Popular Ayurveda Apothecary Moves Online

PR Log (Press Release) – Jul 01, 2009 – Portland, Maine,  -  When Sarah Richards, owner of Homegrown Herb and Tea, opened her Ayurveda Tea Shop in the small coastal city of Portland, Maine three years ago, most people had no idea what Ayurveda even was. That is no longer the case. After a relentless campaign to educate customers in the ancient traditions of Ayurveda healing, she now has hundreds of sworn converts who regularly visit her tea shop for a delicious cup of dosha balancing herbal tea. She now looks to extend that success online, launching the first Ayurveda herbal tea apothecary at http://www.homegrownherbandtea.com.

According to Richards, an Ayurveda tea apothecary is different from your average tea shop in several ways. For one, its focus is on non-caffeinated medicinal blends each concocted according to the ancient art of Ayurveda healing, an Indian philosophy that categorizes people according to their dosha, or “type,” and emphasizes balance as the essence of good health. It is a philosophy that Richards has brought to all aspects of her business, including her non-Ayurveda blends, and preaches on a daily basis. “Almost every ailment comes back to people being out of balance with their dosha, their true nature. This is why western medicine so often fails. It doesn’t recognize that there are different natures, different types or essences. It is very mechanical in its application. But we are not all identical. What works for one person may not work for another.”

Richards also stresses the quality of the herbs themselves. Homegrown Herb and Tea uses herbs sourced locally whenever possible. When they are unable to source their herbs from area organic farmers, they buy strictly from farmers who adhere to the highest organic standards and bio-diversity farming.

“It is important to know where your herbs are from, who grew them and how fresh they are,” Richards said, sighting a recent survey of herbal products done by Notre Dame University that reported a “surprisingly high level” of heavy metals and toxins in a random sample of popular herbal products. “The plant itself must be healthy for it to impart health. There is a healing, loving intentionality that must go into every aspect of the plant’s life – from its earliest days as a seedling to its final use in a tea. This is not about consuming pulverized herbal dust indifferently grown and harvested and then manufactured into a pill or a tea bag by a machine and hoping it makes you feel better. This is about a conscientious process by which the tea is grown, blended and consumed.”

Richards worked as a high school teacher until taking a sabbatical to open her Ayurveda herbal tea apothecary. She gave herself one year to make it work. Much to her surprise, the apothecary has proved incredibly successful, winning awards and critical praise while growing in business every year since opening.

The site, which launched this month at http://www.homegrownherbandtea.com, makes available over 40 of Richards most popular tea blends as well as her Ayurveda teas.  Each blend is sold either in six ounce loose leaf bags beginning at $20 or as hand stuffed tea sacks, sold at $16. The tea arrives in beautiful cotton satchels similar to how ancient apothecaries used to fill prescriptions. In its first week of being launched, the site had over 1,000 hits and has already made sales in four different countries.

“I never thought I would go on the Internet,” Richards said. “I believe very much in the personal approach to healing and relating with people. But I am finding our shop is striking a chord with people who have been looking for this very thing and in some ways, it is no different than if you had come to my tea shop. I’m still fixing your tea and answering your questions!”