We moved around quite a bit when I was a child and my love for tea grew with my love for travel. My introduction to tea and herbal infusions began at a young age in the Peruvian Andes. My grandmother was from a long lineage of both indigenous and european ancestry and often made me coca leaf tea for altitude sickness as well as other herbal infusions such as anis and  mansanilla, all traditional herbs from the region that have been used for centuries. Her warmth and love along with her nourishing teas instilled an ongoing longing for warm beverages for comfort and nurturing. This love instilled the constant yearning of the sweet smell of steeping medicinal plants.

 

The majority of my childhood and teenage years I spent living in England, a country very well know for its tea culture, gardens and herbal folklore. Here I was immersed in beautiful countryside British tea culture and learned to consume copious amoutns of Twinnings assam black tea. It wasn't until my 20s thatYears of afternoon tea helped me developed a palette for delicate aged black tea leaves from India, Sri Lanka and Africa. Afternoon tea was always such a comforting daily ritual, a national tradition, a pause and a pick-me-up to get you through the rest of the day before supper. Later on during my university studies in Paris I became a "thés" and "tisanes" enthusiast! Tisanes became my go to for stressful studying days and a way to unwind at night. But what really immersed me in the world of herbs and their medicinal properties was working in a wonderful herbal shop in my early twenties, on the coast of California.  I quickly became excited about the medicinal properties of plants and soon found myself studying herbal medicine and nutritional consulting after university.

 

Our lives are limited and sometimes quite short. I've learnt this the hard way having lost to parents to cancer too soon. I've since deepened my commitment to health and delved back into finding more ways to understand plamt medicine and the mind-body connection. Incorporating healthier habits, foods, supplements mindset (to name a few) to boost the immune system,  is not always easy. However living a less stressful life and making my mental and physical health strong is a non negotiable. Helpful rituals such a steeping fresh, organic loose leaf herbal  and green teas have been a life saver for me.  It has been one of the most rewarding self-care rituals I've incorporated into my lifestyle over the years, not only for the nutritional and antioxidants found in herbs and nd teas (green especially) but the hydration added to your day can not be underestimateds So many of us forget the importance of drinking a certain amount of water every day.

 

At a certain point in life, we suddenly understand the importance of slowing down and adding pause to our days. Learning to add these moments of pause may start to feel like a meditation for some as it has the potential to bring more calm to our lives creating moments of quiet reflection, silence and noticing the small things.  Herbal tea drinking has many additional benefits, you are not only calming the nervous system, you are also adding hydration, boosting your electrolytes, improving circulation and nourishing the vitamins a minerals, nourishing or body.  Millions of people around the world partake in the ritual of tea. It is my wish that you explore the benefits, live your best life with loved one, discover steeping, brewing and smelling the sweet aromas of medicinal herbs. I welcome you to join the Mika Tea Tribe!  

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Mika xo