Moroccan White Horehound

✨ Moroccan White Horehound — The Woolly Bitter Herb of Winter

White horehound is the dried herb of Marrubium vulgare, known in Morocco as مريوت or المريوت (Merriwt, Marriout), in classical Arabic as فراسيون (Farasyun), and in French as marrube blanc. It is a hardy, low-growing plant of the mint family that grows wild on dry hillsides, field edges and roadsides across Morocco. Its leaves and stems are covered in a fine white down, which gives the dried herb its soft, woolly, silver-grey look. Rub a pinch between your fingers and it releases a green, faintly musky scent; in the cup it is famously bitter.

🌿 Traditional and Cultural Uses

Merriwt is one of the oldest herbs of the Moroccan household. Grandmothers kept a bundle in the kitchen for winter, and it was traditionally brewed as a hot, honey-sweetened tea for coughs, colds and a heavy chest. It was also drunk as a bitter herb after rich meals, to settle the stomach and wake up the appetite, and it was often given in times of fever. Around the Mediterranean the same plant has a long history: ancient Greek and Roman healers wrote about it, and in Europe it was once boiled with sugar into the old-fashioned horehound sweets and syrups for sore throats.

🍵 How to Use

• 🍵 As a herbal infusion, on its own or with a little honey
• 🌱 Added in small amounts to mint tea, to soften its bitterness
• 🍋 Brewed with a slice of lemon or a few sage leaves in winter
• 🫖 Simmered briefly as a stronger decoction, in the traditional way

🥣 Recipe: Merriwt Tea with Honey

1. Place 1 teaspoon of dried horehound in a cup or small teapot.
2. Pour over about 250 ml of freshly boiled water.
3. Cover and leave to steep for 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Strain, then sweeten with a spoonful of honey, and add a few fresh mint leaves if you like.

The tea is naturally very bitter, which is why Moroccan households almost always paired it with honey or mint.

🔬 Product Profile

• 🌿 Plant: Marrubium vulgare, mint family (Lamiaceae)
• 📍 Origin: Morocco
• 🍃 Part: dried leaves and woolly stems, with small flower pieces
• ✂️ Form: whole, cut dried herb, not powdered
• 🧾 Ingredients: 100% dried white horehound, nothing added

📦 How We Sell It

Loose, dried white horehound, available in 100g, 250g, 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 3kg and 5kg. You receive the cut herb exactly as shown: soft, woolly leaves and stem pieces, ready to brew.

🌤️ Storage

Keep it in a sealed jar or pouch in a cool, dry, dark place, away from steam and direct sunlight. Stored well, the dried herb keeps its aroma and bitterness for about a year.