start a tea habit, take charge of your health

Starting a tea habit is one of the most profound things you can do to take charge of your health.

To help get your tea habit started, I’ve curated a list of some great small tea companies around the country worthy of attention and support.

These are run by herbalists who offer delicious and ingenious tea blends, often focusing on plants that grow or are especially useful in their locales. I’m a big fan of bioregional herbalism, the concept of emphasizing the herbs of place. And it’s more important than ever to support small, local businesses. I encourage you to check these out. 

Mountain Mel’s Essential Goods is based on the slope of Mt. Hood in Welches, Oregon. Owner/formulator Mel Mutterspaugh gave me a special deal just for you: Use the code “drorna” to get 10 percent off your order. 

Lovejoy Botanicals is based in my old hometown of Newport, on the beautiful Oregon Coast. Owner/formulator Frances O’Halloran does absolutely magical things with locally wildcrafted and organic herbs. Ask specially for her forest teas and rose products.

Avena Botanicals, run by amazing herbalist Deb Soule, makes beautiful blends in Rockport, Maine.

Other small, regional tea resources:

Dancing Sage Wellness by herbalist Anna-Claire Lotti in Asheville, North Carolina. 

Hilltop Herbals by herbalist Cheryl Karcher in Easton, Pennsylvania. 

Texas Medicinals by herbalist Ginger Webb in Austin, Texas.

Linden Tree Herbals by herbalist Ginny Denton in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

Two Spirit Medicinals by herbalist Laurie Books is based in SW Washington. Laurie also runs Clary Sage Herbarium in Portland, Oregon, and they ship both tea blends and bulk herbs. 

Briar Patch Herbs, run by herbalist Sheri Copans, is also based in Portland, Oregon, and sells teas and bulk herbs.

Living Earth Herbs, run by herbalist Michele Sanger, sells teas and bulk herbs from Bellingham, Washington. 

These are all people I know personally. If you order, please say hi from me!

Do you know a great, local tea company that should make this list? Please let me know! I’ll post updates on my website. 

I hope these links inspire you to start a tea habit. Keep me posted about how it goes for you.

Salúd!

—Dr. Orna

P.S. Want to learn more about tea and why starting a tea habit matters? I talked about this at the first meeting of my Immune Resilience Action Series. Check out the recording here — and please share the link with your friends! 

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash