INTRODUCTION
I collected most of the information for this page from the Internet.
I think that the main problem that faces anyone who wants to make essiac tea is finding a reliable source of herbs, especially of Sheep sorrel. People sometimes call it Red sorrel but it's Latin name is 'Rumex acetosella'. Apparently and unfortunately, even those sources that people think are reputable often fail to provide genuine, good quality, organically grown Sheep sorrel. This happens even when customers are more than adequately paying for the herb and are trusting the vendor to supply a good quality product.
Most people do not know how to identify the real stuff, especially when it is dried. Sadly, there are many that can and do take advantage of this.
At present I cannot recommend with certainty any commercial source of organically grown Sheep sorrel because I simply do not know who can be trusted to provide it. I could tell you who claims to provide it but I cannot vouch for the authenticity of the product. Baldwins in South London are one shop that stock it. I am waiting to hear from Hambleden Herbs to see if they still sell it through their mail order catalogue.
Sheep Sorrel is easy to grow in this country. I have become interested in growing it because of the possibilities of collecting, drying and powdering it for myself. I have grown it with ease in a large plant pot, just to see if I could. I now know exactly what it looks like. Some time ago I was walking in an open space near to my home, (I live in a city), and to my surprise, underneath a large conifer I found about three square yards of it growing wild.
You can find clear instructions for growing, harvesting and processing it in 'Essiac Essentials' by Sheila Snow and Mali Klein, (founder of Clouds Trust), whose details are on my site in the 'books' section.
Essiac Essentials:
- gives detailed information on how to grow, harvest or obtain the herbs commercially, and a simple-to-follow recipe.
- contains uplifting case histories of essiac users, spanning sixty years, including moving testimonies from some of Rene's original patients.
I learned from attending Mali Klein's essiac tea workshop, that one square yard of Sheep Sorrel plants will supply one person with enough of the herb to provide a constant and adequate supply for their own needs. I advise you first to find out exactly what the plant looks like. There are photos of it at this address: www.bioimages.org.uk/HTML/T55306.HTM
and also at the Clouds Trust Web site. Go and see if you can find it growing anywhere. There may be a plentiful supply of it just around the corner that would keep you going until you have your own patch. If you can find enough of it, (though it must come from somewhere that has not been exposed to chemical sprays of any kind), you may not ever need to grow it yourself.
Try tasting it, if you're sure it's the right stuff. It has a sour lemony sort of taste, quite pleasant in a green salad, in moderation.
If you decide that you want to grow it you can buy the seeds from John Chambers Wild Flower Seeds, 15 Westleigh Road, Barton Seagrave, Kettering, Northhants. NN15 5 AJ.
Telephone number: 01933 652562
I highly recommend Sheila Snow and Mali Klein's two books about essiac tea. Their first book, 'Essiac Essentials' tells you everything that you need to know about making essiac tea. It even tells you how to grow your own Sheep sorrel. It makes my Web site seem obsolete. Get the book!
Clouds Trust have a phone help line, which you can ring during certain hours of the week. If you are having problems finding the herbs that you need to make essiac tea, they may be able to advise you on reliable UK sources or help you with any other query that you have, which is not covered by books or Internet information. Visit their Web site for details. Their courses are also excellent. I highly recommend them. Another good site with a ton of info is www.essiacfacts.com This site has everything you need to know and probably more than you want to know about essiac tea.