Our Journey

Follow

from 2014 to present

In 2014, the story of Iyashi Herbs began with a handful of herbs and a dream that true healing could be achieved one sip (or dip) at a time.

Follow our journey through the years as we embarked on a mission to spread the wonders of herbs, tea and healing with the world.

The Journey Begins: 2014

2014 signalled the beginning of a series of events which would help to define Iyashi Herbs moving forward.

Trod with us...

FEB: Iyashi Herbs on TVJ's Smile Jamaica.

Iyashi Herbs was introduced to the world on the Smile Jamaica morning show on TVJ!

MAR: 1st Pop-Up @ Orchid Magic Wellness Village

On Sunday, March 30th, 2014, Iyashi Herbs set up shop for the first time at the Orchid Magic Wellness Village in Mona.

Since April 2014, Iyashi Herbs has been offering complimentary herb-infused water intermittently on Saturday afternoons at the True Self Centre of Being

APR: Iyashi Herbs @ True Self Centre of Being

In April we also supplied a limited stock of herb pouches, bath salt tea bags and herbal blends at the True Shelf Shop which was located in the same space.

APR: Herb Pouches in Calabash @ True Shelf

In April we also supplied a limited stock of herb pouches, bath salt tea bags and herbal blends at the True Shelf Shop which was located in the same space.

On Saturday May 17, 2014, Iyashi Herbs provided a special herbal tea blend and herb-infused water at (the Tea Lady's first alma mater) the Queen's Preparatory School's Tea Party Fundraiser.

NOV: Palate Cleansers @ Divine Eatery Live Cuisine Event

In November we also presented a refreshing herbal palate cleanser at the Divine Eatery Live Food Cuisine Event which was held at Nanook

DEC: KAAM | Shop | Boutique event @ True Shelf

On December 21st 2014 we provided herbal refreshments at the KAAM | Shop | Boutique event which was hosted at True Self Centre of Being.

Iyashi Herbs' Video Cameo

The Journey Continues: 2015

2014 saw the beginning of a wonderful journey.

In 2015 the journey continued, even bigger and better.

For Valentine's Day we created our Herbal Honey Love Potion which was perfect for those persons who wanted to add a bit more sweetness to their lives.

Our clients mean the world to us. So when we received an invitation to witness the union of two of our beloved clients we had to prepare a special Iyashi Herbs Love Basket for them.

Tea Service @ Rasta Documentary Premiere at the Bob Marley Museum

For the launch of our dear friend and beloved client Donisha Prendergast's documentary called 'Rasta' we created a delicious blend of herbs and spices to delight the guests after the viewing.

At Iyashi Herbs we love and honour all mothers and so we decided to begin a tradition of offering Mother's Day Baskets and Bouquets for special delivery on Mother's Day each year. The first year went well and we look forward to serving even more mothers in the future.

We love sharing space and tea at the True Self Centre of Being.

On a few occasions we had the pleasure of collaborating with recording artiste, Jah9, on a few yoga events which included the sipping and steaming of herbs.

Moroccan-Mint Tea Presentation in the Blue Mountains

Whilst the Blue Mountains are best known for coffee, we had the opportunity to introduce a different style of tea ceremony at the Jam-Rocco event hosted by Dream Life Cuisine.

There are few things better than sipping a warm cup of tea after an invigorating yoga session under the Full Moon. Thanks to Dream Life for inviting us to serve our herbal tea blends at their Moonlight yoga session.

When Sippin' Live invited us to serve our iced herbal tea at the Seasoning and Reasoning event we jumped at the opportunity. It was a great event filled with artistic expressions of all kind including visual, drumming, poetry and acoustic performances, not to mention the culinary treats!

Herbal Refreshments @ Rastafari Rootz Fest in Negril

Iyashi Herbs Popped-Up at the Rastafari Rootz fest with a refreshing iced tea blend as well as some herb-infused water. It was well appreciated for all patrons who required rehydration throughout the events of the day.

In December 2015 we prepared an extra-special Steamaz Blend care gifts for select patrons at Vibes is Right.

They were well received and appreciated.

The Year of Nine: 2016

2015 was a year of many blessings and lessons and so was 2016.

Take a glimpse into our journey throughout this year of completion, 2016, the year of 9.

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The Return to One: 2017

2017 was a year of renewal and change; introspection and reinvention.

A year that took us back to where it all began -- Japan.

Journey with us as we develop a deeper understanding of the How, the Where and the Way of Tea.

Learning more about Japanese Tea Ceremony was very high on my list of things to do when I learnt that I was going to be getting the opportunity to live in Japan once again.

So, being a firm believer in #WORDSOUNDPOWER, when I arrived in Nagasaki Japan and the local community volunteer group asked me what aspects of Japanese culture I was interested of course my answer was Sado please!

After getting a taste of Tea Ceremony I did some research and learnt that this region (in fact in a town very near to where I live) had its own special style of Tea Ceremony specifically performed by Samurai called Chinshin-Ryu.

So the next mission was to find a teacher willing to take on a foreign student with limited Japanese language capabilities but an eager spirit.

I am so excited to absorb all there is to know about this special Samurai way of Tea Ceremony. I have already learnt that the way of greeting and entering the room are slightly different from the more popular methods of Tea Ceremony.
I still haven't figured out how to make a perfect bowl of tea but this is where training begins.

I am intrigued and excited to learn and grow.

Tea Ceremony is all about ritual; silencing the mind and getting into the movements and placements and all the intricate details of the present moment. Committing to a weekly Tea Ceremony (okeiko) ritual has become integral to developing not just physical and mental alacrity but also, and most importantly, spiritual discipline.

I give thanks for all the lessons being learnt on this journey.

One of the hardest things for me is sitting in seiza (i.e. the Japanese traditional formal way of sitting, with knees bent, legs folded under thigh and buttocks resting on the ankles.)
Lucky for me, my teacher -- ever sympathetic to my plight -- has offered me an alternative to seiza called Ryuurei style of Tea Ceremony where both host and guest sit on stools/chairs and the tea in prepared on a table instead of directly on the tatami mat.

Give thanks.
Training continues.

Ichi go Ichi e is my favourite Japanese proverb, so much so that I have it tattooed on my left arm.
So when I saw this sign -- Ichi go Ichi e -- at the entrance to my teacher's Tea Room it was only confirmation that I was in the right place at the right time.
The concept of ichi-go ichi-e is the philosophy that each meeting should be treasured, for it can never be reproduced. It is said to have been an integral theme in the creation of Tea Ceremony in the 16th Century.

I begin every Tea Ceremony (otemae) session a small room where the tea bowls (chawan), bamboo ladles (hishaku) and chasen (bamboo whisk) are cleaned, prepared and kept before and after each ceremony. It has a basin and a pipe for washing the utensils as well as shelves and hooks for storing them after use.
Additionally, there is a specific way in which we must leave and enter this room before during and after each otemae.

These are just a few of the essential items used in a typical tea ceremony.
Bamboo is a very popular natural resource used in the Japanese Tea Ceremony. The water ladle, Tea Scoop, Tea Whisk and sometimes even the water container is made from bamboo.

Simplicity.

For a while I thought that there was only one way of preparing tea for Tea Ceremony.
Boy, was I wrong.
Usucha (or thin tea) was the only method of preparation I had seen and it was the first type I was introduced to.
Apparently, this was only the tip of the Tea Ceremony iceberg.
There is so much more left for me to learn.
For example, koicha (or thick tea) is another method of preparing matcha for Tea Ceremony and is typical done before a full-course meal (kaiseki).

Growth and Exploration: 2018

From discovering a Huge Tea Tree Monument to exploring Tea Houses and Castles in Kyoto to eventually doing our first official Tea Ceremony events in both Jamaica and Japan, 2018 has truly been a year of growth and exploration.

Discovery and Expansion: 2019

This time around we focused our energies on continuing our tea ceremony practice along with discovering even more about the history of tea and the Tea Ceremony in Japan.

Furthermore we were blessed with the opportunity to host another tea ceremony event in Kingston, Jamaica.

Hibernation and Isolation: 2020

As a global pandemic raged all around us, we found peace and solace in the Japanese Tea Room. While there, we learned more about the process of making up the fire as well as a special night time tea ceremony done entirely by candle light.