It's so easy! Original blended herbal tea is now available! (1)

When I go abroad, I get so excited looking for herb pharmacies and herb shops that blend herbs on the spot that I can stay there for an hour or two. I always grab the shop staff, ask them all sorts of questions, and end up buying more than I could possibly drink by myself. I sometimes come back home with as much herbal tea as if I had gone to buy herbs.

The photo shows my favorite shop in Seattle, USA. I fantasize about opening a store like this one day as the second It's so easy store.

I usually like tea, be it herbal tea, Japanese tea, Taiwanese tea, or mate tea. (Oh, I also like alcohol at night.) I enjoy choosing what I want to drink depending on my physical condition and mood that day without thinking too deeply about it. I often carry my own bottle of herbal tea with me, and it's one of the essentials in my daily life, so much so that people I meet for the first time say to me, "Oh, you like herbal tea, don't you?"

What prompted you to make your own original herbal tea?

At It's so easy, we introduce tea and herbal tea from several carefully selected brands, including Shirakabalab, with whom we collaborated this time. However, surprisingly few people choose it for themselves, and we hear comments such as "I don't know when is the best time to drink herbal tea," "It seems like it's somehow good for my body, but I can't decide which one to choose and in the end I can't," "There are so many varieties that it would be difficult to collect them all," and "I don't like the taste," saying that it is difficult to incorporate it into your daily life.

This feedback from our customers was the beginning of the creation of It's so easy's original herbal teas.

How can we incorporate herbal tea into our everyday lives without it feeling like something special?

The answer we arrived at was quite simple.

That's delicious.

And since It's so easy is creating an original product, development began with the desire to ensure that it was a blend that would have a noticeable effect on physical ailments, and that it had a scent and appearance that would satisfy the soul.

To make delicious herbal tea

To make delicious herbal tea, it is important to select the herbs carefully. This may sound obvious, but all the steps, including the environment in which the herbs are grown, the harvesting time, the drying method, the selection after drying, and the storage method, must all be perfect in order to enjoy a fresh taste without any harsh or unpleasant flavors.

We have decided to use only herbs that are domestically grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Another important point when selecting herbs is that they are carefully harvested by hand one by one. By harvesting by hand, the herbs themselves are prevented from being crushed or deteriorating, which can cause a deterioration in flavor and aroma. Some herbs have a bitter or peculiar taste, but by blending them, the bitterness can be softened, or conversely, the bitterness can become an accent that tightens the overall flavor.

Herbal tea incorporates the power of plants (herbs) grown in Japan that are familiar to our daily lives. Even though it has only just begun, we were already excited. That excitement came from a premonition that something really good could be made.

What blends do you make?

Even if we narrow it down to herbs that are domestically grown without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers, there are still countless varieties. How should we combine them and what kind of blend should we create?

I picture each and every customer who comes to It's so easy and think about what kind of blend would be good for them. I imagine this and the number of blends I want to make keeps increasing. Before I know it, I've become a bit of a herbal tea fanatic.

How can we incorporate herbal tea into our everyday lives without it feeling like something special?

Returning to this starting point, we decided to narrow down the blend theme to one that embodies our hope that even those who are not normally accustomed to drinking herbal tea can rely on it in times like these, as we are sure it will help them.

Deciding on a blend theme

One thing I decided from the beginning was that the blend that supports sleep was a must.

We often hear people say that they can't sleep when they are busy with work or housework, when they have anxiety, or when there is no particular reason for them not being able to sleep. We often receive consultations about sleep problems at our shop, and we sometimes recommend using Herbivore Botanicals Sea Mist Lavender as a pillow mist.

I myself have found that when I can't sleep, drinking chamomile tea helps warm the body and helps me fall asleep quickly, so I decided to create an easy-to-drink chamomile-based blend. I named the blend "sleep."

Another benefit of incorporating herbal tea into your daily life is that there are many herbs that are good at detoxifying. In Japan, the detoxifying effect of Houttuynia cordata tea is well known as a medicinal herbal tea. It is important for skin care and body maintenance to expel excess substances before adding good substances.

I decided to create a blend that can be sipped during the day like barley tea in the summer, helping you get rid of the excess and feel lighter.

Once you have detoxified your body, the next step is to choose herbal teas to incorporate into your daily life. The last blend was decided on naturally. I decided to create a blend that would recharge people's energy, regardless of gender or age.

I want you to incorporate these two together, so I gave them names like "in" and "out," like the front and back, and then I got to work on blending them.

In this way, the three blend themes were finally decided upon. I am proud to say that they are blend themes that can be tailored to the mind and body of each individual.

I will introduce the details of the finished blend in the next column.

BUYER: Naoko