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There’s something deeply comforting about cradling a warm cup of tea in your hands. Maybe it’s the ritual of slowing down for a few minutes, the fragrant steam curling from the mug or the simple act of caring for yourself in a small yet meaningful way.
In Arkansas, one tea maker has built an entire business around that feeling.
At BWG Herbal Tea, founder Sarah Shelton-James grows, harvests, dries, blends and bags herbal teas formulated to support everyday wellness. From calming nighttime blends to teas crafted for inflammation, digestion, allergies and stress relief, her products have earned a loyal following across Arkansas and beyond.
But what makes this story especially fitting for International Tea Day on May 21 is that the company itself began with a personal need for mental and physical well-being.
Tea Time in Arkansas
International Tea Day celebrates tea’s cultural significance and the communities and agricultural efforts behind it. While tea traditions are often associated with faraway places and centuries-old customs, one Arkansas farm shows that meaningful tea culture can flourish right here in the Delta.
In the heart of rice and duck country near Stuttgart, Sarah grows more than 40 varieties of herbs on a quarter-acre farm she intentionally keeps “small on purpose.”
While BWG Herbal Tea has grown into a successful Arkansas business, Sarah never expected any of this.
Spill the Tea: How BWG Herbal Tea Began
Before becoming a tea blender and herb farmer, Sarah worked as a veterinary technician in Beebe for 15 years.
“It was the right career for me,” she said. “If I won the lottery, I’d still go to work.”
Then came 2020.
Like many in the veterinary field, she worked at a clinic that became overwhelmed during the pandemic. Long hours, curbside appointments, and emotional exhaustion quickly mounted. Everyone was at home, seeking a new furry companion and someone to help care for it.
“I’d never had anxiety in my life,” Sarah said. “But suddenly, it was overwhelming.”
Seeking relief, she visited an herbalist who recommended trying tulsi tea, an adaptogenic herb often used to help the body manage stress.
About a month later, she noticed something had changed.
“The job wasn’t calmer,” she said. “But I was handling it differently. My body was managing itself.”
That single cup of tea sparked a fascination with herbs and wellness. Already someone who loved a warm nighttime tea, Sarah began experimenting with blends at home, researching herbs, reading books, and taking online courses.
At the time, she was also teaching yoga at a local studio called Bloom With Grace. She asked the boutique owner where she taught her class to try the tea she drank daily. After a bit of convincing to take the first sip, she was hooked.
The boutique owner offered shelf space for the bagged blend, and BWG Herbal Tea began as “just a few bags for some friends!”
From Tea Drinker to Herb Farmer
As her teas grew in popularity, Sarah noticed a problem. Some herbs were hard to source consistently. One shipment would be beautiful and fragrant, while the next might arrive wilted or be of low quality. So, she started experimenting with growing her own; curiosity slowly transformed into a working herb farm.
Today, Sarah grows many of the herbs used in her teas directly on the property in Casscoe. The herbs are harvested by hand, then dried on-site in a custom-built shed to manage Arkansas humidity and finally blended in small batches.
“What I’ve noticed is the difference it makes when you plant, harvest, and dry everything yourself,” she said. “It changes both the medicinal properties and the taste.”
Rows of herbs buzz with pollinators in summer, and Sarah’s bees produce Tea Farm Honey from hives named Dolly, Patsy, Loretta and Aretha.
Their work has not gone unnoticed. BWG Herbal Tea was recently named the 2026 North Arkansas County Farm Family of the Year, an honor recognizing both the farm’s agricultural impact and the care that goes into every harvest. For Sarah, it’s also proof that small farms have an important place in Arkansas agriculture.
She’s grateful for the ecosystem around her, including rice and soybean farmers. The properties adjacent to hers are kind in the way they understand their farming impacts her products.
“The big guys are important, and the little guys are too,” she said. “It all has a place.”
PopulariTEA: Arkansas Tea Blends with Purpose
One thing quickly becomes clear while talking with Sarah: every tea starts with a purpose. “If there’s an ailment, there’s probably a tea for that,” she said.
And if enough people ask about a certain problem? She knows it’s time to start working on a blend!
Here are a few of BWG Herbal Tea’s most popular Arkansas-made blends.
I-Tea-Profen
One of the company’s bestsellers, I-Tea-Profen is crafted from anti-inflammatory herbs and antioxidant-rich ingredients such as tulsi, hibiscus, chamomile, ginger, butterfly pea flower, rose hips, cinnamon and dehydrated apples.
It brews to a vibrant lavender or burgundy, depending on the blend balance, and has a comforting apple-cinnamon aroma.
Belly Bliss
Originally marketed as a heartburn tea, this digestive support blend reached a broader audience after being renamed Belly Bliss.
Made with ginger, chamomile, marshmallow root, fennel, cinnamon, and licorice root, the tea is designed to gently soothe digestive discomfort, including bloating, nausea and reflux.
Allergy Ease
Arkansas allergy sufferers may appreciate this seasonal blend, featuring mullein, peppermint, goldenrod, nettles and licorice root. Sarah often recommends pairing it with local honey to provide extra support during heavy allergy seasons.
Monthly Magic
Designed to support PMS symptoms and cramping, Monthly Magic combines herbs such as red raspberry, ginger, skullcap, nettles, cinnamon and chamomile into a mellow, comforting blend.
Cuppa Calm Down
Perhaps the most personal blend in the lineup, Cuppa Calm Down traces back to the tea that helped Sarah through her most stressful season.
With chamomile, lemon balm, lavender, passionflower and hibiscus, it’s designed for evenings when your nervous system needs a break.
Developing a Tea Lifestyle
For Sarah, drinking tea is about more than flavor. It’s about learning to pause and ask what your body needs. “What could I do right now to show myself a little love?”
Some teas offer immediate comfort, while others work more gradually over time. Part of the experience is learning what works best for your body and routine. These blends are really “tisanes,” made from herbs and florals that don’t always include tea leaves, but they serve a similar healing process by extracting natural oils from the blended products. Only the Focus Potion blend contains caffeine and has a black tea base.
She also encourages people to rethink their tea brewing methods.
Loose-leaf herbal blends need room to expand, so tiny novelty infusers often prevent the herbs from fully blooming. Her favorite brewing tool is a simple mesh basket infuser that fits directly into the cup. She also recommends covering your mug while steeping to help preserve the herbs’ aromatic oils.
While many people think of tea as a winter drink, Sarah says herbal tea can easily become part of daily life year-round. Some blends are wonderful iced. Others are perfect for winding down at night in a French press-sized mug at the kitchen table.
In a fast-moving world, Sarah has built something rooted in slowing down, caring for people, and bringing comfort, one cup at a time.
To learn more, shop online, or follow life on the farm, visit BWG Herbal Tea on Facebook and Instagram.
Images throughout the story were provided by BWG Herbal Tea.
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