vanilla flavoring.

If you had been around around eighty to 100 years ago, though, you may have had occasion to try a wonderful tea created from the leaves of an uncommon orchid. The drink, called Faham tea, achieved some celebrity in France in the early years of the 20th century. Specifically, it was made from the sweet smelling leaves of the Angraecum fragrans orchid (also recorded as the Jumella fragrans).

The unusual orchid was native to the Reunion Island off the coast of Africa. An epiphytal variety known  locally as “faham,” its use as tea is credited to Reunion’s indigenous people, who are are said to have been the first to discover how delicious it was.

An article in a horticultual magazine of 1924 stated that Faham tea had been introduced into France, where many consumers were imbibing it as a substitute for “Chinese” (i.e., regular) tea. “Every work on botany of any importance similarly places it in the foremost rank of the beneficial productions of  this favored clime (Reunion),” the author says. “One of our most illustrious writers George Sand eulogizes it in the midst of the fine description of the Island of Bourbon.” Bourbon was an earlier name for Reunion, by the way.

The orchid involved was known to grow very high on the steep slopes of the island, in the midst of almost inaccessible forests. The problems inherent in gathering a large supply of the plant meant that Faham tea, as a commercially viable product, was almost certainly to failure. Despite general concurrence in the tea’s tastiness, it was completely forgotten by the middle of the century.

Most of us won’t ever find out what Faham tea tasted like. But, if you happen to be lucky enough to own a specimen or two of the Reunion Island orchid, you could sacrifice a handful of leaves and make some up for yourself. To brew the tea, you first bring water to a boil in a tea kettle. Then, you put in some dried orchid leaves (approximately as much per cup as you would regular tea) to the water, turning off the heat and permitting it to steep for three or four minutes.

A flyer from the 1920s promoting Faham tea says:

It can be used as a substitute for tea on all occasions, as it combines its tonic and digestive qualities free from the sleepless effect. It possesses an aroma of great delicacy capable of being rendered more or less pungent according to the quantity used, and it gives forth a most agreeable perfume. After being drank it leaves a lasting fragrance in the mouth, and in a closed room the odor of it can be recognized long after.

This beverage has the further advantage over tea, which requires to be drank at the time of making in that it can be reserved for a future occasion if requisite, and may either be taken cold or made hot again. Milk or spirits in small quantities, especially rum, serve to develope its aroma and lending it additional delicacy or greater strength render it a delicious drink. Lastly this valuable plant is made use of to flavor custards and ices to which it communicates its delicate fragrance.

Sounds delicious. Faham tea, anyone?

Now, if you think you would like to try your hand at growing orchids, suitable for tea or elsewise, you must have accurate information.

Today we have an abudance of good, accurate information to be had by anyone who wants to grow orchids. The most complete guidebook to expert orchid cultivation, as increasing numbers are learning, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which can be downloaded from the Internet. Mr. Howard’s guide is a full course, useful for novices as well as the more experienced cultivators alike. Also, be sure to visit the Orchid Secrets site, which features an ever-expanding library of articles on many topics of orchid cultivation.

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