Conversations with KaShala Smith

Today we’d like to introduce you to KaShala Smith.  

Hi KaShala, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Steeped Pearl Co is a loose-leaf herbal artisan tea blend company. We are black-owned and completely woman operated and based in Cleveland, OH. Both Dominique and I are tea lovers since we were young girls! For me personally, I was a sickly child, so my parents were always nursing me back to health with a black tea bag, lemon wedge, and a cough drop! As my love for tea evolved over time so did my palette. In 2017, I began making blends of my own, one of the first being Elder Elixir, a recreation of the tea my parents used to give me but with fresh herbal ingredients! Elder Elixir featured lemon balm, elderberry flower, fresh ground and whole ginger, and eucalyptus. A brew meant to warm your chest, clear your cough, and let you get a sigh of relief! That same year, I created Meditate Mate, which was our fruity interpretation of sleepy time tea, featuring lavender, lemon grass, chamomile, and dried strawberries and pineapples, in case you wanted to drift away to sleep on an island! It felt as though my love for tea, creativity, and my passion for community had wrapped itself into a gift and let me do that honors of sharing it with everyone. So, after a year of good reviews, in 2018 I took a leap out on faith and started our official business as Shakra Teas LLC, but we are operating as Steeped Pearl. 

In 2021, we rebranded from Shakra Teas to Steeped Pearl. Pearl is the name of my paternal grandmother! My father passed down his love for tea from his mother, whose love for tea was passed down to her. I am STEEPED in a deep legacy of tea love lol. Also, when renaming the brand, it was important to me that I am building a legacy that is not only mine but shared deeply with my community and family. 

In addition to rebranding, we also added Dominque Todd-Shumate to the team as our Branding and Marketing Manager! Dominique also moonlights as a co-artisan for our herbal blends! We have come a long way from our start in 2018, but we are hardly getting started! We currently release four artisan herbal tea blends twice a year in the Spring and Fall. 

Our most recent released March 18th, 2023, The Tea Shelf Collection! This book inspired blends were created thoughtfully with a reader’s experience in mind and out dedicated to author and characters we care about deeply! Pecola is an ode to Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye. Pecola and her experience mirrors what happens when our most vulnerable young black girls are left unloved and unprotected. Pecola wished for blues eyes, if you’ve read the story, you know she doesn’t get her wish but, in this blend, we answer her with an intentionally deep blue brew! Pecola features blue cornflower, butterfly pea, chamomile, lemon peel, and a kiss of star anise! With this brew we extend a cup of comfort for a character who needed desperately. Jasmine Breeze is another from the Tea Shelf, designed for a smooth move, but if we were to describe the taste…close your eyes and go with me…it’s that time of spring when you start unzipping your jacket and walking a bit slower. You are idly exploring a tree-lined path in the park, and you see a park bench that beckons you. As you ease yourself down into the perfect lean a warm floral breeze gently bathed you… yeah that’s Jasmine Breeze! A sweet raspberry leaf and jasmine pod blend complimented by whole and ground ginger! Nova is dedicated to a Cleveland Author and Teacher, Breshea Anglen’s Book series Noni and The Godtree: A Shattered Truth. We crafted this blend to capture the magical essence of the Nova realm in a blend of nettle, calendula, hibiscus, rose, and pink peppercorn! And last but certainly not least this season we created our herbal interpretation of Earl Grey, without Eva Grey! Homage to the late grandmother to Dominique, who enjoyed coffee and pound cake in the mornings, we blended a Grey like no other! Rather than a black tea and essential oil combination, we based our tea with rooiboos, bergamont flowers, and root then complimented by vanilla notes. We hope this blend brings someone you love closer to you! 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The has been smooth in some places and bumpy in others, lol There is no shortage of creativity between Dominique and I. Often, she has to put a leash on me, so I don’t become the Idea Fairy! At times there have been financial challenges, as any small business owner will tell you running the business half out of your own pocket is no joke. So, increasing my financial literacy and learning how to secure funding and resources for my business are constantly on my to-do list. I feel as though for a while in my business I was simply recycling funds instead of accumulating them, which is a common struggle with start-up businesses. 

I’d say rebranding was difficult, but that would be a fib! Dominique had been an amazing addition to the team; with her background in PR and marketing we have been able to elevate our brand while engaging our target audience of tea lovers. 

Learning how to tango with social media to increase sales for my business has been a learning curve. Creating content is time consuming but learning to automate social media helped a bunch. We are releasing our website this month to streamline our online ordering system! As I’ve stated before we do not currently have a brick and mortar, so in the past, you could check our social media accounts to see which pop-up shops we will be at near you, but now you can order us straight to your doorstep using the linktree in our social media bios! 

In the future, we are looking to move into the mobile tea parties and pour service for social events! I’m interested in seeing what that journey has in store for us! 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a teacher by trade and have been since 2015. I am currently teaching GED for Lorain County Community College and have the honor of teaching in my hometown! I had known I wanted to be a teacher since kindergarten and began tutoring when I was 16 years old and never looked back! I knew where I belonged! I went to Kent State for undergraduate degree. I participate in City Year Cleveland and then pursued a master’s in education policy at University of Rochester! I chose education policy because I care deeply about the children of our society and how the rules we strategically put in place affect long and short-term. I am very passionate about delivering high-quality educational experiences for my students, so I stay in the classroom, but my heart is deep in advocacy. This is my 2nd year in GED, and I truly feel as though I’ve found my education home where I can stay a year or five lol 

I am a U.S. Army National Guard Veteran. I served from 2012-2018. 

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Consistency! If there is anything that I have learned is that if I want my dreams to become a reality, I am responsible to pulling that dream toward me CONSISTENTLY! It’s ok if things don’t go as planned or if I have to rest for a moment as long as I keep being consistent. I know it sounds simple, but there is a lot of sacrifices, and failures on the business owner path and I wish my pride/ego could have took that sooner! Highs and lows and can disorienting, just focus on being the most consistent! 

Pricing:

• 1 6oz jar for $16
• 2 6 oz jars for $30
• 4 6 oz jars for $50
• 3 cup sampler pouch $4
• Box 24 jars $250

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/steepedpearl
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steepedpearl/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SteepedPearl?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits
Derrick Todd