Hops 50 grams: the female cones of Humulus lupulus
The hop is a perennial climbing plant of the hemp family (Cannabaceae), the same family as cannabis. Its shoots wind their way up anything that offers a grip, and that habit gave the plant its Latin name: lupulus means little wolf, a reference to the way it climbs over trees and smothers them. Hops grow and are cultivated across the northern hemisphere, roughly between 35 and 55 degrees latitude, and the plant also grows wild in the Netherlands and Belgium. The species is dioecious, which means male and female flowers sit on separate plants.
What you will find in this bag are the female cones only. They are built from thin, membranous bracts overlapping like roof tiles, and between those bracts sits lupulin: a yellow, resinous powder made up of glandular trichomes. That powder holds the alpha and beta acids, of which humulone and lupulone are the best known. They supply the bitterness in beer and help the beer keep. Brewers therefore watch the alpha acid content closely; varieties classed as high alpha owe that status to having far more glands per cone, and newer crosses pass sixteen per cent. Beyond the brewery, hops have an old household use as well: dried cones were sewn into pillows, the familiar hop pillow.
What you get and how it is used
This bag holds 50 grams of dried hop cones. As a tea, hops are usually brewed lightly, in the order of ten grams per litre of boiling water, left to steep for a few minutes and strained; the taste is firmly bitter and resinous, so a little honey helps. To fill a hop pillow, use whole cones in a cotton cover. Store the bag closed, cool, dry and dark, because light and warmth cost you the aroma. Hops are a herb and no substitute for anything else. If you take medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, speak to your doctor or pharmacist first.
About the herbs at Avalon
At Avalon Magic Plants hops sit with the relaxing herbs, next to Valerian 50 gram (Valeriana officinalis), Passion flower 20 grams (Passiflora incarnata) and Wild Lettuce 20 gram (Lactuca virosa). For the same corner in liquid form, have a look at the 1:1 herbal tinctures in 10 ml bottles with a dropper, such as Valeriana officinalis. Every order leaves our warehouse discreetly packed.
