Welcoming Summer + Addressing this Time

Around the world, teas + tisanes are an important part of many festivities to celebrate seasonal shifts and welcome in the next cycle.

Nature is the most expressive in summer. We are grateful to witness the many gifts that Mother Earth has to offer at this time of year and to be able to share this with you through the abundant teas + herbs + spices we receive from around the world, as well as the lush tea bushes on the slopes in our garden.

Sitting with and sharing our steeps is an invitation to find ways to reflect, connect, celebrate and appreciate the season!

While there is indeed much to be grateful for this season, this is juxtaposed by much to grieve.

In light of recent news, National Indigenous People’s Day this month, International Indigenous People’s Day coming up, and the upcoming anniversary of the Constitution Act of 1867 on July 1, our team has been engaging in dialogue around our role in colonization and decolonization. We sip our tea a little slower as we consider our space, our selves, and our ways of serving our community.

We may not have many answers, but we are asking many questions.

What we do know is...
History is inseparable from the land on which it occurred.
History is inseparable from the present.

The tea plant has understood this for thousands of years.

As producers and importers of fine tea, history is a key part of our education on tea. Tea is ancient, yet ever-evolving. The story of tea is deeply connected to Indigenous peoples and as well to colonial agendas.

We are adding to the story of tea in our own small way - through our small tea garden and through our big aims to provide a home for a diversity of tea cultures. We are continually asking how we want to write the story of Westholme Tea. And not just how we present the story, but how we live the story.

All around the world, serving tea is seen as a way to welcome, find lines of connection, offer respect, bring good humour, express forgiveness, and approach others with humility and grace. It is common practice in many cultures to sit for tea prior to, during, or after any meetings, gatherings, negotiations or tough conversations. As a plant traditionally used as a medicine for the heart, we think a cup of tea, or many, is a perfect accompaniment as we navigate the many questions before us at this point in time. It is a collective task to listen, to read and to discuss so that we may open our hearts and minds, and educate ourselves on a shared history that is ancient, yet ever-evolving. Just like tea itself.

Read the rest of our June 25th Newsletter