Get Warmer: Catskill Mountain Tea Company
I love to warm up with a cup of tea, and some of my favorite blends come from Catskill Mountain Tea Company, a one-woman business run by Ashley Carr in South Westerlo. A native to the Catskill and mid-Hudson Valley area, Ashley curates a health-promoting collection of teas that celebrate the aromas and flavors of her home. Her tea makes me feel like I’m drinking up the goodness of the Catskills, even when I’m here in Brooklyn, watching snow fall on the city.
Ashley’s stock is ever-changing, but at the moment, she has Fireside Memories, (a toasty black tea blend infused with smoke and a hint of maple syrup), Winter Cherry (a fruity herbal tea with bits of cranberry and apple, strawberry leaves, elderflower petals, and ashwaganda root, which is used to ease stress and anxiety), Echinacea Cranberry (a slightly tart and refreshing herbal blend said to bolster the immune system), and Sweet Romance (a delicate green tea with rose petals and a hint of cherry, pictured below).
Sweet Romance tea in an appropriately fancy cup. Photo by @catskillmountainteacompany.
Ashley takes a no-nonsense approach to natural remedies: “I’m not an herbalist, vegan, only-organic type of person. I’d just rather have nature heal me,” she explained. “It just makes sense.”
Catskill Mountain Tea doesn’t have a storefront (yet!) so this is more of a mobile tea dealership, offering $20 bags of loose tea via pick-ups at her home in South Westerlo or another local meeting spot. For me, part of the allure of this tea is that you have to seek it out (and maybe plan a fun little tea hand-off in the Tops parking lot!) but Ashley can also ship tea for an additional charge, which could range from $5 to $15.
If you’d like to try some in your travels, Catskill Mountain Tea is sold by the cup at See & Be in Cairo, Violet’s Bakery in Saugerties, and Matcha Thomas in Beacon. Bewitched Beauty Spa in Kingston also sells a few Catskill Mountain Tea blends by the bag.
Winter cherry (a.k.a. ashwagandha) tea can ease stress, anxiety, and depression. Photo by @catskillmountainteacompany.
We got our first taste of Catskill Mountain Tea at the Coxsackie Farmers Market over the summer. Ramona took one sip of an iced herbal blend and has been hooked on tea — both hot and cold — ever since.
Ramona took one sip of my iced Catskill Mountain Tea at the Coxsackie Farmers Market… and then told me to go back to Ashley’s booth to get my own cup!
Ashley sent me home from the market with a sample of Autumn Leaves, a rich black tea with tart pomegranate and mellow vanilla. I don’t know if this blend has any medicinal qualities, but every cup brings me back to that summer day—I can almost hear the young woman playing John Prine covers in the gazebo at Riverside Park and see the clear blue sky reflecting off the Hudson.
Happiness is a new tea blend to take home and the What a Hoot! flyer, which always brings us so much joy when we find it in the summertime.
I usually love the fall and winter, but this season of life has been tough. We’re attempting to navigate a safe path through sickness and health and spending more time than usual in our Brooklyn apartment. These days, I’m grateful for every cup of tea. Some of our happiest autumn moments were spent sipping from a mugs on my Brooklyn stoop, the golden leaves of gingko trees falling around us, savoring the goodness in our cups.
Catskill Mountain Tea is available for pick-up in and around South Westerlo, NY. Contact Ashley via Instagram, Facebook or email at catskillmountainteacompany@gmail.com. Photo of snowman mug at top by @catskillmountainteacompany.
