HAUTE WELLNESS
NAMAS-TEA The Healing Ritual of Good Pharma
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FTER JILL PORTMAN AND HER PARTNER, GARY Shinner, sold Mighty Leaf Tea Company to Peet’s in 2014, Portman took a much needed and much deserved break before considering her next move. That move ended up being a re-entry into the beverage market, inspired by her personal journey in dealing with a medical illness that responded not to Western medicine, but to ancient herbal remedies featuring plant-based ingredients. Good Pharma launched mid-2021 and is the result of Portman’s deep dive into the worlds of functional mushrooms,
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traditional Chinese medicine, and Ayurveda. During her 20year journey in building Mighty Leaf, she traveled frequently to remote corners of the world where she was offered a window into these alternative healing practices and where, time and again, she witnessed and participated in tea ceremonies alongside these centuries-old medicinal rituals. Over the last four years, Portman has conferred with keepers of ancient medicinal knowledge about creating and optimizing formulas while foraging the world for the best and highest quality mushrooms and plant-based botanical extracts.
PHOTO CREDITS: © MEG FAIBISCH
BY FRAN ENDICOTT MILLER
