This summer I decided to make some own alcoholic drinks out of wild herbs. My very first one is this dandelion mead which I made on the national day of Norway, 17th May, and finally bottled today. I’m very happy with the result, so it inspires me to make more out of some other herbs soon.
For some reason I had never before used dandelion in any of my herbal products even they are easily and plenty available every year. Maybe in the back of my head I still have been considering them just annoying weed as I did when I was a kid. The white sap in their stems stained hands and clothes for a long time -and were disgusting in taste. Well, now I gave these sunny flowers a try.
To this mead I used dandelion from our own garden, honey from a local bee keeper, our excellent quality tap water and wine+champagne yeast.
I have to say this particular honey is no doubt the best I have ever tasted. It was a time when I really didn’t like honey at all. I almost puked if I just got a smell of honey. Anyway, little by little I have learned to like honey and experienced a large variety of different kinds, from which this really stands out. It’s expensive but at least it’s the real thing, not a fake sugar syrup imported from China.
Separating the yellow petals from green parts were the only boring part of this project. As you see it took some coffee to get this accomplished, haha!
When I was picking up the flowers while our cat was jumping around me in that warm early summer day.. there was a moment which really sticked into my mind. I noticed how deeply good I felt that day, about my life. I felt all what I needed was available to me. I realised that exactly this kind of life I dreamt about when I was a little girl, when I still had hope in life. And this is my reality now!! It’s amazing!! I noticed that I had a full confidence that all what I want also from my future is possible for me to reach. And most importantly that I believe I DO HAVE a future! These are things which haven’t been a self certainty in my head too many years yet. Amazing moments of this beautiful life.
My first mead, extremely limited edition, turned out to be very strong and tasty. I bottled it into recycled bottles with my own label; Kevätuhri – Løvetann mjød – Sol Angelica 2019 -inspired by The Legend of the Ice People by Margit Sandemo. Also I marked some respect to Norwegian Ægir Bryggeri who’s Heidrun mead is very good. Even though my mead is much more to my taste as it’s not even close as sweet as theirs. But I absolutely love the smell of Heidrun mead!! And of course, the last but not least I show a huge respect to Lemmy by bottling one part of my mead into Motörhead whiskey bottle ?. Cheers!
