Guest post by Jessica Filkins.

I am very excited to share the story and person behind my new favorite, healthy tea! Introducing a fellow classmate and health coach friend, Jessica! Be sure to check out her website: www.jamujuice.com

The Jama Juice story began with my first sip of freshly grated ginger tea in 2010. I had been suffering from a sinus infection for weeks and the best remedy I had found was a soothing mixture of ginger tea with cayenne pepper, lemon and honey. The tea opened up my sinus pathways, soothed my throat and settled my stomach. However, I was still advised by my doctors to take continuous courses of antibiotics. The more antibiotics I took, the worse my sinus infection became.

By the end of the summer, my sinus infection had finally subsided. However the antibiotics had wrecked havoc on my digestive system. I was unable to digest anything. I lost 30 pounds in just a few months. I looked pale and emaciated and had a constant headache and stomachache. I went to several gastroenterologists, but none of them were able to provide insight or offer advice.  I began desperately researching my symptoms online, deciding to take my illness into my own hands. It was at that point, that I discovered “candida” and “leaky gut” and realized I had both. With the help of a naturopathic doctor, an acupuncturist, an energy healer and a very specific diet, I finally began to heal my body.

After two years, my stomach was still not back to normal. I had been diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and was afraid that I would have to live with the pain and the bloating forever.  Even though I was frustrated that I could not eat gluten, soy, alcohol or sugar, I was grateful for the journey that this illness initiated. I grew up an atheist and a science-obsessed skeptic, but this quest for health opened me up to exploring new ideas to how the mind and body worked. I eventually began training in Reiki, yoga, and holistic nutrition.

In 2012, I bought a one-way ticket to Indonesia. I did not want my illness to stop me from following a life-long dream of traveling around the world by myself.  On the islands of Sumatra and Bali, I saw local woman carrying around baskets and pushing carts full of yellow liquid in reused plastic bottles. I learned that the yellow drink was called Jamu and was used as a type of natural medicine. My Indonesian friends told me that many people drink it daily to maintain good health or to heal themselves in times of sickness. I decided to give it a try, thinking it may help my stomach. The creamy elixir tasted so bitter that I had to chase it with honey-water, but it did ease some of the inflammation in my gut. I discovered that each “Jamu Lady” seemed to have a different recipe and each drink tasted a little bit different. The one thing all Jamu had in common was its vibrant yellow hue. The intense color was derived from the super healing root, turmeric or “kunyit,” as they call it in Indonesia.

My negative experience with western medicine sparked a fascination with traditional medicine and led me to discovering what else was in this magical Jamu. Several different women offered to show me how to make it.  In addition to turmeric, Jamu typically contained: ginger, galagala (similar to ginger), honey, raw egg or coconut milk, and sometimes other herbs (the English translations of which I could not find). The most common way to make it was to mix the ginger and turmeric with a raw egg and honey in a bender. When I retuned to the states, I found a source of fresh turmeric. I started experimenting with many different variations of turmeric-ginger recipes. I found that it tasted best with chai tea, coconut milk, almond milk and honey. I drank my version of Jamu every day and by that spring, all of my stomach problems had disappeared.

Throughout the winter people would ask me, “why are you so tan?!” and, “what warm place did you just come back from?!” I told them that it had to be from all the turmeric I was consuming. I thought to myself, “wow if everyone knew the turmeric could not only make you feel better but also replace the need for make up and tanning beds, it would be the most popular food in America!” I began to do extensive research on turmeric and learned about its many other health benefits. It turned out it wasn’t as big a secret as I thought. In fact, there was article after article on turmeric in various nutrition blogs, scientific journals, and even the Huffington post! Several of my professors at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition also raved about this powerful spice. My grandma and father both suffered from arthritis so I eventually convinced them to try drinking my turmeric-ginger tea too. At this point, I already envisioned myself at a farmers market with a big sign saying, “Liquid Sunshine,” handing cups of yellow liquid to curious people with smiling faces.

I took a part-time job working at the Alternative Food Co-Op in Wakefield, Rhode Island, which ended up being the birthplace of Jamu Juice. One day at work, I made my turmeric-ginger chai tea for my coworkers. They all raved about it and told me that I should start selling it there. I bought some jelly jars, gathered the ingredients and starting making Jamu at the Co-Op on a weekly basis. The 8 oz. jars of murky yellow liquid flew off the shelf at a price of $4.99 each. People kept asking me for the recipe and I willingly shared it with them. However, very few people actually attempted to make it beacue it was such a time-consuming and complex operation. It involved mixing many hard-to-find ingredients and multiple processes. I thought that there must be some way to make the tea so people could easily make it at home.

My first step towards simplicity was ordering empty tea bags online and filling them with loose-leaf chai tea, then adding turmeric and ginger powder. Sadly, the resulting tea was weak and disappointing.  I remembered loving powdered “Oregon” chai tea when I was a kid, so I looked up what was in their chai tea powder. I found that it was mostly sugar, maltodextrin and powdered milk with a little bit of instant black tea and natural flavor. I decided that I had to make a powdered version that tasted just as good, but also contained turmeric, ginger and other healthy ingredients.  I found out what spices were in my favorite chai tea and bought them in their organic powdered forms. I played with the ratios until I got the perfect combination of spices that could easily be added to hot milk or water. This new version not only simplified my process, but also allowed me to give people the powdered mix so they could make it in a blender or on the stove at their own home.

That summer, I sold freshly juiced turmeric-ginger lemonade and my chai tea powder at the farmers market on Block Island, Rhode Island and in Jamestown, Rhode Island. I got amazing feedback from my customers who came back week after week claiming that my turmeric beverages made them feel great, cured hangovers, eased arthritis pain and helped with stomach aches. One woman told me that her friend who had ben battling cancer for 2 years looked better than she had in months and that when she asked what she had been doing, her friend told her that she had been buying turmeric juice from a girl at the farmers market in Jamestown. Hearing that story made me even more excited about starting a turmeric tea business and for sharing this amazing tea mix with the public.

As summer came to an end, I began a process of applying for my permit from the Department of Health to become a wholesale and retail supplier of turmeric-ginger chai tea, which I called, “Liquid Sunshine.” I envisioned selling the tea to customers online, as well as to stores and cafés in Rhode Island, and eventually all over the U.S. One of the most challenging and time- consuming processes for this business was creating the website with the proper applications, photos and information. Luckily, my brother is an up-and-coming web developer and was fit and willing to take on the task.

I am now selling my tea at the Alternative Food Co-Op in Wakefield and It’s My Health in Cumberland, RI and have over 50 online customers who order my tea on a regular basis. I am hoping to sell the tea in Whole Food Stores, A Market in Newport, RI and Cool Beans Café in Narragansett, RI after the holidays. When I can afford to do more advertising, this product will be able to reach even more people who could greatly benefit from drinking this tea on a daily basis. Before I am able to supply more stores and ship more tea to customers, I need to be able to produce the tea in greater amounts. I have just launched Fundraising Campaign to raise money so that I can continue to expand and develop the business.  This will include renting my own certified kitchen space or hiring a third party company to produce and distribute the tea. 

Starting a business at age 25 has been a challenging but rewarding process. In some ways, it may seem like the least likely person to start a business because, like many of us, I have a tendency to have high goals and aspirations and I often get frustrated with myself if I don’t reach them in the time frame I had anticipated. I realized this mindset was not productive, so I made a conscious decision to change my thoughts. As a result, working for myself theses past few months has been an incredibly gratifying experience. I have learned to understand that my feelings of stress and obligation are, in their truest form, my own desire for success projected out and reflecting back at me. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, I have allowed my desire to share “Liquid Sunshine” with the world to motivate me to work hard every day. I have invested every penny I have ever saved into this company because I believe it will be successful. This tea has the power to help millions of people feel better on a daily basis. I have confidence that Liquid Sunshine will soon be available to everyone who can benefit from its magical properties.

If you would like to learn more, check out her website:  www.jamujuice.com