Alfalfa is a well-known fodder crop with high nutritional value for many types of livestock. Alfalfa leaf makes a pleasant-tasting, detoxifying tea and blends well with other herbs.

The Plant: Alfalfa is a long-lived perennial with a deep and extensive root system. The plants are 3 to 4 feet high and the leaves have three lobes. The whole plant is harvested just as its pale purple flowers are opening. It grows in a wide range of conditions. As a nitrogen-fixing plant with an extensive root system, alfalfa helps restore and nourish poor soils. Alfalfa seeds are small and yellow-tan and are a popular sprouting seed.

Constituents of Note: Alfalfa, an important animal food, is a highly studied crop. Alfalfa is about 15% protein. It contains many vitamins (including A,C, D,K, and B) and trace minerals (like calcium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, and manganese) and is 15 to 25% fiber. No wonder it is an important nutritive crop for many types of livestock! It also contains 2 to 3% saponins, flavones and isoflavones, sterols, coumarins, enzymes, and many other constituents.

Quality: Alfalfa leaf should have a good green color with bits of purple flowers. Alfalfa leaf harvested for herb use is usually a second or even a third cutting, which reduces the number of large stems in the herb. The nutrition is all in the leaf and one of the goals of plant breeders is to increase the leaf-to-stem ratio in alfalfa plants. Our alfalfa leaf herb is over 90% leaf, and we specify that no more than 5% of leaves can be yellow or tan in color.

Alfalfa leaf has a fresh, faint, hay-like aroma — it should never smell musty or stale. The flavor is herbaceous with a hint of sweetness. No stale, moldy, or off-flavors should be present. We grind alfalfa leaf to make our alfalfa leaf powder. (Most products sold as alfalfa powder are made from alfalfa herb instead of alfalfa leaf. Alfalfa herb contains up to 60% stem by weight, thus greatly reducing the nutritional value of the product.)