Ribbon cutting at Tea & Turmeric draws crowd of well-wishers to congratulate the Reddy sisters

By DIANNE RUSSELL

Photos by Mary Hurlbut

Even though sisters Kavita and Vidya Reddy opened the doors of their Tea & Turmeric shop in December 2021, on Thursday evening, May 19, they were officially welcomed into the Chamber of Commerce. At the ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the opening of Tea & Turmeric, Paula Hornbuckle- Arnold, acting interim CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, thanked everyone for coming. “I am excited to have Vidya and Kavita as part of our Chamber of Commerce.” 

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(L-R) Paula Hornbuckle-Arnold, Dawn Kamber, Vidya Reddy and Kavita Reddy

Chamber Board Director Lynda Halligan Olsen was on hand and said, “We’re really excited. Tea & Turmeric is not only a local business, it’s a family business.” 

Fifty to 70 people attended, milling around the unique shop full of handmade products, the Reddy’s own blends of Indian spices, spice kits and teas, their Ayurvedic Wellness line and so much more. 

Dawn Kamber, field representative for OC Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, presented Vidya and Kavita with a certificate recognizing the opening of the shop.

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(L-R) Lynda Halligan Olsen, Dawn Kamber, Vidya Reddy and Kavita Reddy

“The is a realization of a dream,” Vidya said. “This is a love note to our mother and grandmother. They instilled in us not only the love of food, but that it’s an expression of love, and it’s how we can communicate and connect. For the last two years we have all held our collective breath, but (on this occasion), let’s let it out together.” 

Kavita added, “Thank you for embracing our little dream.”

Attendees at the event were treated to amazing dishes Vidya made from her grandmother’s recipes and the sisters’ own personally blended spices. “It’s important to us because it’s not just about the recipes they left to us, but also that the food and spices are good for you,” said Vidya.

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Attendees 

They served their signature pink detox chai which is the top selling tea in the shop and one they blend themselves from their “granny’s” recipe. “We served curried hummus with pita chips and potato samosas with tamarind-date chutney,” Vidya said. “We also served our grandmother’s South Indian lemon rice. And finally there were spiced turkey meatballs. I made all the food, using the spice mixes in our Indian Made Easy Kit. It took me two days to make the food.”

Since the initial opening in December, Kavita and Vidya have rearranged the displays, transformed the center island and added more artisan products. 

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It took two days for Vidya to prepare the food from her grandmother’s recipes 

“We understand the store better now,” Vidya said. “The event took over two months of planning because we wanted to have our new video series in place. In the store, we installed several tablets that run videos we made to show how to use specific products like our Booze Infuse.”

Kavita admitted producing the videos was a lot of work, but worth it.

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New instructional video series

The two months of planning included the completion of their Ayurvedic Wellness line, which they wanted to have ready to launch at the event. Ayurveda is an ancient Indian medicinal practice that divides people into three constitutions or doshas (Vata, Pitta, Kapha). Each dosha has its own set of recommendations for eating, exercise and self-care for living your best life. 

Vidya explained, “We created an online quiz of 10 questions that identifies the taker’s dosha. We have the dosha quiz on an iPad in the store, where you take a few minutes to answer the quiz, which tells you which dosha you are. For each of the three doshas, we have a kit that includes a full lifestyle guide, a customized tea, a customized spice mix, a kitchari which is a cleansing food mix, a beauty mask and a meditation stone.”

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Ash Alvandi, district director for Senator Dave Min, presented a Certificate of Recognition to Vidya and Kavita 

“We were very pleased with the turnout and glad that everyone had a great time,” said Kavita and Vidya.

If you visit the Farmers’ Market, the Tea & Turmeric booth is there every other Saturday. Stop by and say, “Hello.”

Tea & Turmeric is located at 1175 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach.

For more information, go to www.teaandturmeric.com, or call 949.715.9600.