To answer your question on ‘what made you start this ah?’
TLDR; because I love nature, because I want to draw awareness to the simplest things in life, and because I’m in so much awe with what nature offers.
Having spent an entire semester in university learning about the basics of TCM and how to navigate the 本草纲目, I started to appreciate nature even more through the lens of this practice that lasted over a thousand years.
The concept of achieving balance in TCM spoke to me. Beyond the yin and yang, there’s joy and sorrow, dark and light, the highs and the lows. Rather than the race to nowhere, which we are so used to, it was all about creating harmony, restoring balance.
Through the understanding of the various herbs and its healing properties, I started creating blends for myself. I saw how mother nature cared for us in her own ways and I wished we could do the same for her, through changes in our lifestyles and living habits.
Anyway, it took me probably another six months to figure out that I was going to embark on this journey, and that it wasn't just another fleeting idea of mine.
After rounds of research, reaching out to TCM practitioners, uncountable rounds of taste testing, supplier sourcing and lots of boring stuff, here I am today with Tea Buds, 茶伴.
I called it Tea Buds because I wanted buds to mean both buddy and flower buds. We could become buddies with nature!
Despite having laid all foundations, I gave myself an exit plan - to sell my jars on Carousell if no one buys my tea - and who knew, we’ve went way beyond that fear.
If you are reading this, thank you for being part of this journey. Even if you think you’ve done nothing, you just bumped my page view by +1 and it already means a lot to me.
I hope that the buddies from Tea Buds can provide respite to your hectic days. Stay mindful, and let simple things in life bring you joy.
With love & gratitude, Cheryl