Tea with Heart at Heart Therapeutics
What if power and purpose could be found at the bottom of your teacup? Rebecca Jamieson Dwyer meets a qualified naturopath blending beautiful leaves with love.
Just like herbal tea leaves swirling in a strainer, Misha Moran’s brain is always swirling with ideas for which organic, handcrafted tea blends she’s going to create next. A former naturopath, medical herbalist and chef, Misha is the founder of Heart Therapeutics – a local tea brand and ‘modern apothecary’ that uses locally-sourced, medicinal-quality ingredients rather than mass-produced ‘teabag grade’ herbs. She transforms these herbs and leaves into tasty, powerful teas with purpose, infusing your day with meaning and ritual while also supporting the community through their creation. Misha felt the pull to start the business six years ago, but says her journey really started back in Melbourne about 20 years ago, when she was working at an apothecary mixing herbs for tinctures and other herbal medicines.
“I’d take little brown paper bags home and make my own botanical infusions, learning lots about their applications and flavour profiles,” she says. “So I got to know herbs very early in my life – it’s always been a passion of mine.”
Over the coming years, Misha worked for a renowned Melbourne-based tea company as a commercial blender before spending time working as a chef, providing her the perfect blend of skills, knowledge and passion for taking the leap to create Heart Therapeutics.
After moving to the Sunshine Coast and giving birth to her daughter Harlow, Misha had a friend over for a cuppa who was blown away by the flavours Misha had brewed and urged her to pursue her passion.
“My friend was like, ‘Wow, this is delicious. Where did you get this?’,” Misha recalls. “When I told her it was mine, she encouraged me to give the business a go, and it just flowed from there.”
Misha’s organically-certified botanical teas are made in small batches in her Noosa warehouse and come in a range of 17 blends for different moods and needs. These include Rancho Relaxo for sleep, stress and anxiety; Cleopatra, a skin and beauty tea; Love Potion, a warming aphrodisiac tonic; Flash Dancer, a menopause tea; Witchcraft, a healing tea that pays homage to ancient medicine women; Misha’s signature All Heart healing support blend; and many more deliciously therapeutic concoctions.
“Many are inspired by formulations I used in clinic when I was a naturopath and are designed to harness the powerful combinations of specific herbs in a hydrating, flavour-filled tea that can be enjoyed during any part of your day,” Misha said.
“I can’t pick a favourite because I enjoy them all at different times, but our whole warehouse team loves Rise and Shine – a golden lemongrass, ginger, turmeric and cinnamon tea that’s zesty, anti-inflammatory and invigorating.”
Misha is passionate about creating a brand that aligns with her values, which means purpose is poured into every cup of Heart Therapeutics tea.
“Our foundation statement is ‘tea with purpose,’” Misha explained. “Our tea has a purpose in terms of supporting health and wellness; the packaging is purposefully sustainable; and we purposefully source hyperlocal and organic ingredients to support other local businesses and our community – there are so many different elements of purpose woven into the brand.”
Prioritising quality, integrity and ethical sourcing, all Noosa native botanicals are sourced from local Indigenous-owned social enterprise SevGen, which supplies locally-harvested bushtucker and supports local Indigenous youth through several initiatives; while other herbs are certified organic to ensure quality, potency and flavour.
“Not only are SevGen’s native herbs and flowers hyperlocal, but through us and other local businesses supporting them, the team is able to create their amazing programs for at-risk Indigenous youth, which is a huge part of the reason we love working with them,” Misha said.
Following the core naturopathic principle of ‘first, do no harm’, all the packaging is plastic-free and chosen with sustainability in mind, comprising glass, paper and cork that can either be easily recycled or composted, helping to sustain the health of our planet. The brand has built a devoted following, from local tea lovers to sippers as far away as the USA. It’s also stocked as the tea of choice by luxe local destinations including Makepeace Island and The Calile Hotel in Brisbane – plus watch this space for more exciting high-profile collaborations currently on the boil (pun intended). And it’s no surprise, because even without the wellness element, the unique blends speak for themselves.
“Thanks to my background as a chef, I focus on flavour as a key element – so even without the wellness benefits, our teas are simply a joy to drink,” Misha says.
For Misha, there’s something so special and nourishing about sitting down with a cup of tea and taking a brief, mindful pause from your day.
“Tea helps forge a connection to self, earth and each other,” she said.
“The ritual of preparing and drinking it, even if it’s just 10 minutes a day, has huge biological benefits.
“By taking a moment to drink your tea, you’re reducing cortisol levels and slipping your body and mind back out into a parasympathetic state from a sympathetic one – so you’re actually doing something really important for your brain.”
If that’s not a great excuse to incorporate this powerful ritual into your life, then we don’t know what is. Next time you reach for a cup, why not make it one with heart?
Time for tea!
Discover Heart Therapeutics’ beautiful botanical infusions locally at leading retailers such as Little Cove Collective, White’s IGAs, Belmondo’s and Paradise Lifestyle, or discover your perfect sip via their website.
