Reykjavík Grapevine - júl. 2020, Blaðsíða 35

Herb Your
Enthusiasm
Fora#in# forays with Anna Rósa
Words: Poppy Askham Photo: Art Bicnick
Anna Rósa has almost thirty years
of experience as a herbalist and sk-
incare specialist, and most notably
for our purposes, she’s an expert on
Icelandic foraging. “I came across
this article in the newspaper about
a herbalist,” Anna Rósa explains,
casually sipping tea in her sparse
office. “I’d never heard about it be-
fore, but after that I just knew that
I was going to be a herbalist and
four months later I was in England
studying herbalism. People thought
it was weird, but it was a calling. I
had no choice in the matter.”
After four years of study, Anna
Rósa returned home to southern
Iceland, where she grew up, and
subsequently threw herself full
force into foraging. “I mainly work
in the south. I know it much bet-
ter and it’s so full of flora,” she ex-
plains. Her other favourite spot is
the north, but her work takes her all
across the island.
To get her supplies, Anna Rósa
relies on a network of rural infor-
mants, or “farmer spies,” as she
prefers to call them, to keep her up
to date with the emergence of dif-
ferent plants across the country-
side. Once the herbs start growing
she waits for a dry day, but as she
explains, “that’s difficult in Iceland
so I’m addicted to the weather re-
port in the summer.”
You might imagine that herb-
alism is a somewhat relaxed pro-
fession, but this is an assumption
that Anna Rósa assures us is mis-
founded. “You can’t dawdle around,
it’s hard work,” she emphasises,
explaining that plants have to be
prepared within a crucially short
window of time to prevent damage,
meaning the herbalist will often
drive to Akureyri and back in a sin-
gle day. “I just drive early, fill the car
and come back and dry [the plants]
or make a tincture or oil with the
fresh herbs. It has to be processed
straightaway... you work the full
night if you have to.”
Flower power
But beginner herbalists needn’t de-
spair—for those who are not forag-
ing on a commercial scale, the art
is a little simpler. “Absolutely ev-
eryone can learn the basics,” Anna
Rósa reassures us. All you’ll need
is a pair of robust scissors, a sturdy
sack and a little enthusiasm. Anna
Rósa recommends starting out
with meadowsweet, a large sweet-
smelling herb with creamish-white
flowers. “Here in the south we have
fields of it everywhere so you can’t
possibly over-harvest”, she ex-
plains, adding that she often uses
the plant to treat gastric issues.
“It’s very easy to harvest—you can
gather enough for the winter in just
one hour.”
In fact, the herb can be used to
brew the Reykjavik Grapevine Tea,
specially concocted by Anna Rósa
herself and said to have anti-in-
flammatory and immune-system-
boosting properties. Make it your-
self at home and email your reviews
to grapevine@grapevine.is We’ll be
waiting with healthy, non-inflamed
breath.
The RVK Grapevine Tea!

1 part Meadowsweet
1 part Angelica seed
1 part Yarrow

Put 3-4 tablespoons of the blend
into 750ml of boiling water. Allow
to brew then sieve the infusion and
enjoy.
Bonus tip: put the herbs back
into a flask of fresh water and drink
throughout the day.
Check out Anna Rósa and her skin-
care line at annarosaskincare.com.
All the profits go to refugee organisa-
tions.
35The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 05— 2020
This tea is a zinger
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