For The Love Of Tea
Heather Jameson is a business owner, artist, and jazz pianist based in Marlborough, New Zealand. She founded The White Wabbit tea business in 2015.
Bell Tollemache joined Heather in her sunny garden to enjoy a hot pot of tea and find out more about her creative and business journey.
Heather moved to Marlborough 39 years ago, from London with her husband Peter, but it was when she was in Paris for a holiday that she first got the inspiration for The White Wabbit. She saw a Parisian tea shop that looked ‘’like Harry Potter from Diagon Alley’’. Heather said she was fascinated with all the varieties, “I wanted to create a business out of tea because I love it.’’
When she lived in England in the 1980’s, Heather said she enjoyed the varieties of tea on offer which were a change from home, “New Zealand in the 1970s had a tea culture but it was really Bell tea. Quite boring tea.”
Even before seeing the French tea shop, Heather liked experimenting with flavours to create her own tea combinations, ‘’Because I’m a gardener woman. I took things out of the garden and blended them in my tea and it just sort of grew organically.’’
The name of the business was a happy accident. It was meant to be The White Rabbit, but someone already had the name, so instead of an R she got a W and thought, ‘Oh that’s good branding. I’ll just call it a Wabbit!’
Heather’s husband Peter Jameson first met Heather 47 years ago in Christchurch. His first thoughts were after hearing her business concept for The White Wabbit were positive. Peter said he thought it was a “brilliant idea” and was especially impressed with the way Heather wanted to go about it’, ‘’It was about the quality of the tea. It seemed a natural extension of our love of tea. Her design idea was creative and cut through the market place’’.
Asked what she enjoys most about tea, Heather laughs, “It’s not coffee!” Then more seriously, says the profiles of tea are the most important. “Good tea is like good wine”.
Heather says the parts of the world with the most exciting flavors of tea are India, Sri Lanka, Japan, China and Africa. However, she takes inspiration from her region to create her teas.
The Māori side of medicine like Kawa Kawa and other natural ingredients also inspire her as a gardener, as well as in her blends, ‘’I just like anything in my teas.’’
A natural approach is also important to Heather. ‘’I only put organic things or things that are real, not (artificial) flavors.’’
As a highly creative person, Heather also plays and teaches piano, as well as making and selling art. Having a range of ways to express her artistry suits her. She says she can’t choose a favourite as they all have meaning to her.
‘‘I’m a musician. I like painting. I like writing. I like gardening. I like people.’’
Heather said she was fascinated with piano from a young age, and has always loved “Anything creative”. She has been helping others on their creative journey from a young age, ‘I’ve been teaching piano since I was 14, I also started teaching guitar and then it just never went away, and people just kept coming back’’.
Heather also feels that creative thinkers are needed in society and creatives have the answers to the world’s problems. ”I think their brains work in a totally different organic way and I think it’s good for the planet’’.
Heather’s favourite way to unwind is to relax with music, drinking tea and listening to jazz . She says she has a nice tea called coconut truffle which she really likes, but jokingly says she accompanies it by “eating half a block of chocolate at the same time, which is not good’
After 39 years of living in the region Heather says her favourite part is simply that “It’s the South Island”. She cites that it’s an easier lifestyle, less populated and “has four seasons” which she likes.
At the back of the garden there was a gorgeous tiny house, which of course has a story.
When Heather and Peter’s two daughters were little they were promised a tree house but Peter never got around to it. After seeing a beautiful image in a book Peter went down to Christchurch after the earthquakes and reclaimed old bits of buildings that had been ruined and dragged them back to Marlborough. He turned them into a cute little house, “Abby’s Shabby Shack”, which the couple now operate as a BnB.
After 47 years together, Heather and Peter are still filling their cups by living a life of creativity, business, gardening and sharing their skills with the community.
