When Is a Tea More Than a Tea? When It's Ours.

I love our teas because they are so versatile. Not all teas have so many applications, they need to be really special to be used on the skin. The majority of herb teas are not made with whole leaves, they are not organic, you don't know how or where they were grown, when the plants were harvested, you don't know how they were dried or stored. This matters.

Plants are at their therapeutic best when they are fresh or when they are recently dried. The longer they are stored, the less beneficial they are. After 12 - 24 months, leaves and flowers have virtually no therapeutic effect even if they are stored optimally in a sealed jar, in a cool dark place out of direct sunlight. Roots last a little longer, up to 36 months at a push.

The teas you buy pre-packaged in supermarkets tend to be given a shelf life of 3 years. That's 3 years from when they are packaged, not 3 years from harvest. It may be that the Peppermint or Chamomile you've been drinking is old, badly stored, has travelled half way round the world, is packaged in plastic and is actually doing you no good at all.

We make 4 Therapeutic Teas, all are organically grown or responsibly wild harvested by us, all are picked and dried by us and we package them in home compostable cellulose made from wood pulp. As a consequence, all of them are bursting with vitality and crammed with therapeutics. Because of this, they can be used in all sorts of different beneficial ways'

I made the Wildflower Tea for women, I combined cooling and uplifting Roses with Red Clover and Sage for hot flushes, Oat tops to soothe the nervous system, Chamomile to still and calm the mind and Calendula for its anti-inflammatory effects. It is a wonderful tea, especially at the end of the day.

However, you can also use it as a facial steam. Steaming is really beneficial for the skin, it has several useful actions: It deeply cleanses, hydrates, improves circulation, is wonderfully relaxing and releases sebum from the pores reducing inflammation.

Steaming with the Wildflower Tea releases volatile oils from the leaves and flowers into the steam adding to the therapeutic action. It is a really gentle way of giving your skin a treat. Don't think of augmenting it with essential oils,  they are too strong, just stick to the teas.

How to Steam

Cleanse with the Harmonising Cleansing Balm
Fill a bowl with just-boiled water and let it cool a little. If you have broken veins, let the water cool significantly.
Add a couple of good pinches of Wildflower Tea and stir
Lean over the bowl and put a large towel over your head and neck. Don't get too close to the water, if you find yourself becoming over heated, remove the towel and cool down a little. This is not intended as a hot sauna but rather a gentle steam.
Close your eyes and take slow, steady breaths through your mouth - 5-10 minutes of steaming is plenty.

After steaming, spritz with the Isle Mist or one of our Face Mists and whilst the skin is still damp, moisturise - the Face Cream #3 is a good light option or the Unblushing for sensitive skin or the Blemish Resolve Cream for skin prone to breakouts.

Beyond steaming, a sprinkle of leaves in the bath makes for a really relaxing soak. The Atlantic Ocean Tea is especially wonderful in the bath, the Kelp is really beautiful, offering a mineral and polyphenol rich immersion. 

Our Digestive Tea is great for calming the gut when drunk as a tea, but it's also brilliant for the skin. Simply make a tisane with a small pinch of Tea and just-boiling water. Leave it to steep for 5 minutes, let it cool to warm, then strain into a bowl and soak a cloth in it, applying it to the face. Repeat this a few times. The Mint is really anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial so it helps to prevent breakouts and treat spots. The Marshmallow, when heated creates a gel like substance which is really soothing to calm the skin. The Fennel seeds act as a tonic.

As a different option, our Earl Grey Tea is delicious when added to a glass of Wild Eve either hot or with ice. The Earl Grey isn't suitable for direct application to the skin because of the Bergaptene in the Bergamot Peel which can cause sensitivity to the sun so keep it for drinking. 
So if you can find the time, drink, steam, bathe and enjoy our teas - they’re unlike any other…