Floating and steeping luxuriously like a tea bag in a mug of hot water isn’t exactly what mercantiler Channing Winblad had in mind when she developed her tea soaks, but the image provides a general idea of how they work.
Tea soaks are refillable sachets of various herbal blends that can be tossed into the tub to enjoy at bath time.
Winblad wanted to provide her family a natural, cost-effective alternative to the popular, expensive bath bombs full of artificial colors and chemicals that leave stains.
“We got started from a desire to find something better,” she says.
She studied the health benefits of tea and found what she was looking for to fill her tub and wash her family.
“It became apparent through ancient Chinese history that bathing in the tea would be an even more beneficial way to access the health benefits,” Winblad says.
The Moore native shares her creations with customers through Rustic 1773 Mercantile, her online store selling tea soaks and artisan soaps. The pride of owning her own business expands tenfold due to her products’ various health-enhancing features and positive impact.
“Our customers suffer from fibromyalgia, arthritis, eczema, migraines, headaches, nerve damage, anxiety, depression [and] insomnia,” Winblad says. “We provide natural products that help to ease some of the symptoms involved with these ailments.”
She describes how some cancer patients use the tea soaks to endure uncomfortable side effects of chemotherapy. Other customers are new mothers who use them for bathing with their babies – relaxing bonding times that can induce sleep in newborns. Because Winblad’s soaps and soaks are made from all-natural ingredients, they are safe for sensitive skin.
“Rustic 1773 Mercantile believes that even if you have sensitive skin, allergies or limitations, you should still be able to pamper yourself and get some relief at the same time,” she says. “Our tea is hand-selected based on the health benefits that will be supplied to our customers.”
The products also don’t stain the tub or clog the drain. A sachet is filled with a herbal blend and floats in the bath or is hung in the shower. Afterward, one empties the sachet’s contents into the trash.
Rustic 1773 Mercantile also sells its wares through Nosh Restaurant in Moore because it’s important to Winblad to support other local businesses.
Either way of purchase means relaxing in a tea soak or getting clean with an all-natural soap. Visit rusticteaokc.com to see all of Winblad’s products.
