Sara Steiner’s herb garden bustles with bees and Monarch butterflies on a recent afternoon, a horticulture sanctuary surrounded by tall, rustling sycamore and cottonwood trees.
A-year-and-a-half after middle-aged Steiner began selling her homegrown herbal tea blends from her property in Hollister, she is still in awe of calling this idyllic garden her new office; its visiting bees and butterflies her coworkers.
Still in its embryonic stage, the San Benito Tea Company is solely owned and operated by Steiner, who markets 11 different blends of herbal infusions at local farmers’ markets like Gilroy’s and to retailers.
“I call this my nano-business,” Steiner said as she moseyed through her garden, pointing to dozens of different flowering herbs and plants. “It’s my second season, so I just planted all kinds of herbs that have potential for interesting and tasty teas. We’ll see what works.”
After 20 years of growing her herbs for personal enjoyment, Steiner decided to throw all her energy behind her favorite hobby – and so far, business is brewing.
“A friend mentioned I should start making herbal teas, and I just loved the idea,” Steiner said. “I thought, why not?”
Now, fixed up with a license and a converted garage she calls her “tea studio,” Steiner is officially in business.
Her custom blends are grown from hand-harvested and sun-dried herbs on her five-acre private farmstead, about 10 miles south of Hollister on Cienega Road, where she has lived for 20 years.
Bursting with flavors of fruitiness, spiciness and woodiness, San Benito Tea Company pairs exotic flavors, such as the indulgent richness of chocolate mint, the tropical notes found in pineapple sage, and the cinnamon undertones in the leaves of tusli basil. Blended with traditional favorites, such as chamomile, dandelion, raspberry leaf and peppermint, Steiner’s teas are a mingling of delicate and bold notes.
Paying meticulous attention to flavor seems apropos for someone with experience in another agriculturally-based craft that appeals to the taste buds – Steiner worked in wine production for many years before losing her job in 2011.
“My wine background gave me a great taste pallet, which has been useful for creating tea blends. I ask myself, while tasting my teas, are they balanced and complex enough? The more I get involved with tea, the more I realize it’s a natural transition from wine,” she said.
While Steiner doesn’t claim to be an herbalist, several of her teas tout healing properties, such as her Ginkgo Wise blend – a mixture of the warm flavors of lemon verbena and anise hyssop with ginkgo leaves, which are often used as a naturopathic memory enhancer.
Her most popular blend, Good Good Night, features wild lettuce – an herb often used for its natural sedative effects – along with poppies, and the spicy, cinnamon flavors of tulsi basil combined with the sweetness of lavender.
Steiner sells her teas at the Gilroy Farmers’ Market and the Hollister Farmers’ Market, and for the first time a few weeks ago, a farmers’ market in Oakland. She is also trying to get into local retailers such as Vertigo Coffee in San Juan Bautista. Her teas range from $3 for a four-bag sampler pack to an $8 bag of loose leaf tea, enough for about 18 cups of brew.
Dressed in a wide-brimmed sun hat and rubber slip-on shoes, Steiner ran her fingers through a flourishing lemon balm plant. She picked one leaf and crushed it, releasing its fragrant oils and holding it to her nose in an indulgent whiff.
“Sometimes I’ll be so weary, and I think, ‘Oh I have to get these things done for the garden, I have to work,’ and then I’m out here amongst all these wondrous smells and I’m revived,” she said, closing her eyes and drinking in the afternoon breeze.
In Steiner’s tea studio – a small, cheery room just steps from her house – she sorts through her stash of harvested herbs that were recently dried, tests her recipes and packages them for sale.
Tammy Jackson, manager of the Hollister Farmers’ Market, said Steiner’s teas are a hit.
“She is our first tea vendor ever,” Jackson said.
In a rare moment, Steiner – who upkeeps the garden, the business operations and marketing of San Benito Tea, while also caring for her dogs, chickens and horses by herself – took a break to enjoy a glass of her herbal sun tea, a blend of manzanita bark, marigold flowers, peppermint, lemongrass and lemon verbena. The manzanita bark, which is used as a natural remedy for nausea and anti-inflamation, gives the iced tea a rich, woody flavor and a deep amber color. Steiner sipped away and leaned back on a rustic wood bench outside her studio.
“I am just so enjoying myself with this work,” she said. “And I hope it continues to grow.”
• Seek out venues that cater to small businesses such as farmers’ markets, trade shows, festivals and online markets.
• Reach out to local and state government services for necessary licensing and permits.
• Starting a business can be confusing, expensive and time consuming – perhaps an endurance test to determine how serious you are about the venture.
• If you have a passion for your hobby, the business might be hard but it will never be “work.”
• Use spring, distilled or filtered water – tap water is treated with various chemicals, which will introduce foreign flavors to your cup.
• If possible, brew your tea in a ceramic, glass, copper or stainless steel container. Metal containers could make your brew taste funny.
• If you use a tea ball (a little strainer shaped like a globe), fill it only halfway to leave room for the herbs to expand as they steep.
• Herbal teas need to steep longer than black or green teas for full flavor. Let your tea steep for five minutes for a hot cup and 15 minutes for its iced counterpart.
• Breath deep and enjoy the calming effect a great cup of tea can have.
