The Sisters Who Built the Tea Empire

Dear Gentle Reader, in life, we generally find that every great blend has an interesting beginning.

If you know me, you know I love history and so of course on this year long tea journey that I've embarked upon, I am tracing the history and origin of tea. What I have recently found is... if you trace most fruity, floral, and tasty teas back to their roots, you’ll eventually find two names on the paperwork: Rose Hips and Hibiscus

They are sisters and business partners, and together, they are the foundation of more teas than they’ll ever brag about.

Rose Hips is the sweet one. She’s warm, nurturing, and quietly powerful. She brings vitamin C, antioxidants, and emotional comfort wherever she goes. Rose Hips believes in kindness and in making things better without making a fuss about it. She’s the sister who bakes muffins for the staff and remembers everyone’s birthday.

Energetically, Rose Hips works on the heart — restoring, soothing, and reminding you that life can be gentle again. She is sweetness with substance.

Hibiscus, on the other hand, does not bake muffins. Her kitchen consists of a glass and stainless steel tea kettle and a refrigerator that mainly holds water, milk and lemons.

Hibiscus is sharp, direct and no-nonsense. She brings a wake-up call to any blend she touches. Physically, she supports circulation and vitality. Energetically, she clears stagnation and demands honesty. She is the sister who runs operations, balances the books, and says, “We’re not here to coddle. We’re here to WORK.”

Hibiscus doesn’t sugarcoat, she is the bite.

Together, Rose Hips and Hibiscus run what can only be described as the launchpad of tea blends. They are the base note, the infrastructure. Other botanicals come and go — mango, orange peel, berries, spices — but Rose and Hibiscus build the stage everyone else performs on.

Rose Hips makes it approachable and Hibiscus makes it memorable. Their bio would simply read as...
Sweet meets sharp.
Soft meets strong.
Heart meets spine.

That’s good business.

Energetically, they balance confidence and warmth with strong standards and boundaries.  They don’t blur into each other, instead they make each other better. Rose smooths Hibiscus’s edge. Hibiscus gives Rose direction.

That’s sisterhood.
That’s enterprise.
That’s flat out top notch botanical leadership.

And yet, for me, I tried a tea today made with ONLY Rose Hips and Hibiscus as the ingredients and for me, something was missing...

I’ll be honest. It was… very earthy, grounded and powerful. But for my personal taste? It felt a little too much like I was drinking the from the soil of the garden without the florals.

It made me realize something important: Rose and Hibiscus are brilliant foundational architects — but they shine best when they invite others into the mix.

They are at their best when they add Peppermint to lift the mood or the sweetness of Berries or the sparkle of Citrus. Rose Hips and Hibiscus on their own are strong, but in a blend, they become delightful. I feel they are at their best when they work well with others. 

Of course, any great tea has a rival and their biggest competitor is... 

Lemon and Ginger — the rival CEOs.

Lemon is bright, bold, and always announcing a new direction for the company.
Ginger is fiery, driven, and convinced movement is the answer to everything.

They don’t agree on much…but they do agree on being in charge.

Then there is Peppermint, the motivational speaker. She breezes in, clears the room, energizes the staff, and reminds everyone to breathe deeply and think positively.

As I finished my cup, I imagined them all in their meetings and both companies had arrived at the same conclusion: “Blends work better than solo acts.”

Here’s to sisterhood, to all of the unsung founders of the tea world, to rival CEOs, motivational speakers, and the wisdom of knowing when to invite more voices into the brew.

On a mission to educate, entertain and inspire, your tea-totaling sommelier,
Kala 

Kala Ambrose
Wisdom Teacher, Intuitive Interior Designer & Oracle of Energy
https://www.exploreyourspirit.com/

Thank you for joining me here on this journey . Please share this newsletter with others whom you think might benefit from the information.