About Me
Hello friends.
My name is Monique Grimaldi and I started Bees & Teas as a way to support my passion for working with plants and being creative. I was born and raised in Petaluma, CA and love being outdoors, in nature, and around plants. I have a B.S. in environmental engineering but since graduating have spent my time in agriculture - growing a diverse mix of flowers, herbs, and vegetables on various farms. I spent the last two years studying herbalism on the side and have decided to follow that path. I currently reside in Escondido, CA with my partner and our dog. We enjoy exploring the diverse landscapes of Southern California and getting to know the region’s native plants.
Bees & Teas Herbal Apothecary
My mom came up with the name Bees & Teas - “bees” representing sustainably grown plants that support pollinators and the environment and “teas” representing the herbal products I would be creating. Bees & Teas Herbal Apothecary is a line of small-batch, handcrafted herbal products intentionally formulated and created by me. I grow or sustainably forage what herbs I can, and sustainably source the rest.
Living the dream...
The dream for me would be to own some property and have my own farm growing herbs, flowers, and specialty vegetables with some bees, chickens, goats, and a small orchard. I would love to be able to grow or sustainably forage 90% of the herbs I use in my products, but for now (since I’m working full-time elsewhere and don’t have unlimited time, land, money, and resources) I do what I can. My hope is to grow the business (and my savings) over the next few years, increase my production of backyard-grown herbs, and create a solid business plan that I can use to help me start living the dream.