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It all started as a social concern, really. Jamir Ocampo simply wanted to help the urban poor communities that have been dislodged from their houses and moved to a resettlement area in Calauan, Laguna. He thought hard on how to assist them. Eventually, it led him back to his university days in Kyoto where he got captivated with the locals’ love for tea.
“Tea is like water in Japan,” claims Jamir. “I was exposed to the culture and got to experience tea ceremonies. They are very religious and it felt like a vocation to the Japanese. It is even served in schools, right beside the water dispenser. It was a big learning process for me.”
His fascination for tea ultimately became an affinity as he developed the same liking for tea. He then realized that native herbs grew like weeds in the Philippines. He saw the opportunity, pieced things together, and pitched having the communities grow herbs for a sustainable tea line to I Am A Changemaker, the annual social enterprise competition hosted by the British Council.
Fortunately, he won and got funding to set up his enterprise. Early this year, he introduced what he and his community of mothers have been tending to at their herbal garden in Laguna for the past years: the Tsaa Laya, exquisite tea collections of the Philippines.
Calauan community at work
“Tea has a lot of personality in terms of aroma and healing properties. And I realized that we have a lot of herbs, flowers and plants that we can develop to teas. It grows around easily, oftentimes even wildly on the streets of Manila. But no one ever took notice. It’s a matter of looking inward and putting more value to herbs,” he says.
This year, Jamir focused on his herbal tea collection, which is made up of five varieties — three blends (java banaba, lemon ginger and centella mint) and two made of pure leaves (pandan and tanglad). Next year, he will add the floral and chocolate collections to his growing tea range. Tsaa Laya is available in bags and as loose leaf.
Tsaa Laya, www.facebook.com/tsaalaya, +63 915 8493162.
Tsaa Laya Pouches (PHP70/tea bag)
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