Apothekary

Because I am a stereotypical millennial, I have a favorite juice place in DC. My personal favorite is a local raw juice shop called Jrink Juicery–if you’re in the DMV area I highly recommend stopping by (or ordering for delivery) some of their juices. (I also did a mini reboot when I had been sick for three weeks and I’m convinced it is what finally kicked my cold away, but that’s a different story.)

Sometime last year the woman who started Jrink started a new offshoot shop, Apothekary. Apothekary is a holistic healing shop that stocks herb blends and teas and a variety of crystals. I have a few favorites from the shop that I use regularly in different ways and, as much as some of you may not believe me, I swear they work. Everything I have is something that they sell pre-blended because I don’t know enough about herbal medicine to know how to use the individual powders, but Apothekary does indeed sell most components of their signature blends separately.

Chill The F* Out
This is a signature blend that helps you let go of stress and inflammation. Since I tend to be relatively high-strung, this is a blend I use pretty regularly. The website claims it has a peppermint chocolate taste but I’ll be honest, I only ever taste the chocolate. The flavor makes it ideal to mix into my morning coffee as it makes it a less sweet mocha flavor. Pro-tip for mixing into your coffee: put the teaspoon of powder (the recommended serving size) into your cup and mix it with whatever milk or milk substitute you use (I use almond milk) and dissolve it there before pouring in the coffee. This helps the powder dissolve more fully–if you go straight into the coffee it stays kind of grainy which is drinkable, but not ideal.

Follow Your Gut
This blend is focused on gut health and probiotics. Honestly, it works exactly as it sounds–it helps calm down your tummy. This blend is slightly spicy (that’s probably the wrong word but it’s heavy on the turmeric and black pepper) so it doesn’t taste very good added to coffee (trust me, I tried it). The best way to use this powder is to mix it in as you’re cooking. I add this in when I make homemade ramen and stir-fry dishes. If I need it in a pinch I’ll mix it into some almond milk and drink it quickly like a shot.

Slay All Day
This powder is a matcha-based blend that increases energy while boosting your immune system. Since the taste of matcha is so distinctive I usually add this to either a matcha latte or on its own in almond milk. I save this powder for when I need some extra energy but I’m maxed out on coffee (like when I know another cup of coffee will make me jittery).

Nighttea
This tea is my most recent purchase from Apothekary (I grabbed it at Union Market last weekend) and honestly, it’s by far my favorite already. I have a really hard time falling asleep at night because my brain will not just be quiet. Enter this tea. I drink this about 30 minutes before bed each night and it’s a total game changer. I have empty compostable tea bags that I add about a teaspoon and a half of the loose tea into and let it steep for 15 minutes. By the time I’ve finished my tea and gotten up to brush my teeth and get in bed I have trouble keeping my eyes open. I could tell how well and how fast this tea was working when I forgot to make it one night this week and the difference was ridiculous (if you don’t believe me, just ask Brandon).

I’m looking forward to getting more into holistic medicine since I’ve found all these blends so helpful and I appreciate how Apothekary makes it so accessible! When I stopped by the Union Market shop last weekend I got to talk to the founder/owner about why she started both companies and how she expanded on the knowledge she was taught growing up to be able to start the business. Even better–Apothekary ships! So you can order from the shop even if you don’t live in DC!

xoxo,
J