In the Kitchen: The Kitchen Alchemy of Alicia Brown

Sweet aromas of citrus, earth, and vanilla welcome me as I stand over the metal bowl filled with colorful dried herbs, fruits, and vegetables. I watch, mesmerized, as Alicia Brown scoops the elements into small cloth bags, before inserting them into cups. As she pours hot water over the bags, the liquid transforms into a deep, bright red. “This isn’t your average tea. This is herbal alchemy, baby,” she says.

Brown is the proprietor of Zenacious Rootz, a handcrafted tea company based in Providence. The name combines “zen” and “tenacious” to evoke seeking peace and healing while remaining rooted and grounded. “It’s more than just tea; it’s a lifestyle,” says Brown, who turned to exploring herbalism after a medical issue. Over a cup, she shares the challenges that led her to the soothing ritual of tea: colorism, her father committed suicide in jail when she was 11, hanging with the wrong crowd, chronic stress, addictions to smoking and drinking, anxiety, and bodily breakdown. She moved to Rhode Island from Massachusetts, where she founded Zenacious Rootz.

While touring the kitchen, Brown explains that once she procures herbs and fruits, she uses a dehydrator to transform them into dried ingredients; any excess is saved and goes into various containers to ensure freshness for future blends. She explains that since the tea she creates has no tea leaves, it’s actually categorized as a tisane. Tisanes are caffeine-free and can be served hot or cold, and blends can steep for as long as 10 minutes per cup and 20 minutes or longer for a pitcher. Drinkers can also sun-steep and cold-steep.

Among Brown’s most popular blends is cerise tea. Named after its deep cherry hue, it’s her first-ever blend and the product of which she’s most proud. Full, complex, and delicious, the standout flavors are orange, ginger, a hint of beet, tart hibiscus, and smooth, sweet vanilla. “Hibiscus and beets are double heart health,” she explains. “Ginger is anti-inflammatory. Although people don’t know this, Madagascar vanilla is good for digestion. Red raspberry for the reproductive system.”

Brown, who hopes to hold classes to teach people how to create blends, says the process is simple. “You can dehydrate some fruit in your oven. You can use stuff out of your kitchen to dress up your tea. That’s the amazing thing about tea, it’s versatile,” she says. Brown enjoys converting people to avid tea-drinkers because it’s not only tasty but also packed with vitamin C and minerals.

Since starting Zencious Rootz, Brown has won an EforAll Pitch contest, had her first speaking engagement, and found a supportive community. She hopes to inspire others to take that first step to change and give themselves grace. “I am the representation of what it looks like to be born into a situation not in your favor, odds against you, but even through all of that, still making it,” she says with palpable determination. “Still, somehow deep down inside of me, knowing that there’s more to life.” Learn more at ZenaciousRootz.store and Instagram @zenaciousrootz