ISSUE 69, MEADOW TEAS, Part 2: Catnip Tea
Catnip Tea
Not all cats thrill in their nostrils at the scent of catnip. Aproximately 1/3rd of the world population of cats is indifferent to it. But the 2/3rds who do respond, are transported into raptures by it. Nepeta cataria is native to eastern and southern Europe and the Middle East. The place where cats emerged as a “domestic” species was Turkey, in conjunction with grain farming. Grain attracted rodents, cats hunted rodents. A symbiotic relationship was established that would be exported to every local where field agriculture hold (Egypt included around 800 BC). Farmers noted the attraction of cats to catnip, and they collected seeds to plant along with the farm crops. It is a genetic mystery why 1/3rd of the cats did not get the message that the scent of that fresh herb was supposed to drive them into bliss. Humans never shared the same extravagant delight. It is too mintlike and herbal to be regard a first rank aromatic for human beings. But there has always been a modest contingent of people—and not necessary “cat people”—who find a cup a catnip tea a tonic.
The active ingredients in catnip-- nepetalactone and nepetalactol—trigger drooling, purring, jumping around, and licking in the majority of cats. And by cats I mean all breeds of cat from the Lion to the housecat. After exposure cats sometimes get sleepy. The sedative effect is the one somatic influence felt by humans, though nepetalactone does serve as a good insect repellant as well. A brisk rub of some cold tea on one’s arms will keep mosquitos at bay. The devotees of tea made from Nepeta cataria, if they are not cat people seeking a clairvoyant rapport with the desires of their pets, process the leaves and make the tea as a sedative. Its pleasant aroma-a blend of mint and horehound—that displaces anxieties in a very few draughts. Those who make catnip tea often introduce a teaspoonful of honey into the cup to give the brew body. Plain catnip tea can be on the bitter side, so sweetening makes it more agreeable. Before the mid-17th century when tea was imported to Europe, catnip tea was a favorite meadow tea. When North American was colonized in the 17th century, catnip crossed the Atlantic with the colonists. To pleasure their cats or to provide a tonic for themselves? The plant naturalized from New Brunswick to Georgia.
A portion of the population is fearful of wild foraging herbs and edible plants. A commercial supply of catnip for pet toys came about in the 20th century through the industry of the Gould family of Hudson, New Hampshire, who grew vast fields of catnip for as stuffing for cloth mice. After hippies began experimenting (unsuccessfully) with catnip as a high in the late 1960s, Chester Gould refused to sell catnip for human consumption. Yet he was an old New England who knew that catnip and fennel seed tea was traditionally administered to babies to soothe them.
Only the leaves and blossoms of catnip contain the chemicals that excite cats and sooth humans. The stalks are waste.
Perhaps the high water mark of Catnip Tea in the United States occurred in 1943 when the Women’s Christian Temperance Union recommended it as the “perfect national drink.” There was of course a dog-hearted continent of the populace that view the recommendation as the kiss of death. A new motto formed on the lips of these curs: “Lips that touch catnip will never touch mine!”