Have you ever reached out for a teabag after dinner in hopes of lessening that feeling of bloat? How about a cup of green tea for a quick boost? Now I'm pretty sure you've been told you can take a cup of chamomile tea to help you get those much-needed ZZZs! Tea is a huge part of our lives, and whether we realize it or not, we've consumed a lot of it throughout our lives. But did you know you could actually harness way more benefits from real, high-quality herbal tea as opposed to run-of-the-mill teabags we often come across in stores?

Enter: Oh Holiday!, an herbal apothecary currently with two branches in the metro; one in Power Plant Mall, and a new one at the Shangri-La Fort. The brainchild of René Rosario Rodrigo, UK registered Master Herbalist, Oh Holiday! caters to a growing market of Filipinos in search for high-quality herbal tea mixes that address countless concerns from GERD, to allergic rhinitis, to appetite control.

Wondering why you should upgrade to Oh Holiday! teas? Allow us to give you at least three reasons below!

Oh Holiday! at Shangri-La Fort

René Rosario Rodrigo

1. Oh Holiday! is curated by a master herbalist.

The woman behind the brand has always had a passion for wellness. Growing up in the States with a mom who was equally passionate about her kids' wellness, René Rosario Rodrigo always knew she would end up having a career in the field. She grew up to see her mom feed them tinola, lots of ginger, and lots of teas, in an attempt to avoid store-bought medicine whenever they would get sick. René also shares that she started doing yoga at the age of 16, and even tried dry body brushing at 18! Her love for all things wellness led her to get a nutrition certificate in New York, but she felt that it was not enough. She has always wanted to do more for her clients, to help them heal better.

A personal struggle led to beautiful things in René's life, as she shares that she once had infertility and had difficulty getting pregnant after her first child. She also suffered from endometriosis, which required her to get surgery. At some point the doctors told her she would have much difficulty getting pregnant, but she didn't accept that as her fate—she knew there must be something natural that could help her heal and eventually get pregnant again! And such was what happened! 'I researched far and wide about all the herbs that could help me, Chinese medicine, even acupuncture. I curated all the herbs myself, and I made the herbal tea concoctions at home. I became endometriosis-free, and I had two more daughters after', she happily shares.

After giving birth to her second child (she did a water birth at home), she realized how much herbalism was truly effective for her, so she decided to dig deeper and study it formally. It was during the pandemic that she was able to enroll in one of the best herbal medicine schools in the UK, where she received her degree. This led to her blending the teas at home with her trusted staff, shipping out orders to Instagram friends and followers alike, and eventually building her herbal apothecary business in the form of Oh Holiday!

2. It's always best to seek an expert's advice.

In this day and age of Dr. Google (admit it, you've searched for remedies to your symptoms online one too many times), it's quite dangerous to self-diagnose or even rely on whatever you see on social media. Gaining advice from trusted experts is key, to be able to truly help your body heal.

René's job entails seeing the client for a consult, the client sharing his or her aches and pains or issues as well as medical history, and her giving advice on how herbal medicine can help you or maybe not help you. She is also trained to look out for red flags in patients, especially those that need to see a traditional doctor right away. She also sees children, but not any under the age of two, for professional advice as well.

'One of the main parts of being a clinical herbalist is you’re trained to learn how to read contraindications of other medicines. So a lot of my clients would be under high blood pressure medicines, blood thinners and things like that, and a lot herbs contraindicate these things', she shares. This is why it's important to seek an expert's advice before heading to the store and grabbing any random box of tea you found out online was a good remedy for you. This is especially important to note if you are taking other medications.

3. At Oh Holiday!, you're paying for high quality and passionate formulations.

We're so used to buying teabags in a box in the grocery store that we never realize how different the effects will be on our physical bodies if we actually take time to invest in better products. 'Our tea blends are special in a way that they are restorative tea. So they should have an effect on your body that you can see or feel. It’s not like you go to the drug store and you buy a chamomile tea, it’ll help you sleep for like two or three days, and then eventually the effects wear off and you don’t know why', René shares. She goes on to add, 'because to be honest, store-bought tea is what we call tea dust. Tea dust is the off shavings of the herbs. Knowing the phytochemical reactions that happen with tea when they hit hot water, you’re not actually getting any real, long-lasting benefits from those types of teas although they’re fun to drink for sure, and there’s nothing wrong with drinking them. For us, it’s really about having an impact on your body.'

Oh Holiday! offers restorative teas, leisure teas, and pure herbs. 'We have restorative teas which are our blends, and then we have leisure teas like ‘Sangria Nights’, we have a ‘Blueberry Calming’ one, those are the ones anyone can take. Some of them have caffeine in them, like green tea. Then we have pure herbs. Pure herbs are single herbs like chamomile, crysanthemum, jujube, and gingko biloba', René offers.

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In these days where our quest for wellness is an on-going process, it's good to know there are brands like Oh Holiday! that goes the extra mile for its clients. They ensure quality control is done right, and keeping a close relationship with their suppliers from abroad are key. Being able to find a brand you can trust is a rarity these days, and Oh Holiday! is one you absolutely can.

Oh, Holiday! is located at R3, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell, and The Shops at Shangri-La The Fort, BGC. Follow them on Instagram at @ohholiday.shop