Likkle Tea
So every year, for the past two years, a week before the year ends, you will find me crying in Likkle Tea’s DMs. See, I am an awful friend; this I know and have acknowledged, and I want to say I am working on it but honestly, am I really? So yes, December 23 or 24th I am in Likkle Tea’s DMs, sending crying memes and teary eyed emojis - begging, asking, pleading that they have products left in the storage. I don’t drink tea, because the whole concept of drinking hot beverages seem weird to me but to each their own, and my friends seem to like it. Still, life is hard but there are some good people in it. Patrique Goodall, her wonderful team and her dogs are some of the good ones. Having no idea of what tea my friends like, and being a bit slow when it comes these things (again, I have acknowledged my shortcomings), Likkle Tea overlooked my last-minute fiasco and walked me through their remaining selections: the story, the taste, the scent, the experience and the price. My friends love the products I get them and although I will avoid the hot juice for now, I have returned again and again.Thus, when Tenement Yaad Media decided to do a feature showcasing new, small businesses across the region, I had to put Likkle Tea on the concept board. Nevertheless, because I know myself, December 23 of this year, I will definitely be in Likkle Tea’s DMs once more, with countless crying memes and teary eyed emojis - begging, asking, pleading to let me know what they have left.
Still, enjoy The Yaad’s interview with Likkle Tea.
What is the story behind the founding of Likkle Tea and deciding on the name “Likkle Tea”?
I wanted something undeniably Jamaican so that anywhere anyone saw the brand, they knew exactly what we were. For those who don’t know what the name means, it provides an opportunity for me to share with them a bit of our culture.
Why Tea?
Why not? Lol. Tea is a part of Jamaican culture and I use the word “tea” very loosely. Every Jamaican child can attest to getting a hot cup of tea to start the day, a cup when they’re feeling sick or have any ailment. I know that for any sickness at all I have, I can call up an aunt or uncle to ask for a herbal remedy and chances are we have the herb growing around the side of the house somewhere. I wanted to do something that had never been done by combining the experience of Jamaican bush tea culture with traditional teas that are grown around the world, and to formulate blends that reflected a piece of Jamaican culture.
How would you describe your entrepreneurship journey as a woman owned company in Jamaica?
It’s tough, but it allows me an opportunity to show the world what a bit of grit and resilience can do. Things are even harder as a Black woman doing business in Jamaica but that’s for another time and place. I’ve found that forming a collective of women owned businesses have actually helped others as we lean towards each other for mentorship and support and allows us to borrow from each other’s communities to help grow our own businesses.
Besides the shipping industry in the region (we know this) and even dealing with the situations surrounding the pandemic, what’s the most challenging part of what you do?
The most challenging part is trying to stay relevant in a world that has been hit hard economically in the last few years. It requires a lot of reinventing and venturing into spaces which is also a blessing in disguise.
What advice would you give to any young person who wants to start a business in Jamaica?
If you aren’t prepared to cry yourself to sleep twice a week, question if you’re insane the other days, and be met with roadblocks that make you want to give up every other day, then don’t. Doing business in Jamaica is especially hard if you are not a foreign investor. We don’t benefit from any special rates at the ports, we’re not given any tax incentives, we aren’t given anything that says thank you for being the backbone of our economy. It would be easier to run this business anywhere but Jamaica, and maybe it’s Stockholm syndrome, but I believe that one day Jamaica can get things right.
Likkle Tea offers a wide range of tea, honey and other tea drinking related products. So what’s Likkle Tea winning combination to (1) convert a tea hater; (2) someone who is under the weather; and (3) someone who is having a stressful day, comes home and needs to relax?
To convert a tea hater, I’d give them a cup of Chai Guy made on the stove or a Portland Bliss iced tea with a bit of Vanilla Likkle Honey. I find that tea haters have probably been drinking tea bags and believing that it is actually tea and not the dust, and chances are they have been using water that’s way too hot or steeping for far too long.
Someone who’s under the weather - definitely a cup of Miss Rosie. There’s something about lemongrass, mint and orange peel that takes me back to being with my grandmother and chances are this is something that’s nostalgic for others as well. To relax, any tea to be honest, but my to go cup would be Mahoe Bay. This green tea was inspired by my favourite place in the world, where blue skies met green grass.
What’s next for Likkle Tea?
Exporting is next on the list. I believe that we’ve been able to create such a great product and it’s time I took it to the world, to inspire and bring joy to tea drinkers around the world.
We see the Caribbean as a tenement yard where everyone is trying to get by and contribute to the development of the region, in their own unique way. What’s Likkle Tea’s contribution in this yard?
What’s crazy is that when I started to shape the brand, I used it as a platform for advocacy. I remember once telling a friend how crazy it was that tea, which was something that was withheld from slaves were actually introduced to the Brits during its course of colonization. It was never theirs and if we were to have believed history from their viewpoint, we’d think that Tea culture was British culture. The industry looked to them for principles and best practices while at the same time ignoring the culture of India, Japan, Africa and other regions around the world. I’d like to think that our small contribution is that we’ve started a movement to use tea to share our culture. Whether it’s honouring Caribbean authors and their contribution through our Literary Tea collection which was something no other tea company had ever done before… Or even in the names of our blends and the pieces of culture I want to share with the world. Blends like Galloway which was one of the first free villages in Westmoreland and the backdrop of labour riots out West where my great grandmother would have been instrumental. It’s Jamaican Breakfast that uses Cinnamon leaves and cacao which is reminiscent of a cup of old time Jamaican chocolate; or Highgate Chai which shares the history of cocoa in Jamaica. Likkle Tea intends to bring to the fore experiences, past and present which reflect our culture.
Profile introduction by Davey, a member of Tenement Yaad Media