Wow, have I been MIA!

OK,

 So, I know I have been everywhere but blog world.. So, I'm on my way back!

The Loose Leaf is still going strong, stronger than ever. I have started up the farmer's market scene and so far they are going very well! This time around I have a larger prepping space, better materials, larger variety and being a veteran, going in prepared.

      I feature two teas a market where I hand out samples for people to try. Tomorrow I will be sampling the Pink rose and green tea

and the Stress relief tea.

   These two teas are very popular and this is a relatively new market for me. It is on a resort, so this is either really good, or really bad. People visiting and traveling. Either they want to spend money or they find it amusing to browse. Either way, I get plenty of fresh air, get to talk about tea and health and hopefully make a little money along the way.
      So Rhodiola has been a big herb on campus lately :) What I mean by that is it has been in a few of my blends, and I have had customer requests for this underdog of an herb!

Rhodiola is an adaptogen, enabling the body to maintain physiological balance during times of physical or mental stress. There is a substantial body of research that confirms that the herb confers numerous benefits to health, especially in normalizing the heart rate after exercise or stress. Russian researchers have found that extracts of rhodiola or Panax ginseng act in the same way as the drug Aricept in supporting cognitive function. In the brain stem, rhodiola compounds stimulate the release dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin into ascending pathways that activate the cerebral cortex, stimulating analyzing, evaluating, calculating, and planning functions. The stimulant effect then moves to the prefrontal cortex, where it contributes to memory functions including encoding, sorting, storage, and retrieval.

 I have this wonderful herb in the Stress relief tea! I also have started to put it in my Energy tea .

      Thanks for reading and I apologize again for being gone so long!

Photos of The Lemongrass Chakra and tea garden event!

Here are some photos of the event. It was wonderful! The Lemongrass team pulled everything off flawlessly, with beautiful artists, blood orange champagne, wine, jewelry, aromatherapy, and of course, TEA!

 I am the nerdy Herbalist in pink.
 A lot of my friends showed up to show their support. We had a great turn out and I made many more connections which has already lead to another private label for a pilates studio down in Hillcrest!
  I had a tea garden set up where I pour tastes of the Lemongrass Chakra balancing tea, Pink rose and Green tea, and The Immunitea. All were loved, especially the Chakra balancing tea. Overall, a wonderful day and I can't wait for many more just like this!

Summer tea sale!!!

It's summer, not exactly my busiest time of year!!! So, I am running a sale!!

20% off on all tea!!! Just enter the coupon code tlooseleaf11 at check out!!!!! This sale runs until Friday evening!!!

 Here are some good summer suggestions!! All great iced!!!



Mango tea!

mmm, Iced Chai!!

Red Rooibos/Hibiscus tea

Pink rose and Green tea



Here are just a few.. If you are running a sale, feel free to post it on my blog!!!

 Thanks!!!

Hello Lemongrass!!!

  After completing my tasting with Lemongrass spa, I have become quite interested in the herb Lemongrass. I decided, why not share with you the health benefits of this wonderful herb!

   Not only does lemongrass actually taste like lemon, but you can also find little hints of ginger in there too. Another name for lemongrass is citronella, and we all know what this has been used for, yup, insect repellent! This herb contains beta-carotene which is the anti-oxidant that prevents cancer! A few other little factoids about this great herb:

• Contains anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties
• Detoxifies the kidneys, liver,bladder, pancreas and digestive tract
• Reduces cholesterol, uric acid and excess fats
• Boosts immune system
• Alleviates indigestion and gastroenteritis
• Reduces acne
• Tones muscle and tissue
• Helps relieve arthritis and Rheumatism
• Calms the central nervous system
• Helps reduce blood pressure and improves circulation
• Reduces fever

 As you can see Lemongrass does quite a bit!!!

7 Chakras!!!

Oh my goodness. It has been forever since I have posted! So sorry, I'm sure you have all been holding your breath since my last post!

 Today I had a great meeting with Lemongrass spa. They asked me to create a tea line that would be used in sync with the 7 Chakras. I thought, "wow, how neat, combining my medicinal skills and meshing it energetically." It's interesting to take something you know so well one way and putting that to use on a different level. Challenging a little. I enjoyed this project!
    If you are not familiar with the 7 Chakras Here is a brief description:

 The 7 Chakras are the energy centers in our body in which energy flows through.
Blocked energy in our 7 Chakras can often lead to illness so it's important to understand what each Chakra represents and what we can do to keep this energy flowing freely.

 I decided to use the herb Lemongrass as the base for each tea,(The spa being called Lemongrass and all) I then used the appropriate balancing herb to blend. The owner absolutely LOVED all 7 herbs. She had tears in her eyes when she read my sheet with the descriptions and saw that I used Lemongrass for each one. Said I truly saw her vision with this project. To me, it was a no brainer!

 Here are the 7 chakras and the blends I came up with for spa:

7 Chakra balancing teas

1.       Root chakra, representation of being grounded: Base of spine, tailbone:

                        Lemongrass/Dandelion root

2.    Sacral chakra, nourished, creativity-sensual expression- below navel, between ovaries:            Lemongrass/Calendula

3.  Solar plexus chakra, intention, confident, in control of own life- upper abdomen, stomach area:                    

                           Lemongrass/Marshmallow root

4.    Heart chakra, ability to love, heart center:                                                                    

                          Lemongrass/Hawthorne berries

5.     Throat chakra, ability to communicate, self expressive:          

                     

                         Lemongrass/Red clover

6.     Third eye chakra, to see the big picture, to focus, insight:  

                      

                         Lemongrass/Eyebright

7.     Crown chakra, wisdom, enlightenment, to be fully connected, spiritually:  

                         Lemongrass/Lavender

 I

h     I'm glad they loved it and that I could see her vision with this line. I will keep you all informed. This is going to be a big account, and she is very well connected with in the community. I will supply my tea with in their tea garden, (yes I said it! Tea freakin garden!) and then create this line, and packages.. EEEP! I have my work cut out for me and need to get some solid business advice..

 Anywa, I hope you liked learning a little about the 7 Chakras and the herbs that balance them!

Have a great day!

Education on loose tea.. Quite important!!

A great friend just sent me this article and it's quite important, as loose tea and tea in general is on the up and up..
        Trends with tea

 Thanks!!! I will do a real blog post either today or tomorrow!!!

 Happy tea drinking. It's funny to see this article, because that  is exactly what I am trying to conquer.. Tea education.. Letting people know they are not just getting a beverage, but health and medicinal benefits as well.

Fennel: Antacid, Anti-Inflammatory, Expectorant, Tonic

Ok, I'm back from my vacation to NH. It was lovely and of course so great to see my family, but as you all know, when you are away, your business tends to suffer a bit. I am happy to be back and focused on work. :)

    Today I want to talk about Fennel, I know it's been a while since I said I was going to discuss it, but here I am, stop your fussin!

              Fennel is such a strong, rich herb. Great for use in food and medicinally, Woop!

•      Fennel enriches the quality and quantity of mother's milk, which in turn carries over to baby and helps calm colic.
•  We all know fennel is great for digestion and helps rid the intestinal tract of mucus, (come on, who wants mucus in there?)
• Fennel can be used as a breath freshener and gargle
• Fennel can expel worms, and can be applied as an eye wash
• This herb is quite effective in weight loss, helps curb the appetite and alleviates hunger pains!!!
• Promotes more normal bowel function!
• Fennel is more than effective for cancer patients after being exposed to radiation and chemotherapy.

 I use fennel in my Sinus blend, Weight loss blend  and my Breast Milk tea.

 I should use it in more though!

 My good friend Kyle LOVES to use fennel to cook with:
 "Fennel is great with pork! Whole toasted fennel seeds in pork sausage, I love rubbing pork chops or tenderloins in ground fennel seeds and then searing them in a pan with olive oil, they also add great flavor when added to braising liquids, ground fennel seeds are great for spice rubs and can be combined with other ground spices like coriander!"

 So, here you have it! Fennel: Quite a well rounded herb, I'd say!!!

How do you use Fennel? How would you like to see it used? Do you have any interesting experiences with blending or ingesting this herb?