I am running out of the linden flower tea that I bought on a trip to Barcelona (where it is called til·la) and the licorice tea I bought on a trip to Lund (where it is called lakritste), and I must find steady replacements soon.
There was a time when linden flowers and fennel were among the varieties of herb tea I could get around my New York neighborhood, in ordinary packaging in a number of supermarkets. Now everything seems to be proprietary-sounding health-mixtures: "Mother-To-Be", "Joint Comfort", "Om", "Skin DeTox", and so on. Peppermint and chamomile are almost the only two you can easily buy that don't have cloyingly fruity ingredients or real tea in them. Hibiscus is available here and there. I have a feeling there is also now a lot more Chinese and Japanese tea in supermarkets than there used to be — though of far lower quality than what I am used to, through my special sources. Frankly, I was happier with a bigger choice of raw ingredients.
Finally, though, I found linden flowers ("lime blossom", "tilleul", etc.), lemon verbena, lavender, and fennel — all for sale at Fairway in their own cheap plastic packaging. An alternative is probably Kalustyan on Lexington in the 20s, where a vast choice of herbs, but overpriced, is to be found. However, Fairway on 131st St. is nearer and cheaper. I will continue to try to buy plain herbs and steep them singly or in my own unnamed mixtures as long as I can. There is, of course, always Chinatown for a wide selection of certain things — licorice root, for instance.