![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.postcardteas.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Alexia-sureau.jpg\")
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Alexia Olagnon is a young farmer and medicinal plant picker in Provence. Located in a small village of 400 inhabitants, between Aix en Provence and Cannes, crossed by a beautiful river and where olive trees are the main crop, she runs alone for over ten years her farm called \u201cLes jardins des lauves\u201d exactly like a famous Paul C\u00e9zanne\u2019s painting. This name refers to the \u201cLauves\u201d in Proven\u00e7al, meaning \u201clauzes\u201d, which are large stone slabs. The place is so called because the bedrock is outcropping and not far away, which is why the ancients built dry-stone terraces to allow the land to be cultivated. Alexia irrigates using a traditional canal running there for over 500 years, bringing water from the river by gravity, and which she maintains collectively with the local people.<\/p>\n
(Le jardin des Lauves by C\u00e9zanne, 1906).<\/p>\n
For over ten years, on her farm of one hectare covered with medicinal plants, fig and pomegranate trees, and another hectare with olive trees (so 2 hectares in total), she\u2019s been growing, picking and drying verbena, mint, lemon balm, thyme, rosemary, rose, lime and many other plants for the herbal trade.<\/p>\n
She works alone in her gardens, which are laid out in these traditional terraces called \u201crestanques\u201d in French. These dry-stone terraces allow the plants to benefit from a micro-climate, but don\u2019t allow mechanised cultivation. All her work is done by hand, whether she\u2019s cultivating, picking in the wild or sorting he plants. Her main tools are the sickle knife for harvesting, the hoe for working the soil, and wooden sieves for sorting. After harvesting, the plants are taken to a wooden dryer and dried at low temperature under optimum conditions, preserving their aromas, colours and very high quality properties.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s always worked with organic farming, but gone even further. At Les Lauves, they protect and cherish biodiversity. The soil is alive, there are no weeds, the trees have their rightful place, as do all the living creatures that cohabit in this little ecosystem. Absolutely no treatment is used, even those authorised in organic farming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A fragrant blend of dried Lemon Verbena, also known as Verveine, grown on a 2 acre farm in Provence, France. Alexia Olagnon grows her verbena without the use of artificial fertilisers and pesticides and picks and processes all her tisanes manually.<\/p>\n
Sweet and aromatic with a strong, pure flavour reminiscent of lemon without the acidity, this is ideal drunk in the evening or as an iced tea on a hot day. Best brewed with boiling water using a small leaf\/water ratio and infused for 4-5 minutes.<\/p>\n
ORIGIN<\/strong> SIZE OF FARMS PLANTS AND PROCESSING<\/strong> BREWING<\/strong> PLEASE NOTE
\nAix en Provence, France.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>2.4 acres<\/p>\n
\nAloysia Citrodora. Harvested, hand picked and dried Summer 2025.<\/p>\n
\n100\u00b0C, A few leaves per 150ml. Brew for 2-3 minutes, many infusions are possible.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>25g Refill option is only available online or via \u2018Collect from Postcard Teas\u2019 for shop collection, two working days after purchase.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":32478,"template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[14,231],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7703","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-teas","7":"product_cat-tisanes","9":"first","10":"instock","11":"purchasable","12":"product-type-variable"},"booking_location":null,"booking_location_type":null,"booking_duration":null,"booking_duration_unit":null,"booking_buffer":null,"booking_cost":null,"booking_resources":null,"exclude_global_add_ons":[],"addons":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.postcardteas.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/7703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.postcardteas.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.postcardteas.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.postcardteas.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.postcardteas.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.postcardteas.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=7703"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.postcardteas.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=7703"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.postcardteas.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=7703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}