Tea: more than just a drink

Herblore was once the province of witches and wise women: learned ladies who mixed miraculous brews to cure all ills. So doesn’t it stand to reason that your humble cup of herbal tea might be just that little bit magical? Vasiliki Nicolaou certainly thinks so…

The founder of Mrs Vasiliki teas, the 27-year-old Nicosia resident started her online business in late 2018, offering “herbal spells and tea magic. This,” she reveals, “is the home of modern magic, where tea becomes more than a drink – it becomes an enchanted experience.”

As Mrs Vasilki, she offers a unique range of blended herbal concoctions, all with delightful names that evoke entrancing places and beguiling memories. There’s Enchanted Night, a blend of black tea, blueberries, and the petals of cornflower and sunflower which Vasilki claims “brings the stars and the sky to your tea”; the transporting Forest of Fairies, packed with lemongrass, mint, ginger, cardamom, and black peppercorn; and the warming Hometown, a mix of black and red tea with cinnamon, vanilla, and apple. Green tea, rumex and lavender appear in Care For You; black tea, chilli flakes and drops of real chocolate make up I’ve Got Chills; and Serenitea is based on black tea filled with hibiscus and dried cranberries.

“There seems to be a belief in Cyprus that you only drink tea when you’re sick,” says Vasiliki. “Most of the time, everyone drinks coffee! But a cup of herbal tea is a magical thing; it’s a healing, soothing drink with an almost supernatural ability to calm the mind and bring you back to the moment. And I want to promote that; to get more people enjoying the benefits of tea.”

Her quest began, she explains, on a family visit to Iraklion. “While in Greece, I went in search of tea – something refreshing and different, something that wasn’t coffee! But I couldn’t find anything – there was no ‘wow’ tea to be found. And I realised it was the same here in Cyprus: of course you could go to the supermarket and buy a box of chamomile, but there were no really distinctive blends; nothing with the magical essence, the factor that makes you happy, blissful…”

Creating happiness is, she continues, perhaps the biggest part of Mrs Vasiliki teas. “There is a magic to slowly sipping a wonderful blend,” she continues. “I’ve felt it ever since I was little. My mother always tells me I refused to drink milk as a child, and would instead ask for chamomile tea. And each blend I create has its own unique magic: it’s like a spell – the flavours transport you to a happy time and place.

“I think that’s something we all need right now,” she says with a wry smile. “The pandemic has been so mentally taxing for so many of us, and I think we need to find small happinesses where we can. So whenever a customer purchases my tea, they don’t get just a blend; they also get advice on how to enjoy their tea, how to use tea-drinking as a soothing, joyful experience.”

Vasilki blesses each tea personally, sending good thoughts to the customer, and advises on how each is to be enjoyed. “For example,” she explains, “I might say, ‘drink this in your pyjamas with your eyes closed, while in your garden or on your balcony. Be grateful for the moment, make time for you.’ For customers who lead very busy lives, I suggest they write a letter of gratitude while sipping their blend, or read a little of their favourite poetry. I might recommend an act of kindness while drinking: ‘Walk your dog; water the flowers; enjoy nature.’ Or perhaps I might say ‘Just close your eyes, clear your mind, and let the flavours on your tongue relax you.’

“Every type of tea,” she adds, “is a magical substance. Of course you can drink a cup of tea on the way to work or sitting at your desk, but these blends are designed to be savoured. They’re created to remind you to enjoy the moment, to celebrate the happiness in your life: even the smallest thing can cause wonder, can produce pockets of the silence and stillness we so need when our minds seem to be always running, racing, worrying. Tea gives you the power to slow down, to continue your day in a calmer way – and that’s something we all need right now.”

While Vasiliki admits that she’s no herbologist, her blends are all fashioned with love and care – and a great emphasis on getting the taste just right. “The flavours, the smell: it’s like combining ingredients in a witch’s cauldron to make a potion of healing,” she smiles. “I can’t count how many times I’ve worked and reworked certain blends – adding and removing ingredients, playing with the quantities and qualities of each – until they’re just perfect; until they evoke exactly the feeling, the place, or the memory that’s required.”

Along with her magical teas, Vasiliki also creates a number of ‘spiritual crafts’, including unique spice blends and carefully crafted energy candles, “each impregnated with essential oils and blessed of the specific customer, to bring good luck and protection and aid.” These come in a rainbow of colours, depending on the desired effect. “Amongst others,” says Vasiliki, “we have pink to help with anxiety, promote positive self-love and harmony; purple to aid with allergies and colds, and promote spiritual awareness and tranquillity; and black to repel negative energy, and protect.”

But it’s the teas, she notes, which are the real magic in this enchanting brand. “Trust me,” she concludes. “Tea is like a spell, an enchantment. If you get the blend just right, then it will bring exactly the magic you need into your life.”

For more information on Mrs Vasiliki teas and spiritual crafts, visit https://www.mrsvasiliki.com/, or the Instagram account @mrs.vasiliki.teas