Teton Teas’ owner Rebecca Sgouros wrote this blog for Dishing.
I am an archaeologist working in the Tetons and around the world studying ancient cuisine and culture. I am constantly hunting, uncovering, and investigating new things that fascinate me. On my travels, I began collecting teas, hoarding and treasuring them because they held memories of the places I’d seen and the people I’d met.
The more I sipped and learned about the countless varieties, the more tea steeped into my sense of “self,” and infused into my soul and eventually my career. After years of collecting and learning, I eventually founded Tea Hive, an artisanal tea purveyor creating community through the enjoyment of fine teas and the discovery of small-scale growers, and artisans that share a passion for respecting all people and our planet. Tea is more than just a daily habit for me; it is a way of life. Our newest line, Teton Teas, is a reflection of this and represents what I find most special about our mountain home.
The land here teems with edible plants, and if you spent a day eating only what you foraged, you would be perfectly content. Teton Teas celebrates the variety of herbs and flowers that grow here and at the same time, pays homage to some of my favorite places in Jackson Hole. Here is a little bit more about the inspiration behind each tea in this line, that you can order online.
Antelope Flats (Sage + Assam and Ceylon Black Tea)
There’s nothing more evocative of Wyoming than the sharp invigorating scent of sagebrush. It instantly calls to mind images of pronghorn, bison, and the iconic structures of Mormon Row dwarfed by the Tetons looming in the distance. While sagebrush has been drunk as tea by a variety of local Native American tribes including the Kiowa, Crow, and Bannock, its value was more in its medicinal benefits than its flavor. It is seriously bitter. We created our Antelope Flats tea using culinary sage (salvia) which, while bearing no genetic relation to sagebrush (artemesia), yields much of the same delightful aromatic scent and flavor.
Geraldine’s Garden (Rhubarb + Formosa Oolong)
Anyone who’s spent a winter in Jackson Hole knows it takes a special sort of grit and patience to endure the long, cold, dark winters. Carving a life out of the land in this valley is rewarding, and humbling. I have an immense level of respect and nostalgia for the first homesteaders who settled here and Geraldine Lucas, a single woman who homesteaded here in 1913, is a particular favorite. Geraldine, a retired schoolteacher, lived on her own along Cottonwood Creek in a cabin filled with books and musical instruments, passing the long winter days in solitude. She had a team of dogs and a sleigh to get her around in winter, and one of the valley’s earliest cars, a 1924 Buick, for the summer months. She befriended a young Paul Petzoldt and was the second recorded woman to summit the Grand Teton, in 1924 at the age of 58.
Geraldine was an eccentric, independent woman who lived humbly off the land raising chickens, rabbits, and a garden to survive. Her homestead, now known as the Lucas-Fabian cabins, is a hidden gem within Grand Teton National Park and a serene place for a visit. Rhubarb is a tenacious plant and still grows, now wild, within her homestead, the last remnants of her precious garden. Our Geraldine’s Garden tea pairs rhubarb with a light oolong, for an unexpectedly creamy, decadent, and somehow indescribable flavor. You’d think it would be tart and mouth-puckering, but it’s not.
Sleeping Indian (Spearmint + Rose + Lavender)
Oh, how I love the Sleeping Indian, an icon of the Jackson skyline. Sure, he’s not part of the Tetons, he’s actually the Gros Ventres, but to me, he’s a sentinel standing guard over the valley and the Tetons beyond. The Sleeping Indian is the first to sleep each night and the first to rise each morning so it’s only fitting that I named our relaxing and restorative herbal tea after him.
Prickly rose and wild mint are truly two of my favorite local wild plants. What a delight it is to walk in the summer sun and stumble upon some wild mint. Its smell always stops me in my tracks before my eyes catch a glimpse of the green leaves and tell-tale purple flowers. Our blend of spearmint, rose, and lavender is as peaceful as watching the dusk set on the Sleeping Indian. It’ll quiet digestion, ease nerves, tension and anxiety, and promote deep sleep.
Alpine Glow (Rooibos + Elderberry + Raspberry + Blueberry + Strawberry + Raisin + Rosehip + Hibiscus)
This tea embodies so many of my favorite things about the Tetons. Picking sweet berries with stained fingertips, the bright red, fiery glow of the Tetons at dusk and dawn, and the encounters with furry bear-friends that share the trails and alpine meadows with us in late summer. When I envision all these things together, I am transported to String Lake, where black bears are so often scarfing down berries, and the mountain light somehow always seems just right.
This tea uses a wide variety of berries, producing a complex and delightful fruity flavor, the perfect accompaniment to the warm full-bodied rooibos base. It’s packed with good nutrients like vitamin C and antioxidants nourishing the body through all our grand adventures.
