Feeling the effects of too many donuts and too much pig belly, I wandered into Homegrown Herb and Tea a few days ago in search of dietary deliverance.

The Kapha Kick tisane at Homegrown Herb and Tea

Despite its proximity to my East End home, I’d never been to the Munjoy Hill tea café before Friday. An error I’m glad to have finally corrected.

Perched on a stool, I perused the menu’s dizzying array of “to order” ayurvedic teas and herbal tisanes. Caught up in the amusing names and detailed descriptions (how could you not love a hangover cure called “Hair of the Khan”?), my ordering decision slowed to a snail’s pace.

Finally, I settled on Kapha Kick –  it’s promise to “lift my soul” sounded like the perfect solution to overindulgence.  I slowly slurped the tasty mixture of ginger, damiana, cardamon and diced apple peel and pondered eating something.

Homegrown offers a daily soup option in the cooler months (Sept-April) and a daily salad option in the summer (June-August). May’s a mystery.

Friday’s crock pot special — an herby lentil soup – was full of health and vigor. Loaded with carrots, celery, potato and spice, it pleased with a garlicky broth and heady steam. The accompanying rosemary crumpet — while a tad too chewy for me — soaked up the hearty stew just fine.

Drawn back to Homegrown again on Saturday, I tried one of the limited-time seasonal tisanes that had caught my eye the day before. Dense with coconut milk and the scent of lavender, the Coco-Kava was a revelation. Creamy and lightly spiced with cocoa and sedating kava-kava, the milky liquid was slightly sweet and soothing to both body and mind.

Owner Sarah Richards measures out a tea order in the background.

Other preparations now firmly on my “to try” list are the Yoga Tea — a mixture of gotu kola, Soloman’s seal, sage, ginger, rose petals and spearmint — and a wicked spicy sounding conconction, called El Mexicano Por Favor, that features cumin, allspice, cayene, and — get this — sarsaparilla.

While I enjoyed everything I ate and drank, my most enduring impression of Homegrown has little to do with food — or even tea — and everything to do with watching owner Sarah Richards handle a very busy Saturday afternoon.

Fluid and graceful, she balanced competing demands with the precision of an aerial artist. At each door chime, Sarah would raise her gaze to smile at the newcomer before pivoting on her heel to simultaneously grind a custom tisane mix, ring up an order and tease her assistant, Jewel.

Seating areas swelled to capacity, and still new folks poured into the small Congress Street space. Every few minutes a regular bustled in to grab pre-packaged tea satchels to go. Sarah would pause for a hug or to query a customer’s enjoyment before tapping a glob of honey into a large pottery pitcher or pouring a steaming stream of water into an oversized cup.

The service was measured and fairly paced despite the imbalance of worker to guest – a feat only explained by the warm attention and enduring calm of Sarah and Jewel.

Methinks Portland is a cozier place because of Sarah and her staff. If you haven’t already, give Homegrown a try – it’s like entering a welcoming embrace.