Every month, we get to spotlight a past student of the Berkeley Herbal Center Herbal Certifications Courses. This month we caught up with Aub Wallace!
Aub is an herbalist and marketer based in the Netherlands. She found her way to herbalism through a love of tea and a need for a healing journey. She graduated from our two year Foundations and Therapuetics program in 2016 and has made quite the journey for herself.
This is her story.
I was born and raised in a small town outside of Flint, Michigan (yes, that Flint). I’m a natural introvert and our home was surrounded by forest and cornfields, so it felt natural to spend a lot of alone time wandering around outside.
One of my most formative memories is walking through the woods. I was young enough that it feels like a fever dream. It was edging close to the moment when the vibe changes and the two-leggeds aren’t invited into the forest anymore. From the top of a tree I heard a little bark. I couldn’t see the source of it, but I laughed and barked back because I thought it was cute. And then it wasn’t.
The vibe changed. From every tree around me I start hearing barking and chirping. I remember spinning around, leaves crunching under my feet joining the cacophony, looking up at the trees to see what was happening – the sound, the feeling, the smell, had changed. The unwelcome vibe was coming from everything. I was scared and in awe of the power in that connectivity.
That’s when I started cultivating an intentional connection with nature.
I had never once thought that I could use my connection with the planet to make a living. Then I went to MSU in East Lansing. After my first year, I walked into a new teahouse on the main strip called Wanderer’s Tea House. There were shelves of herbs and tea pots – it smelled like Earth! I had to work there. I went back every single day until they gave me a job.
I worked at Wanderers for more than two years. Making herbal teas and getting to know my regular customers. I learned to let the plants tell me how they want to be used. And I was great at it! And then I fell down a set of stairs and hurt my back. I couldn’t carry the dishes anymore and I had to leave the teahouse behind.
When I graduated with degrees in Criminal Justice and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to live in a place where I could create opportunities for the life I wanted. So, I moved to the Bay Area in California and found a job. But I wasn’t happy. I took myself into the woods and asked myself, what do I need? When have I been happy? It was at the teahouse. I wanted to have the power to help heal people. So I searched for herb schools, found BHC, and two weeks later I was in class.
I don’t know where I would be without Berkeley Herbal Center. Before I started, I was spiraling. I was unhappy and allowing old wounds to fester. I didn’t know how to empower myself or how to take steps towards what I want in my life.
From the first day, creating a moodboard for myself and what I wanted for my future, I knew I was in the right place. It was the first time I got to think only about myself and what I wanted. That triggered me, but I needed it. I was finally in a safe space and I reveled in every chance to expose my vulnerabilities. I just thought, “if I am here to learn how to heal people, I need to understand what real healing feels like.”
At the same time that I was going through my healing journey, I was also obsessed with learning as much about herbs and plants as possible. I love making monographs and learning about the interconnectedness of the planet’s systems that I felt all those years ago.
I dove deep into medicine making, spending all day on Fridays with the BHC medicine maker, Tony, my scorpio grandfather. We spent time exploring herbalism through creativity, learning about the plants and the different ways we can heal with them.
I feel like herbalism is a vital part of my life and my career.
Throughout herb school, I worked as a writer for an herbal company. My knowledge of herbs and healing gave the company a real leg up on their competition. I learned the power of marketing and loved the strategy behind a great marketing campaign.
At the same time, I watched my fantastic herbal colleagues start their own businesses. I noticed that all of them were passionate about their craft, but they weren’t bringing that passion into their marketing. So, after graduating from herb school, I decided that instead of being a clinical herbalist, I want to help herbal business owners with big dreams to change the world.
Now I’m the cofounder of Dandelion Branding, a digital marketing agency dedicated to working with the planet stewards of the world.
This is a lovely goto morning tea recipe. It offers a boost of energy together with a calm feeling to help you relax into your day and stay productive.
Because this recipe is based on scent, I typically make a large amount in a bowl and store it in a glass jar for use over time.
Note that I use just below a tablespoon of the mix per cup.
Each cup can be resteeped 1-2 times.
Earl Grey Tea
Lavender
Dehydrated Orange Peel (you can also use a slice of fresh orange if you don’t have the dehydrated)
Steamed milk of your choice (I like both oat and almond milk for this)
Start by considering the amount of the tea blend that you want to make overall.
At least 3/4 (depending on your sense of smell) of this tea will be the Earl Grey, so add your Earl Grey first so that you can balance it out as you go.
Add pinches of Lavender and stir until you can smell it as a quiet undernote.
The lavender flavor will come out further as the tea steeps, so don’t keep adding it after you can smell it.
If you’re using dehydrated orange peel, add pinches of it until you can smell orange as the top note. When you shake/stir the container, it should start to combine into a lovely, full bodied scent. The orange will disappear a little bit, add one more pinch. And you’re done with the mix.
To make the low fog, steep it with almost boiling water (boiling water will scorch it and it won’t taste as good) for 8ish minutes.
Combine ¾ tea and ¼ steamed milk.
Enjoy!
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