"National Class" Linden, Peppermint, Lemon Peel and Oolong Blend

In 1979, the former Yugoslavia was thriving, and so was its capital, Belgrade. That year, a movie called "National Class" came out, the title referring to a class of street legal cars that driving enthusiast would race on the weekends, although it was actually a coming-of-age flick about - you guessed it - a slacker with a crappy car that barely ran. A scene in the movie features a small auto-repair shop with a "lipa" tree in the yard, one of Belgrade's ubiquitous linden trees that shade its sidewalks. It just so happens that this auto-shop was built by my grandfather, who passed away a few years earlier. So under this particular linden tree sat my grandmother and, of course, little me - for many hours in the summer, enjoying the cool breeze coming off the Danube just a few blocks away. The breeze, in turn, shook the leaves and flowers emitting the Jasmine-like fragrance for which these trees and Belgrade in the summer are known. 

Lipa/linden is also a popular botanical infusion, or herbal "tea," in Serbia and many other places throughout Europe and the world. Here we add the linden to peppermint, lemon peel, and a bit of rolled Taiwanese oolong. The result is a truly beautiful and unique expression of diversity between east and west, north and south, reminiscent of my home town. If the occasion permits, I recommend having some while sitting on a bench under a tree enjoying the breeze with someone who loves you. If it should happen to be a fragrant tree near a big river, then lucky you!  

- the Wolf

p.s. - Drop me a line via email (thewolf@acalatea.com) and I will send you a map pin to this location. Although my grandmother sold it many years ago, the auto-repair shop and the lipa tree are still there, and it still smells heavenly when the breeze blows through in the summer.