Lovely lovely post! I accidentally discovered I could dry herbs when I forgot to store curry leaves in the fridge. Fortunately I had put the bunch in a paper bag so there was no moisture related mess. It had dried perfectly and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the leaves were just as aromatic as the fresh. Thus started my journey towards drying curry leaves. I've tried drying mint but as you rightly said, it is best used fresh. 200 grams of fresh mint leaves yields less than 70 grams of the dried herbs that too, with a lot of effort :-)

I also dry fenugreek leaves for future use. I have not used herbs like rosemary, sage and thyme. I do use thyme seeds a lot (fabulous for tummy ailments).

The subject of herbs is fascinating. You are right -- dealing with them regularly makes the house smell like an apothecary. Thank you so much for the enjoyable read, JMH!