Quality and Integrity

Handling and Storing Herbs

by Michael Volchok, President & Co-Founder of Blessed Herbs

We consider the handling and storage of our herbs to be very important. No one who works at Blessed Herbs is allowed to wear hair spray, make-up, perfume, nail polish, or cologne. Nor are they allowed to use any soap or detergent that is readily detectable by smell.

During packaging and handling we do not want any of these substances to be transferred onto the herbs. Herbs are very sensitive and we work hard to keep them in their original pristine state.

Whenever possible, we store our herbs in climate controlled buildings so the environment doesn't get too hot or too cold. We cut our herbs in small batches because the longer an herb remains in its whole form, the longer it will retain its medicinal strength. It is cost effective to process large quantities of herb all at one time; but, unless we have an immediate use for them, we just don't do that. It is better for the herb and better for your health.

Environmental Concerns

by Michael Volchok, President & Co-Founder of Blessed Herbs

Environmental concerns for the plants themselves are very important. Some plants have been collected so extensively that their lives are threatened in the wild. There are even locations where the over-picking of herbs has completely eliminated some species. Wild Ginseng root, Goldenseal root, Lady Slipper root, and False Unicorn are just a few of the plants that are in threat of being over harvested.

Over the years we have formed alliances with wildcrafters, to assure they are not adding to the over harvesting problem. We have also helped support farmers and small growers who cultivate many of these threatened plants.

We have our own Echinacea angustifolia and Goldenseal acreage and work with other growers, buying cultivated Black Cohosh, and many other herbs.

There are lots of good and concerned people doing this type of work. Together we hope to be able to convince more large manufacturers of the ethics and wisdom of supporting farmers in their quest to grow popular medicinal herbs.

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Where We Find Our Herbs

by Michael Volchok, President & Co-Founder of Blessed Herbs

You might find it of interest to know just where our herbs come from and how we find them. From the beginning of Blessed Herbs, we have sought out individuals and companies that have been in the business of harvesting the wild medicinal plants, and who had organic farms. Sometimes we found them and sometimes they found us.

Whenever we came across someone who had some plants we needed, we traveled to where they lived and saw first hand how these collectors lived, where the plants lived and what kind of relationship these people had with their environment and the plant world. We would sometimes go out and gather herbs with them and just talk, eat, and visit: always looking to see the spirit at work joining our hands with their hands. Sometimes everything jelled and sometimes it didn't.

Martha always comes alive when we get ourselves deep into the "wild country" as she calls it. We don't mind a short walk in Manhattan now and then; but, give us a country creek, way down some hollow with a couple of coon dogs around and we blossom just like the flowers getting their morning sun. Corny? You bet! But I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Over the years we've even watched several of our closest plant collecting allies die (Marvin, Lee and John, among others) and we wish them well. Among states we have traveled to Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. We have found great herb sources in Canada, Mexico, England, France, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Brazil, Africa, Spain, Israel, Egypt, India, Jamaica, Italy and many other foreign countries.

In every case, our secret has been maintaining open, honest, and trusting relationships with these growers and harvesters. This gives us a surety of the quality and integrity of the herbs they produce. We also try to pay enough money so the people collecting the herbs can feel a dignity about their lives and their work. All this is not always easy, but we are determined to keep establishing better communications and relationships with everyone who supplies the herbs we buy.

Also of concern to us is the effect wild harvesting has on the plant populations. Because of this, we continue to support small organic farmers in their efforts to grow medicinal herbs. We have partnered with growers in Costa Rica, Jamaica and the United States. We have also established relationships with many others who are involved in supporting the efforts of organic growers.

Please consider supporting one of these organizations yourself.
United Plant Savers
American Herbal Products Association
Herbal Research Foundation

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Searching for True Species

by Michael Volchok, President & Co-Founder of Blessed Herbs

About twelve years ago we had a demand for true Prickly Ash Bark. We knew of an old timer down in Tennessee, who had been collecting this bark and selling it to drug companies for over a decade. We met up with him and together we harvested a test batch and sent it to one of the most knowledgeable herbalists we knew. We were soon told it was not the true medicinal species, but a tree that had somewhat similar bark and had been incorrectly gathered and sold for years as the true thing!

We also learned the true species was sometimes called toothache tree, because it makes your mouth go numb when you chew it. The bark we found in Tennessee hadn't numbed our mouths at all, and so our search continued.

A few years later we finally found another possible source in Texas. We drove down from Missouri and found a field where it was supposed to be located. I remember seeing the trees out my car window and being so excited to taste it, so I could be sure my mouth would go numb. I jumped out of the car, cut a big strip off a tree and proceeded to really chew into the whole piece. It only took ten or fifteen seconds for my mouth to salivate up and go numb. However, I was so nauseated that I grabbed my stomach and puked all over the field! It was an awful experience but a glorious one. We had found the tree!

Over the years we have come across several plants that got harvested, sold, and made their way into the mainstream herbal market, only to be found incorrectly named. Many of these find their way into products. If you don't have the correct herb, you don't have the correct medicine! Sometimes it’s an innocent mistake and other times not. We have worked very hard over the years to insure that we gather and buy the correct plant species. It is difficult to know sometimes, especially if the herbs are bought in cut or powdered form. For this reason, we always get our herbs as whole and intact as possible, directly from collectors.

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Advice on Buying Herbs

by Michael Volchok, President & Co-Founder of Blessed Herbs

It is always a good thing to try to buy your herbs from someone you know and trust. It's important to get the highest-grade medicinal strength herbs you can find, to assure optimum results. Ask questions at your health food store: Do they know anything about the company? How and where do they get their herbs? Who does the formulation? Are they well respected within the herbal community? A little research pays off because herb quality makes a huge difference in results!!

A lot of products that have gotten into the marketplace over the last several years are of dubious origin. We strive to provide the highest quality possible. We are not the only company offering the best, but the best is hard to find. We sometimes forget to toot our own horn, but when it comes to highest quality herbs: Toot! Toot! Glad you found us!!

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Pricing Herbs

by Michael Volchok, President & Co-Founder of Blessed Herbs

People sometimes wonder how an herb gets priced. It isn't so different than buying an exotic fruit, a piece of rare cloth, an antique chair, or just some lettuce from the local grocery store. Some plants are harder to locate, deeper in the woods, grow farther from civilization, are few and far between, or can be found just across the street from most anywhere.

Wherever these plants grow, someone has to take the greater part of their day to get dressed, gather their collecting and digging tools and plant bag, then walk, drive, bike or fly to the growing area. It takes work to harvest the wild plants. There are bugs that bite, it can be hot, cold or wet, and it’s hard work most of the time. After gathering the herbs, they need to be carried back, the soil needs to be washed off the plants, and then they need to be laid out to dry. During the drying process, the herbs need to be monitored carefully; making sure mold doesn't set in before the plants are dry. Once dry, the herbs must be bagged or boxed up, before we can use them or sell them, and still we have not received one penny for all our time and effort. All of this translates to a selling price. The harder to get, the more rare, the more desired plants simply cost more. No different than a high quality diamond or a piece of glass cut like a diamond. There is an herbal economy that somehow sets a price range for most herbs.

How does the baker know how much to charge for a loaf of bread? The economy of bread baking and selling is pretty established and those fancy breads with all the fruit and nuts cost more. The harder an herb is to find, the distance it has traveled to come into your kitchen, and the quality of the herb (not to mention if the harvesters were paid a fair wage for their labor) all go into what an herb vendor must charge. We always try to stay within the established limits.

Can you find it cheaper? Yes. More expensive? Yes. From experience we can tell you that usually the really good medicinal strength herbs, and herbal products, do not come from using the low-end priced herbs. Also, using the best quality herb ingredients, to make into a poorly formulated recipe, will not guarantee success. Even two cooks can have all the same ingredients and both follow the same recipe, and yet the finished meals might not taste the same. Cook with love and treat others, as you would like to be treated. That’s the motto we try to follow. Thanks for your trust.

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