The Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, commonly referred to as the Matenadaran, is well worth visiting in Yerevan. Some of the manuscripts on display are quite stunning. But apparently there’s more to the place than (very) old books. I bought this Vivifying Flower Tea in the gift shop, and the label refers to a Research Center for Medieval Armenian Medicine.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing online about this research center, but there’s clearly a lot of work around on Medieval Armenian medicine, and the role of plants in it. It’s interesting that the concoction I bought is actually protected by a patent (see the label). That’s a different route to the one taken by India, for example. The tea was in fact pretty good, if a bit expensive, though not, if I am honest, especially vivifying. I wonder if any of takings from the gift shop filters back into conservation, of either the tea’s constituent plants or the manuscripts which hold the secret of its manufacture. I suspect not.