Leaf and stem for the teapot
Hoja santa for tea comes cut, dried leaf and stem together, 3.5 oz in a resealable bag that makes 30 or more cups. It is the same plant, Piper auritum, as our whole hierba santa leaves, cut for the teapot instead of the tamal steamer.
The plant grows from Mexico down through Central and South America, and the cup it gives is peppery. Choose this bag when you want that flavor in a cup. Choose the whole leaves when you want a wrapper, because cut pieces will not fold around anything. The stems come along in the bag, so pour through a strainer.
In the YERBERO herb shelf, Hoja santa para té is filed under H in the herbolario A–Z, next to Flor de jamaica.