Raising the Bar in Sustainability
A Letter from Our CEO, Blair Kellison Fiscal year 2016 marks Traditional Medicinals’ 42nd year in business. It was an outstanding year for the company, and I couldn’t be prouder...
Decades of practice, lifetimes of experience, and a commitment to both cutting-edge botany and traditional plant knowledge combine in all of our formulations.
Not only do our herbs need to be organic and ethically sourced, we also have high standards for quality and often medicinal grade to ensure they deliver therapeutic effects. After being harvested or wild collected and then cut, cleaned, and carefully dried, our herbs make their way to our solar-powered facility in Sebastopol, California. Here, they are tested for quality markers.
Each herb has its own quality standard. That can mean high essential oil content, the right amount of bitterness, or a minimum level of an active compound. But the result for each is the same : a tea that has power. This commitment to quality is one of the things that sets us apart from other tea brands.
The wisdom of traditional herbal medicine has been helping people for centuries. The herbalists who formulate our products draw from the global systems of herbal medicine. In each case, they consider how herbs work both individually and together. They build on combinations that have traditionally been used for the desired benefit. And although each system has its own rationale for herb formulations, there are similar general principles among all systems.
For example, our best-selling Smooth Move® tea is formulated according to the principles of traditional European herbal medicine. It uses rules of compatibility and organizing principles for teas to define a hierarchy of ingredients. The hierarchies include: The Basic Remedy – one to five herbs that address the condition directly. Supporting Herbs – herbs that complement the Basic Remedy, enhancing its effects or reducing any potential undesirable effects. Flavor Enhancers – a small amount of herbs, also known as corrigents, used to make the tea taste good. Senna leaf, an herbal laxative, is the Basic Remedy in Smooth Move® with licorice, fennel, cinnamon, coriander and ginger added as supporting herbs to help improve the experience. Sweet orange peel and its essential oil added for taste.
We never stop testing. Our herbs are put through a battery of tests as part of our core quality control, ensuring identity, purity, and composition. As funny as it sounds, we always begin with identity testing, making sure that our herbs are what they claim to be. There are lots of herbal doppelgangers out there. And even if it actually is chamomile, not all chamomile is created equal. We look for specific characteristics in each batch of herbs that confirm its therapeutic quality. One of the first steps our scientists go through, after examining a new batch, is to put a sample from each shipment under the microscope. There we see each unique flourish, whirl, and spiral that confirms the herb’s identity.
Nighty Night tea combines passionflower with calming chamomile...
Organic Nighty Night Extra tea infuses the power...