As a child, a passion for natural remedies was ignited in me by my Grandmother. She was an herbalist in the traditional sense of the word, a woman who knew how to work with nature to maintain the health and happiness of her family. Her medicines consisted of ancient family recipes for when you had a fever, a cold or even when something much more serious came up. She also made many of her own facial creams, lotions and shampoo.

I was a bit of a hypochondriac growing up, and consequently, when I did not feel like going to school I would pretend to come down with a temporary bug. Grandma would send me out to gather different flowers, stems and twigs, and sometimes even whole bushes and small plants. I would bring them home and she would hang or rack them to dry while she pulled out some of her existing stock to create a concoction, decoction or an infusion for me. Often, the taste of her remedies were seemingly worse than the illness! However, they always worked.

Years later, after I had become a master herbalist and was creating my own herbal blends which had beautiful if somewhat earthy flavor notes, I asked her, “Why did your herbals always taste so bitter or just foul?” She laughed and, in her lilting Irish accent, told me that, “You were such a wee little hypochondriac, the only way I knew you were truly sick is if you would drink it!”

Despite the noxious taste of her brews, the fact that Grandma was able to help cure my ailments with nothing more than plants I could gather from outside made a strong impact on me. It sparked an interest that has never gone away. It is because of Grandma’s herbal creations that I have spent more than 35 years studying, researching and utilizing herbs as my primary health care form. Sharing the knowledge I have gained with our tea community has become the medium for my art and passion.

And since I am now making my own blends, I can make sure they taste good! Each of our WellTeaing herbal blends has a different flavor profile, from mild AnxieTea and RespiraTea to spicy DecongesTea and earthy DigesTea and ArthriTea, and more. Of course, since everyone has different tastes, the flavor will not appeal to everyone just because it is better than what Grandma made. For those who need a little flavor boost, we often recommend adding one of our fruit blends to the mixture, or sometimes even just a touch of honey. After all, even the healthiest tea in the world will do you no good if you don’t drink it!