Moon Honey Tea
Boonville’s Secret Tea Shop
by Holly Madrigal
Tucked away in an art gallery in Boonville is a secret shop. Antique curiosities sit amidst a curated collection of jewelry, gifts, and artwork. Locally harvested honey shares shelf space with home-harvested walnuts from the owner’s orchard. This small shop is the vision of Una Ann Morgan. A friendship with John Hanes, an elder artist and sculptor in Boonville, led her to open Moon Honey Tea within his gallery. When she first opened in April of 2023, she began serving fresh roasted, French press coffee and loose-leaf tea at the shop. She roasts the organic coffee beans herself every few days. “I have a background in coffee and I welcome everyone to come by for a taste. We also sell coffee you can take home with you.” If you want to taste something beyond coffee, you can try the Three Ravens Blend of coffee, chicory, and black tea. The cozy warmth will transport you to a seat by a roaring fire.
A passion to find herbal remedies that were safe and healing for her children led Una to research and make her own tea blends, and Moon Honey Tea Company was born. “I’ve always been in love with the magical and healing properties of plants, but the thing that inspired me to offer herbal blends to the public was the lack of herbal remedies available that are safe for children. I have kids, and I wanted remedies for common complaints like sore throat, tummy ache, fever, etc., using herbs that were considered safe for children and effective for the whole family,” says Una. While researching online, she kept finding products that said “not safe for children,” or those that were safe seemed ineffective. By creating her own, she was able to fill her personal medicine cabinet and share with friends.
“These are herbal blends, and I give them cute names so that you can tell a story for your child. For example, the fever reducer is called ‘Fairy Dust,’ so you can say, ‘We’re sprinkling some fairy dust in hot water to make you feel better,’” she adds. “I’ve made an antiviral blend for sore throats called ‘Mr. Frog’s Throat Tea,’—you know, since you have a frog in your throat. When I was young, my sister and I were very into natural wisdom and witchy stuff,” says Una. “Creating these teas seemed a natural fit.”
Una prides herself on making tea and herbal blends that are not just effective but delicious as well, and she welcomes visitors to try samples in the shop. Mr. Frog’s is filled with thyme as well as other ingredients that reduce inflammation, are antiviral, and taste great. She also makes a Ginger Cat tummy tea, so named because it has lots of ginger. A common myth, she says, is that you can only steep tea once.
“I encourage my customers to use the blend two or three times to make the most of your purchase.” She describes her business as an organic, loose-leaf, specialty blend tea and coffee shop, as well as an eclectic gift shop. “I love tea because it’s a wonderful way to remind ourselves, every day, to slow down in a kind of ritualistic and meditative way,” Una shares. “It also keeps us connected to nature in a multitude of ways specific to the properties and energies of each leaf, root, tree bark, stem, flower, or fruit, as well as to the seasons and regions it is harvested in.”
Next time you visit Boonville and see the open sign outside of the John Hanes Gallery, you can stop by and have your own meditative moment with a steaming cup of fresh pressed coffee or sip of tea. Bet you won’t be able to leave without a handful of gifts, goodies, and remedies to fill your personal medicine cabinet.
Moon Honey Tea Company
John Hanes Gallery 14051 Hwy 128, Boonville
(707) 489-0981 | www.etsy.com/shop/MoonHoneyTea
IG @moonhoneytea
Open Friday - Sunday 11:00 – 3:00 or when the open sign is out