Wellness and taking care of you during pregnancy and breastfeeding is so important, but so often overlooked. That’s why we’re so excited to have added a carefully curated range of gifting items to our website recently.
This week we’ve had a chat with the lovely Emma Watson, founder of Love Tea, to discuss all things family, tea, inspirations and more. Read on to find out the story behind this beautiful brand.
1. Let’s start out with where you’re from.
I grew up in Victoria, in a little town called Geelong.
2. Tell us a little about you, your family and your motherhood journey.
I was raised by the most beautiful parents, and I am the middle child in a family of five. I had my first daughter when I was 26 and now have three children, aged 12, 7 and 4.
My journey to Motherhood has been beautiful. It was always a challenge to juggle Motherhood and a new young business. I have always worked alongside being a Mum and have only recently felt that it is all quite balanced now. I find so much joy in being a Mum and in my business, so I feel very blessed to be able to do both.
3. What was your motivation for starting Love Tea and how did the brand come to be?
I was in my second year of university, studying Naturopathy and started tinkering with herbal medicine. I fell in love with herbs and wanted to bring them into more people’s lives, to make them more accessible to people and to reduce the barriers between herbs and individuals seeking support on their journey towards wellness.
I was juggling the business and finishing my studies, so my husband Damien joined the Love Tea team to help me. I started hand crafting chai teas and then moved onto herbal wellness teas. We started selling to small stores, organic shops and cafes, and also on the weekends at markets. We were determined to create a business that offered products that were good for the individual and had the least amount of negative impact on the planet. We became members of 1% For The Planet, we became certified organic and we traveled to visit the fairtrade plantations we were buying from and meet the growers.
The brand grew and our small team grew with it. We now supply a range of beautiful stores through Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong and we sell from our online store as well.
4. Your cofounder, Damien, also happens to be your husband! What’s it like working alongside someone so close to you?
Although I started the business, Damien came on board quite early on and has really taken the reins. As he says, I get to do lots of the fun stuff, and he looks after the rest! I am focussed on developing new products, sales and distribution, while he looks after the rest. We work pretty well together as we have been a team for so long now and also because our individual roles are quite different.
5. How do you select the ingredients for your various blends? Do you have a favourite?
Our ingredients are selected based on the outcome we are trying to achieve, i.e. Sleep Tea was designed to help support healthy, deep and rejuvenating sleep. The ingredients used in this blend have traditionally been used to help support healthy sleep cycles and act as mild sedatives, supporting the nervous system and helping calm a busy mind.
Once each individual ingredient is approved from a health benefit perspective, we review the ingredients synergistically and then for their flavor profile. It takes a great deal of time and much trial and error to finalize a product.
I have many favorites, as I do drink different blends throughout the day, depending on what time of day it is and how I am feeling. I enjoy Sleep Tea every night before bed and English Breakfast every morning but throughout the day I really love Calming Tea, Digestive Tea and French Earl Grey.
6. Tell us a bit about your products! Is there one must-have that you’d recommend all new mamas have?
- Raspberry Leaf Tea is an amazing tea for new mums. It is nutrient rich, to help restore the body post labor and birth and also if the Mother is breastfeeding.
- Calming Tea is often a nice addition throughout the early days of Motherhood, perfect day or night.
- Our Breastfeeding Tea has really helped many breastfeeding Mothers who lack supply. It helps to support milk production and has been hugely helpful for many new Mums. I would highly recommend this blend to any new Mums wanting to breastfeed.
7. You say you hope the terms “organic” and “fair trade” are no longer relevant in the future. Tell us a little bit about this.
When we started Love Tea we wanted to do business in a way that would positively impact as many people as possible, both through the production process and the end product. As a naturopath I wanted to use ingredients that were grown without the use of chemical sprays, and that were certified organic, as I believe these chemicals can have a negative impact on our health and on the environment.
We also wanted to ensure that the people who grow the ingredients we use are paid fairly, and live and work in fair working conditions. We would rather pay slightly more for each ingredient and know that we were supporting these more holistic practices, than to pay less and buy from growers in unfair and poor working conditions.
It is our hope that businesses and individuals choose what they buy mindfully, considering the journey each product has been on before it reaches the consumer. I think if we can thoughtfully consider the production process of each product, the purchases we make will be more considered and allow us to step away from non organic products, heavy chemical use and unfair working conditions.
8. What’s next for Love Tea? What does the future hold?
We hope to continue to grow Love Tea, sharing the range with more people around the world. We aim to continue to make decisions each day with a great deal of care, for the consumer and the planet. I love developing new products so we aim to continue to create blends that help people on their journey towards wellness.
9. What’s one piece of advice you would give to new mothers?
This too shall pass. This is a quote I wish someone had shared with me when I had my first child. When you’re up all night, when your babe is crying, when you are so incredibly tired…all this will pass and when it is blissful and complete joy and nothing could be any better…this too shall pass. Nothing remains the same, everything will change eventually, so go with the flow and be gentle on yourself.
10. Is there anything you wish more women knew about postpartum journeys?
I guess to really take a gentle approach to this special time in life, to be kind to yourself and let go of the expectations attached to all things pregnancy, birth, postpartum. Everyone is unique, on their own journey and if the way you do things is different to others, that is perfectly okay. I think it’s super important to be mindful of looking after yourself as your body enters a time of great pressures and demands, to give back to yourself and ensure you remember to take care of yourself.
11. Any advice for mamas on their own business journey or looking to start?
I think anyone who is juggling Motherhood as well as business, or looking to start a business, just needs to find the balance that works best for them. To listen to their needs and their family’s needs and set boundaries to avoid feeling too pulled in too many directions at once. Make sure there’s enough time to look after yourself, so you can stay balanced and take care of your little ones.
12. How do you take time for yourself as a mama? What are some of your self-care rituals?
I love yoga and meditation and I try to get to one class each week. If this is too much of a challenge (which it sometimes is with three kids and a business,) then I will put on my runners and go for a walk. I love putting my earphones in and enjoying some quiet meditation music. Any moment of peace and quiet is really quite restorative and a walk in nature or time at the beach really helps me feel restored and balanced.
13. What do you find most challenging about being a mama? Has this shaped any products in your range?
I think the biggest challenge is finding time to do something for myself. I am not great at this but am definitely getting better at it. Sometimes I will check in with myself and realise I haven’t been to a yoga class, or for a walk in two weeks, and realise that this is not the best for me, not a great example for my kids and not an ideal way to stay balanced. I guess Calming Tea was somewhat shaped by this, and the business of life these days.
So many Mums are trying to look after many other people, juggling work and priorities usually shift away from self care, towards the needs of others. Their own needs are often left to the side. I feel this blend offers a small but wholesome reminder to fill our own cup up, so we can give to others. To take time (even if it’s just 3 minutes) to pause and breathe, before continuing on through our day.
14. As a business owner, how do you find the time to balance work & family? Any tips that you can share?
I think it’s super important to communicate your needs and wants with your family, so they can understand how they can help create the space for you to take time out for yourself. I feel that when we communicate our needs or wants, our family can jump on board and support us, encourage us to go and do these things, to help us better look after ourselves, so that we can stay balanced.
15. What’s been the most rewarding part of your motherhood journey?
I think now having kids that are 12, 7, and 4, you start to see their beautiful personalities shine. You see them blossom and become their own beings, which brings me a great deal of joy. If we can raise kind, happy and compassionate little humans, I think there’s probably nothing more rewarding than that.
Thank you.
