Engineer shares the joy of St Lucian tea

Caribbean people believe in the power of tea. Tea for nausea, tea for the flu, tea for hunger pangs, tea for everything and this St Lucian is now making coins matching people to the right tea for their needs.

Paula Watson-Popo has a deep connection to the earth, and works to ensure it is treated properly. This has nothing to do with her background as a civil engineer in St Lucia, but rather her love for nature, sustainability and inspiring those around her to lead a holistic life.

Her life is rooted in the lush greenery and shrubs surrounding her serene home in the hills. There is nothing Paula looks forward to more than spending time with her family, and putting her hands to the plough. So it came as no big surprise when her beloved pastime of growing crops and herbs in her garden blossomed into a full scale business especially during the pandemic.

Tea Gardens 758 was born.

The hobby-turned-family business kicked off in 2020 because Paula had a glut of herbs. What's that saying? Waste not want not!

“I love gardening. It is what I do in my spare time to relieve stress. I grow a lot of things in my backyard. I grow vegetable fruits, herbs and I found I grew an abundance of herbs and there was no way for us to use it all in our family setting,” Paula said with a laugh.

She told Loop Lifestyle that her son who is a tea lover, is quite often her ‘taste tester’.

“This is a great way to curb food waste as well. The drying and preservation of the herbs means you can expand the life of the herbs and make it available to other people so they can enjoy it as well,” she continued.

Tea Gardens 758 offers organic blends comprising herbs and spices from St Lucia.

Also abiding by Paula’s strict principles of eco-friendliness and sustainability, the sachets can be used up to four times because of the potency of the herbs. The tea sachets are made of 100 per cent cotton fibres and 100 per cent biodegradable and compostable. There are absolutely no micro plastics leaking into your tea!

“Even our approach to the growing of our herbs, I use the regenerative agriculture approach. I reuse grass clippings. I reuse waste from the kitchen to create compost which I feed back into the garden and I utilise herbiculture principles in the growing of food crops and herbs,” Paula revealed.

Through Tea Gardens 758, Paula wants to share the joys her tea loving family experiences with the rest of the world.

Speaking also on the shift to organic farming in St Lucia, Paula noted that farmers have embraced the change recognising the benefits to the agricultural sector.

“More and more farmers are starting to grow organically because there are great benefits to be reaped from that. You are rebuilding the top soil as opposed to letting it wash away and degrade. In St Lucia we have very hilly terrain so soil erosion is a thing, but I see many more farmers embrace growing food crops sustainably because it is so beneficial to us all,” she mentioned while noting that she was also taking part in the change.

Individuals in Barbados interested in learning more about Tea Gardens 758, check out their Facebook Page at Tea Gardens 758 and Instagram: @teagardens758.

photo : The founder of Tea Garden 758, Paula Watson-Popo.