Rasha Tayeh

November News!

~ rashatayeh

I can’t believe we’re already in November and that I’m getting ready for my Christmas Markets and stocking up on my Online Store.

This month I’ll be trading my Beit e’Shai organic herbal teas at three different markets starting Saturday 16th November.  Scroll down for more details!

If you can’t make it to a market, don’t forget that you can always shop online at http://www.beiteshai.com

Get organised this Christmas season, start your shopping early and support your local makers.

I will also be having a PopUp Shop with a couple of friends on the weekend of December 13th-15th in Brunswick East.  It’s a wonderful way to thank you for your support and raise a glass to celebrate the end of year.  I will send you a separate email with your invitation to the launch party with more details on our PopUp Shop trading hours, workshops and happenings over the weekend.  For now, save the date!

New Beit e’Shai Stockists

A warm welcome to two of my newest Beit e’Shai stockists joining us this month.
Migrant Coffee in West Footscray and Happy Herb Shop in Fitzroy.

This month marks a business goal I set myself earlier this year: to reach 10 stockists by the end of 2019.  And here we are!  I’m feeling proud of my efforts running this business solo out of my apartment in Preston and I’m so very grateful for ALL of your support.  Big things are coming.

I feel blessed to have such a wonderful family of stockists and I’m always looking to spread my herbal love.  So, if you or someone you know would like to stock my handmade organic herbal teas please email me on rasha@beiteshai.com and ask for a Wholesale Line Sheet and Price List.

From time to time, I get asked by different clients to host workshops, throw tea parties or cater for their special events and conferences.  This month I’m pleased to announce that I will be catering for the Black-Palestinian Solidarity Conference at The University of Melbourne and providing Beit e’Shai teas during morning and afternoon tea breaks, and during lunchtime alongside the amazing Hana Assafiri from The Moroccan Soup Bar, who will be putting on a delicious Moroccan spread for lunch.  There are still tickets available to this event via this link.

So, if you are ever looking for a tea caterer, I’m your gal!
Email me on rasha@beiteshai.com for a quote.

November Markets

Here are my market movements this month:

Gift ideas

I have lots of delicious treats for you this Christmas.  Apart from gorgeous handmade test tube holders by local woodworker Grant Robinson like the ones we had last year (pictured below),  I have commissioned a brilliant local ceramics artist and dear friend Nicole Coci to make special Beit e’Shai mugs to pair with my herbal teas and infusers.  I will have lots of Christmas gift ideas at these markets, so be sure to drop by.  Please note, these limited edition Gift Sets will not be available online, only at markets in November and December (or until they sell out).

With love, Rasha x

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Tea Salon: Fundraiser for Dalia Association

~ rashatayeh

This is your exclusive invitation to our first Tea Salon, a fundraising experience hosted by Beit e’Shai for Dalia Association based in occupied Palestine.

Step inside the warmth of Preston’s Oshun Retreat, with a cup of Beit e’Shai tea in hand, for a magical Sunday afternoon filled with music, dance, henna art, massage and reiki healings. Tea Salon offers a chance for our Beit e’Shai community to connect in support for Palestine and Dalia Association-مؤسسة دالية المجتمعية.

Proceeds raised from this Tea Salon will fund a community supported agriculture project: Om Sleiman Farm – مزرعة أم سليمان. Om Sleiman Farm is a small organic farm in the Ramallah area that offers ethical local produce to the West Bank region. This initiative is made possible by Dalia Association – the only community foundation that realizes Palestinians’ rights to control their resources and sustain their own development for generations to come.

Your host, Beit e’Shai owner and founder, Rasha Tayeh, is a Palestinian artist, herbalist and nutritionist. Rasha invites guests to an afternoon of relaxing self care and community care over a casual gathering and delicious teas; heralding her business’ intention to create a healing home for all of us who have been displaced, dispossessed or exiled.

Dalia Association and Beit e’Shai believe that by reviving traditions of philanthropy and volunteerism, we create new systems that make giving easier and more trust worthy.

When: Sunday 28th July 2019, 3 – 6pm
Where: Oshun Retreat, 5/27 Enfield Ave Preston
Cost: $30 or if you’re feeling extra generous $40
Book online at: https://www.trybooking.com/BDCIN
All proceeds will go to Om Sleiman Farm, supported by Dalia Association in occupied Palestine.

Your entry fee will give you access to our Tea Salon offerings and we encourage you to get in early and register your name for massages and healings from our amazing local therapists and healers including:

Lori Curran from The Humble Nook
Jelena Nikcevic from Soul Aquarian Therapy
Poppy Sophia from Om Chi Reiki

About Beit e’Shai
After living back home in occupied Palestine in 2014-2015 under the harsh reality of military occupation, Rasha Tayeh had to move back to Melbourne, where she set up her business Beit e’Shai (House of Tea in Arabic, pronounced bayt eh shy). Beit e’Shai (established in 2017) is an apothecary and teahouse, with all teas and tisanes handmade by Rasha using 100% natural blends from certified organic ingredients. Informed by her ancestor’s wisdom and drawing on her knowledge and appreciation of traditional Arabic medicine and Palestinian herbalism, Rasha creates aromatic teas and herbal medicines that focus on health, wellbeing and comfort.
Beit e’Shai is built with intention to create a healing home for everyone.

About Dalia Association-مؤسسة دالية المجتمعية
Dalia Association makes grants available to support relevant civil society initiatives, especially grassroots efforts that seek to supplement local resources. A permanent endowment will be built over time to ensure sustainable income for current and future generations. Dalia’s work advocates for systemic change in the international aid system so that it respects Palestinian rights and responds to local priorities.

For more information visit:
www.rashatayeh.com
www.beiteshai.com

Beit e’Shai and Rasha Tayeh acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of this land on which we live and work, and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging.

—

Oshun Retreat is located at street level / ground floor. The venue is wheelchair accessible with an all-abilities bathroom facility.

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Summer of Love

~ rashatayeh

I hope you had a wonderful New Year’s break!

I certainly did and I’m very happy to be back for an exciting new year filled with market stalls, exciting new events and workshops.

Here are some of Beit e’Shai‘s movements this month:

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Valentine’s Day Special Offer

Beit e’Shai is pleased to announce that we are offering 10% off all our products this Valentine’s Day.

Why not treat yourself or your lover to our delicious lover’s blend, our limited edition Habibi Tea?

Visit our Online Store between now and this Thursday 14th February and enter this promotional code: HABIBI

Offer expires at 11:59pm Thursday 14th February 2019.

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Gibran’s Garden

Tea lovers will be introduced to the Beit e’Shai experience on Saturday 23rd February at the Immigration Museum’s Summer of Love Gibran’s Garden Party.

Founder Rasha Tayeh, will be available at the Beit e’Shai Pop Up Teahouse offering you a complimentary cup of tea on arrival.  Her background as a nutritionist and herbalist provides a unique perspective on how drinking tea can be a form of self-care, a delicious ritual and for healing.  She will also present a Tea Workshop discussing various herbs, fruits and spices that can supportus during the warmer months and be enjoyed as both hot and ice teas.

Drop by the Pop Up Teahouse between 3pm-8pm
And join us at the FREE Tea Workshop from 3pm – 4pm.

 

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Friends & Stockists

We would like to welcome our new (and old) stockists to the Beit e’Shai family:

Aroma Paradise (Sydney)
Rhubarb Organics
Timber + Greens
The Humble Nook
Soul Aquarian Therapy
Immigration Museum Gift Shop (Melbourne)

For more information on how to become a Beit e’Shai stockist email Rasha on: rasha@beiteshai.com

Beit e’Shai presents: Herbs for Gut Health

~ rashatayeh

As you probably know by now, I launched an online tea house and apothecary late last year, called Beit e’Shai (House of Tea in Arabic, pronounced bayt eh shy).  Since its launch, Beit e’Shai hosted different events, tea parties and workshops.

This Spring, on Sunday October 14th 2018, Beit e’Shai will be hosting a workshop exploring Herbs for Gut Health, at Attuned Music Therapy studio in Preston.  Spring is associated with rebirth & renewal, making it a good time to cleanse, in this workshop we will be looking at bitter herbs, wild herbs and herbs that improve our digestion and general gut health.  We will also discuss the benefits of fermented green tea along with a practical introduction to Komboocha making.

I will be setting up a table with Beit e’Shai products during this workshop for attendees to purchase from the full range of my handmade blends (at an extra cost to the workshop fee, cash and eftpos available).

To book your spot for this workshop visit this link.

Herbs for Gut Health Workshop details are:

When: 2-3:30pm Sunday 14th Oct 2018

Where: Attuned Music Therapy, 5/27 Enfield Ave Preston VIC 3072

Cost: $30 Standard, $25 Concession.

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Spring News & Spicy Dinner Parties

~ rashatayeh

Sooooo…. a lot has happened since my last post here and my artist residency at Brunswick Mechanics Institute.  Firstly, I gotta admit, Im just not all that great at keeping up with this blog and social media… so forgive me! But I love that most of what I do is away from screens.  I’ve spent most of my winter in my studio creating, mixing herbs in my apothecary or cooking in my kitchen… and since Spring is (finally) here, gardening duties are calling!  The sun is out and the plants are waking up after a long and cold winter.

Secondly, I was invited to present Spice Trails at Footscray Community Arts Centre!  And what pleasure it was to come back to the Gabriel Gallery at FCAC to host an intimate dinner party over two nights in late August.

Spice Trails performance dinners on 24th and 25th Aug were a huge success. Thanks to everyone who attended and participated in this ever evolving live art project inspired by the Silk Road. And thanks to Footscray Community Arts Centre for making it happen & the chefs at Happy River Cafe for the delicious feast, and the talented crew at Pomp & Splendour for the gorgeous flower arrangements.

The next seating on 26th Oct is now SOLD OUT. But there is a waiting list at this link if you’d like to register your interest should tickets (or new sessions) come available http://footscrayarts.com/event/spice-trails/

Below is a slide show of some images from August’s seatings, taken by Felis Sarcepuedes.

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What I love about this project is that it always looks and feels different, depending on who is in the room!  The dynamic nature of live art and participatory art make every seating beautifully unique.  Since last year, Spice Trails has evolved into an immersive live art series of performative dinners and installations, inviting guests to explore and experience the cultural, social and political dimensions of contemporary food culture while drawing on important histories inspired by the spice trade along Silk Road.

This journey explores the development and destruction of great civilisations that has shaped the way we eat today. The narrative unfolds through a 5-course vegan meal with matching wine available, inviting the audience to become performers, sharing stories of merchants in multiple languages.  The route this year followed five stops along the (massive) Silk Road, starting in China’s Sichuan Province, travelling through India, Palestine, Southern Spain and finally, stopping in France for dessert. Spices at each one of these places weaved everything from flavours, colours and stories.

This year, I was really curious about experimenting with natural dying, and different textures of silk.  There is something special about exploring materiality through all of our senses.  You would’ve noticed in some of the images above the various colours of silks presented with the spices they are dyed with.  My personal favourite is the bright yellow of raw silk soaked in turmeric.  And as one of the notes read:

“In every apple you are eating Jupiter; in every plum, Saturn”

And with Turmeric you eat the sun.

I’m looking forward to hosting another seating next month!  For now, back in the studio to get on with it.

Spice Trails is back

~ rashatayeh

It is a great honour to be an artist in residence at Brunswick Mechanics Institute next month to further develop my performative dinner and Live Art work Spice Trails & Trade Routes.

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An iteration of this work was presented in my studio last year, and Im excited to have the opportunity to develop it further in my residency, where I will further explore the cultural, social and political dimensions of contemporary food culture while still drawing on important histories inspired by spice trade along Silk Road.

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This immersive Live Art project is part installation & part performative dinner inviting the audience on a journey to listen, taste and smell their way through different countries, cultures and communities. This journey explores the development and destruction of great civilisations that has shaped the way we eat today.

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Images from this post are from last year’s performative dinner, taken by my talented friend, Phoebe Powell.

I will be writing more updates during my residency about my research and development.  And stay tuned for more information about the presentation of this year’s performative dinner!

 

 

Hip Hop High Tea

~ rashatayeh

I am honoured & very excited to be collaborating with DJ MzRizk and Belleville Melbourne in hosting this year’s Rizky’s Hip Hop High Tea!

MzRizk will be playing throwback RNB jams from the 90s and early 2000s, head Chef Jarrod Moore will be designing an all vegan menu and I will be matching teas from my Beit e’Shai Apothecary and Teahouse.

Rizky’s Hip Hop High Tea will take place at Belleville on Saturday May 25 from 2pm – 4pm. Located in a Heritage-Listed building just off Little Bourke Street and inspired by a dive bar in Paris, it is the perfect space to enjoy a few cups of tea with friends and family.

Playing beats while you sample tea and eat, Rizky’s Hip Hop High Tea remixes the traditional High Tea into a casual and entertaining atmosphere that everyone is welcome to enjoy.

Cost: $70 per person, plus booking fee.

Book your tickets at this link.  Bookings essential for catering and dietary requirements.

We can cater for guests that have Dietary Requirements. Please send an email to hiphophightea@mzrizk.com with your dietary requirements after you have made your booking. We will not be able to accomodate those with dietary requirements if we have not been advised by May 16th, 2018.

Minimal door sales available on the day, however those with dietary requirements may not be able to be catered for so it is preferable to purchase tickets in advance!

 

For more details contact Danielle Rizk: hiphophightea@mzrizk.com

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Beit e’Shai now open!

~ rashatayeh

I haven’t posted on here for a while, apologies for the radio silence! I’ve been busy working on my new organic tea brand & mixing herbs for my apothecary. And Im super excited to announce the soft launch this week in Melbourne.

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Beit e’Shai, Arabic for House of Tea, is an apothecary & gallery for organic teas, tisanes & teawares.  All blends are carefully handmade by myself with an aim to support health & wellbeing.  Ingredients are sourced from as close as Maldon & Castlemaine in Central Victoria and as far as Palestine & Egypt. All ingredients are Certified Organic by Australian standards.

An online store will be launched early 2018 at www.beiteshai.com and I’ll also be trading from various artisan & farmers markets around Melbourne & regional Victoria.  Well, until a more permanent tea house is born.

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But for now, I have teamed up with two amazing friends to set up a PopUp Shop & Gallery in Brunswick this week before Christmas.  The three of us will have some lovely treats for your last minute Christmas shopping, so be sure to drop in for a cuppa & a look at some of the amazing art. All works are for sale, check out these links for the works by two very talented women; Chi&Ko Design and Vanessa Aloia.

I will sit the gallery/shop on these trading days, starting tomorrow.  Come in & say hi.

And I’d like to also take this opportunity to thank you for all your support in 2017 and wish you a wonderful & peaceful 2018.

Love, Rasha x

 

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The Wellness Series

~ rashatayeh

I’m excited to announce the launch of The Wellness Series, which include four 1-hour workshops discussing practical ways to nourish the mind & body through nutrition, herbalism & mindfulness.

Workshop 1: Cleansing & Mindful Eating on Sat 14th Oct 2017.  The first instalment will discuss ways to cleanse & reenergise the body & support the immune system in time for the warmer months.

Workshop 2: Food & Mood on Sat 11th Nov 2017.  The second instalment will discuss ways to use food as medicine to promote mental health. Learn about foods & herbs that can support us through anxiety, depression or to generally lift the mood & support mental health & wellbeing.

Workshop 3: Food & Women’s Health on Sat 18th Nov 2017.  This third instalment will discuss how foods & herbs can support women’s health; including fertility, regulating menstrual/moon cycles, and ways to relieve symptoms of PMT & endometriosis.

Workshop 4: Healing the Gut on Sat 2nd Dec 2017.  The fourth & last instalment will discuss how we can heal the gut through food & fermentation with a practical introduction to Komboocha making.

You can book one workshop for $35 or ALL four workshops for $120
Each workshop runs from 11am – 12pm & is limited to 20 spaces

For bookings visit this link.

If you have any questions please contact rasha.tayeh[at]gmail[dot]com

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Rasha Tayeh is a holistic nutritionist, researcher & artist. Her practice is inspired by the seasons & ways in which we can enhance connections with our bodies, our communities & with nature. She combines principles of nutrition & herbalism in her wellness workshops. Rasha is a registered nutritionist with experience working in private practice, community health and academia. As an artist, she has exhibited nationally & internationally at various galleries including the Australian Centre for the Moving Image & the National Gallery of Victoria. For more visit www.rashatayeh.com

Winter Apothecary & Open Studio

~ rashatayeh ~ 1 Comment

Winter is time to reflect, conserve energy and go deeply inwards.
I will be using this time to catch up on research, writing and medicine making.

Before I take a break from hosting workshops during the colder months, I would like to invite you to a Winter Apothecary workshop of medicine making at my studio.

During the workshop we will make an ointment, syrup and herbal infusion – using simple & safe homemade recipes that help support us during winter, strengthen our immunity & protect us from general ailments.

You will also have an opportunity at the end of the workshop to view/experience selected works from my previous art exhibitions, including audio portraits from “On Food & Memory” and short film screening “Growing Food Project” – with an opportunity to ask questions about my creative practice & the research behind “Spice Trails & Trade Routes”.

Cost: $35 per person
When: 2:30pm – 4:30pm, Saturday 13th May 2017
Where: MESMA Studio, Level 1, 6 Nicholson St Coburg

For bookings visit: https://www.trybooking.com/PNGK
Spaces limited to 20 guests

Since its Mother’s Day the following day, if you book 2 tickets & bring your mama along, you can purchase 2 tickets for $60.

For your Mother’s day discount, enter this promotional discount code: mama-love
(this only applies when purchasing two tickets).

If you have any allergies please be sure to let me know via email, when you book. The ingredients used may contain honey, beeswax, nut & seed based oils.

If you have any questions, please contact me on rasha.tayeh@gmail.com