Okay so that’s not an original caption but hear me out - why do we always have to be original, new, and groundbreaking? Sometimes we get beautiful and unexpected results by remixing, formulating and sitting with what’s been said and done before.

It’s week two of opening shop and it feels right to start sharing more about Premye and the person behind it. I decided to start this business after finishing a cup of my #FumeeTeTeaBlend. It was maybe my 100th cup over the weeks and months I'd been perfecting the blend, and a light flipped on when realized I was finally happy with everything about the tea.

Up until that point, I wasn't sure where my new interests in herbalism, social justice, spiritual exploration and community involvement would take me. I had started integrating herbal cigarettes in my ‘wind down / get psyched up / tune in’ sessions months before. I knew I wanted to make things with herbs and share them with others somehow but it wasn't until this one particular cup of tea that I know I was going to start a business focused on tea and cigarettes.

So what was so great about this tea? Remember, I’m a ‘capital letter’ Tea Drinker the way others are capital letter Coffee Drinkers - this tea fit lots of important criteria for me. It wasn’t too fussy about being under or over steeped. It was soothing and nourishing to drink at almost any temperature. Plus it tasted and smelled amazing... so I knew I was ready to make the fuzzy idea of starting a tiny herbal tea company a reality.

Origin stories are important, and to keep the play on words going, they don’t have to be uniquely original - they just have to be true. Thanks for reading some of Premye Herbals origin story and for supporting my blend of low-key, radical* and easy-to-integrate herbalism.

*I like to remind myself that while we all use 'radical' in lots of ways these days, it simply means 'encompassing the roots of a system'  so when I use it around herbalism, I just mean that I'm trying to get to the heart of people including plants in their wellbeing.