Empowering Potion

Everyone loves the Empowering Potion.
It's been by far the most popular of our sprays but sadly, we've been sold out of it for months!
It's tricky to make a sun infused, sun inspired Potion in Oregon.
Each of the potions have their very own needs and desires and the Empowering Potion needs and desires Sun and lots of it.
7 plus days of as full sun as possible.
It's a hard feat for most of the Portland year.
I also need to have the space set up just so and have all the ingredients on hand before brewing.
For everyone who has been coming in each week asking about the potion and the girls at the store asking me when I'll be making some more already?
Well, it's finally happened.
Summer Solstice was a clear and auspicious day to brew and now it's already bright and hot at 9am, with tomorrow expecting to reach near 100 degrees, this will be a powerful batch.
The last time everything aligned for this potion was in August of 07.
It looks like the next many days will continue to be perfect weather, but I'm glad it's already made, because I'll be in herb camp all next week and any potions being made will be with the children.
xo

Calendula

here is an old school illustration of Calendula

in this picture you'll see the calendula that is blooming from last year's plants under the "getting taller everyday" Elecampane and on the right is the garden sage where the calendula seeds are growing next to it.



these are the babies.
this is an up close picture.
on the left is a red stem with the seed still attached, the middle plant has leaves about 1/3 inch long and the 3rd image is about to open.
so sweet and oh so strong for being so tiny




If you can see the hose nozzle at the top of the picture you can get a sense of the scale here.

These are from a week or so ago and everything has doubled since then.

I'll try to add more pictures soon.

I'm in love.

World Tea Expo

First of all, I know this sounds very exotic and beautiful and aromatic, however, the Expo was in Las Vegas and I was soooo sick.
I will write another post all about the illness and my treatment, stay posted.

We went to the tea expo thinking and hoping we would find the coolest teapots & cups, the most amazing lines of boxed & bagged teas and herb & tea infused chocolates.

Teapots: We found lots of almost lovely enough teapots and cups the first two days and on the third day we finally found beautiful teapots that we loved and they were available in an amazing array of colors.

Oh, but this is the line we already carry.

Beehouse Teapots made in Japan.

Chocolate: We have been carrying chocolate line from Belgium that is infused with flowers and spices that we adore, but we're always open to something new.

So, we tasted a dozen green tea candies, tea infused chocolates shaped like teacups, shortbread cookies infused with tea and on and on. Not one thing was even a consideration. Bummer.

Tea: so much tea, so many cups, I felt awful about all the waste.

There were so many poorly brewed pots of tea. Even the tea that I carry and the tea line that I picked up were brewed in a way that was not quite right.

Our hands-down favorite product was a jasmine tea non-alcoholic "champagne".

It was beautifully brewed and carbonated and not too sweet.

I will be serving it at events and offering it as a special order item.

We met some cousins who were representing their family tea plantation in India. One of the cousins lives in India the other in Los Angeles. They had lovely energy and amazing tea.

I found a grower selling my favorite jasmine tea: yin hao jasmine. Organic, even. I'm hoping to have that in the store and my teacup soon.

We went to the world tea expo, it seems, mostly, to realize what we are carrying is the best and yes we can add a few things here and there, but really, we're pretty dialed in.