From Garden to Glass: Meet the Herbs in Our Front Porch Tisane Tea

There is something especially satisfying about making tea from herbs and flowers that were growing in the garden just moments before.

This late summer, we are giving one of our Crop Stop favorites, Front Porch, a colorful seasonal update.

Our newest fresh-cut Front Porch tisane tea features:

• Butterfly pea flower

• Apple mint

• Lemon balm

• Pineapple sage

The result is a fresh herbal infusion built around some of the most beautiful and aromatic plants currently growing at Crop Stop Farm.

And yes, it is blue!

But, beyond creating a beautiful cup, these plants also have long histories of culinary and traditional herbal use. Several have caught the attention of modern researchers, too. So, we decided to take a closer look.

First, What Is a Tisane?

Although we often casually call herbal infusions "tea," technically, tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. Green tea, black tea, white tea, and oolong all come from that plant. An infusion made from other herbs, flowers, fruits, or spices is more accurately called a tisane. Front Porch is a tisane made entirely from fresh herbs and flowers grown and harvested at Crop Stop.

Butterfly Pea: The Flower Behind the Blue

Let's start with the ingredient that is nearly impossible to ignore.

Butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) produces striking deep blue flowers. When the petals are steeped in water, their natural pigments transform an ordinary glass of water into a vivid blue infusion. The color comes largely from a group of anthocyanin pigments called ternatins. Anthocyanins are plant compounds responsible for many of the blue, purple, and red colors found throughout the plant world. Researchers studying butterfly pea have been particularly interested in its anthocyanins and their antioxidant properties. Laboratory research has documented antioxidant activity associated with butterfly pea flower compounds. Much of the research surrounding butterfly pea remains laboratory, preclinical, or early-stage human research.

For us, the most compelling reason to grow it remains much simpler:

It is an extraordinary edible flower that makes an absolutely beautiful herbal infusion.

There is another fun bit of plant chemistry hiding in your glass, too.

Butterfly pea's pigments respond to changes in pH. Add something acidic, such as lemon juice, and that brilliant blue can begin shifting toward purple.

Garden science you can drink.

Lemon Balm: Where Traditional Use Meets Human Research

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) has been used as an herb for centuries and is probably the ingredient in Front Porch for which modern human research is most interesting. Researchers have studied concentrated lemon balm preparations for their potential effects on stress, mood, anxiety, and sleep.

A fresh cup of Front Porch is not equivalent to taking a standardized lemon balm supplement used in a clinical trial, and we would never suggest otherwise.

Still, we think it is fascinating to see a plant with such a long history of traditional use continuing to attract scientific interest. In our tisane, lemon balm serves another very practical purpose. It tastes wonderful. Its soft lemon aroma brightens the blend without requiring artificial flavoring.

Apple Mint: Familiar, Fresh, and Surprisingly Understudied

Mint probably needs the least introduction. For generations, different species of mint have been used both as culinary herbs and in traditional herbal preparations.

Our Front Porch blend uses apple mint (Mentha suaveolens), a softly aromatic mint with a gentler character than some of its sharper relatives. Apple mint is an aromatic culinary herb with a history of traditional use, interesting phytochemistry, and emerging experimental research. And in Front Porch? It gives the tisane that unmistakably fresh mint character that makes an herbal infusion particularly refreshing at the end of summer.

Pineapple Sage: The Garden Surprise

Then there is pineapple sage (Salvia elegans). We hinted at this one in last week's post.

Brush against the leaves in the garden, and you'll immediately understand the name.

The foliage has a wonderfully fruity aroma reminiscent of pineapple, making it one of our favorite herbs to introduce to people who have never encountered it before.

Like many members of the Salvia genus, pineapple sage has attracted interest for the compounds present in the plant. Sometimes an herb can simply be enjoyed because it smells wonderful, tastes good, and came from a plant growing a few feet away.

We think that's reason enough.

Why We Talk About the Research This Way

You may notice that we are deliberately cautious about using the word "benefits."

That's intentional. The internet is full of claims that a particular tea will "detox" the body, eliminate inflammation, balance hormones, prevent disease, or cure practically anything that ails you. That's not how we want to talk about the plants we grow.

At Crop Stop, Trust is the New Organic.

To us, transparency should apply to information just as much as it applies to farming.

If researchers have found something interesting, we can tell you about it.

If the evidence comes primarily from laboratory studies, we should tell you that, too.

If researchers used a concentrated extract rather than a cup of fresh herbal tea, that distinction matters. And, if scientists simply don't know yet, saying "we don't know yet" is perfectly okay. There is plenty to appreciate about plants without turning every leaf into medicine.

Front Porch: Late Summer Harvest

Front Porch was created around the idea of slowing down for a moment.

Harvest some herbs. Steep some water. Find a comfortable chair. Sit on the porch.

Our late-summer version brings together butterfly pea, apple mint, lemon balm, and pineapple sage for a fresh-cut tisane that reflects what is actually growing on the farm right now. No artificial blue coloring is needed. The garden took care of that part.

For a limited time, Front Porch: Late Summer Harvest will be available as a Back-to-School add-on with Crop Stop CSA boxes and exclusively at our September 4 farmers market appearance. Like many things grown on a small farm, availability depends on what the harvest gives us.

What's new at Crop Stop?

📦🥬CSA Boxes available:

As the farm continues the transitions from Summer into Fall, next week's CSA harvest will feature one of our most reliable year-round crops: fresh microgreens.

Our limited Microgreens Box will include a farmer-selected assortment of broccoli, pea shoots, sunflower and spicy salad mix, freshly harvested right here in East Hanover. Our regular Leafy Green, Seasonal Harvest and Abundance Boxes will return as our new Fall crops become harvest-ready. 🍂

📚🎒Back to School mode is in session. We're offering a free Front Porch sample to every box purchase this week to help remind us all to slow down even for a few minutes to escape the hustle and bustle. Take a deep breath--and, breathe!

📍 Next Farmers Markets

Friday September 4, 2026; 3-7PM— Parsippany, NJ (Smith Field Park)

Friday September 11, 2026; 3-7PM— Parsippany, NJ (Smith Field Park)