St. Bibiana Tea is Colorado Crafted + More than a Hangover Cure | By Lisa Blake
Frisco, Colorado, massage therapist Lizzie Johnsen founded St. Bibiana Tea after COVID lockdowns increased alcohol consumption for her and everyone around her. She was feeling the body-mind effects of too many evening cocktails and something had to give. Working with herbalists and naturopathic doctors, she formulated the perfect tonic for headaches, stomach issues and mood. She named the mix of ginger root, turmeric, milk thistle, chamomile and ashwagandha after fourth-century Roman martyr St. Bibiana; her blend is now sold as a miracle worker at coffee shops and apothecaries across Colorado.
Johnsen’s recovery tea is being heralded by fans as a miracle potion — a steamy cup of therapeutic ease that hits the spot when life gets the best of you.
“I was digging deep into remedies for hangovers,” she says. “I started first with researching milk thistle for liver tonicity and it just took off from there. I played with formulas until I landed on the perfect one.”
Johnsen grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and attended NYU and Tisch School of the Arts in New York, taking a pit stop to play and work at Copper Mountain in Colorado on her way to Los Angeles, California, to work in film. More than 35 years later, she still calls Summit County home. Career paths took Johnsen from Copper Mountain lift operator to a local radio DJ to coffeehouse owner. She opened her own massage practice in Frisco after having her babies, Max and Sophie.
Part pandemic hobby, part ailment cure, Johnsen started sharing her loose tea blend with friends and family and knew she was onto something when she began getting jars back for refills. With nudges from close friends and clients, she called her friend and artist John P. Lace in Boulder, Colorado and crafted a label around the patron saint of hangovers St. Bibiana, placing her herbal tea blend in jars shaped like devotional candles as a nod to her Irish Catholic family
A group of “passionate hippies” at Eugene, Oregon-based Mountain Rose Herbs ships top-tier sustainable, organic herbs to Johnsen for her master blend. Ginger root helps calm upset stomachs. Anti-inflammatory turmeric fights free radicals and aids digestion. Milk thistle supports liver health and kidney and pancreatic function. Calming chamomile improves sleep. Ashwagandha eases hangover anxiety. And peppermint adds a soothing yet energizing touch while zapping headaches. “I played with the herbal blend for months,” Johnsen says. “It had to taste good. I wanted people to crave it and love it.”
St. Bibiana is the first in what Johnsen plans to grow into a full product line. Future blends will likely focus on women’s health and hormone balancing, something you can drink while pregnant and breastfeeding, she says.
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Find St. Bibiana Tea at the Dillon Summer Farmers Market, Cool River in Breckenridge and Buena Vista, the Backcountry Apothecary, Next Page Bookstore and Lady Sunshine in Frisco and The Artisan Center in Denver’s Cherry Creek North.
Order online at stbibianatea.com.
Originally published in Summer + Fall 2024 issue of Well.
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