Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine October 2019 | Page 272

Traditional bush tea
knowledge has been passed
down from generation to
generation in St. Kitts and
Nevis. Jermine remembers
that as a young boy his great
grandmother (the company’s
namesake) tasked him with
picking leaves from the
various nearby tea bushes and
setting them out to dry on
the kitchen counter. Growing
up it was not just customary,
but mandatory that one must
have a cup of bush tea in the
morning before leaving for
school, work, etc. In this way,
Jermine became acquainted
with the
different
bush tea
varieties growing in the
countryside and the different
benefits derived from each.
With many in the younger
generations foregoing bush
tea for alternatives such as
coffee or imported teas, the
owners feared that not only
would the bush tea tradition
die out over time, but the
connection to the island’s
fertile volcanic soil and the
knowledge of the natural
bounty it supports, would also
be lost.
In addition, Sara’s outside
perspective highlighted the
fact that visitors
to St. Kitts and
Nevis were
lacking access to products and
experiences that were locally
produced and authentic to
Federation. Most persons
visiting St. Kitts and Nevis
had no idea of its rich bush
tea tradition or what they
were missing in that regard.
Nationals living abroad also
did not have easy access to
the traditional bush teas of
their homeland. As an expat,
Sara knew how important
tastes of home can be to
those living abroad.
So, Sara and Jermine set about
providing a high quality, local
product that offers all the
benefits of the local bush tea
culture without all the work.
They received
much encouragement from the
older generations and utilized
them as a valuable resources
for feedback during the design
and start up process. In fact,
it was the elders in the village
who convinced them to use the
silhouette of a young woman
in the logo rather than that of
an older woman, as planned.
They felt strongly that bush tea
culture is not just for the older
generations of the Federation
and that showing a young
person in the logo could help
reintroduce young persons to
the tradition. The owners both
agreed and the signature logo
was born.
Their latest endeavor is to
introduce the idea of bush
tea cold brews (or iced teas).
Typically, when persons think of
Caribbean bush tea, they think
of it as being hot, but they are
working to demonstrate that
you can also get the health
benefits and great flavour of
traditional bush tea in a cold,
refreshing form that is perfect
for hot, humid summer days.
Mother Becky Bush Tea is
currently sold in the St. Kitts
& Nevis market as well as the
greater Caribbean region, USA,
and Canada. They hope to
have them available in markets
across the globe in the near
future.
Product Lines:
Mother Becky Bush Tea
Every element of the company
- loose leaf tea
from the logo and packaging,
to the varieties of bush tea and
Mother Becky Quenchers
custom cold brew blends on

offer has been carefully thought - ready to drink, bottled
cold brew tea blends
out in order to give the local
bush tea culture the honour it
Mother Becky Traditional
deserves. They are hoping to
- ready to drink, bottled
introduce their delicious bush
cold brew tea blends
teas to the rest of the world to
based on traditional SKN
make them aware of what they
recipes
are missing.