By Rhys Baker

This year, the Taste and See Tea Company is a fixture at the Clay Center Farmer’s Market. Owner Erika Lips purchases ingredients in bulk before blending the teas. She says she was inspired to create the company while considering her health, “When I was pregnant with our youngest, I wanted to do more natural medicines, and one of them was drinking raspberry tea, which is really good for women’s health in general but really good when you are pregnant. It was cheaper to buy raspberry leaf in bulk than to buy tea bags already made of it. So, I started blending teas because the raspberry leaf is boring on its own, so I found things to add to it.

The Taste and See Tea Company is a new venture for Lips. She plans to continue buying in bulk and working to establish her own plants, such as mint, camomile, and lavender. She has various blends and shares some of her favorites, “Probably ‘Mama Needs A Rest,’ which is the tea I started with; it’s raspberry leaf, mint, camomile, and lavender and is smooth, non-caffeinated. I’ve also created ‘Lemon Blueberry Muffin,’ a black tea with blueberry and a little bit of vanilla to get that bakery taste.”

Lips’ plans include finding new distribution methods as the farmers market is ending soon and creating seasonal blends. The Tea company’s name, Taste and See, is Psalm 34.