HERBALIST ∙ TEA COMPOSER ∙ WRITER
MÉLANIE PULLA
I work with plants, water and story, exploring the relationships between herbal medicine, contemplation and the deeper currents of the human experience.
A LIFE WITH PLANTS
For more than three decades, I have studied the language of plants through herbal medicine, contemplative practice and ceremonial tea.
My work moves between rigorous research and direct perception, exploring how a plant can be understood as whole through its physical form, the character it carries, and the particular human moments in which its qualities come alive.
This way of seeing informs everything I do, from the teas I formulate and the work I teach to the conversations I host through The Herballectual.
TEA AS A CREATIVE MEDIUM
Tea begins in the meeting of plant and water. Through water, the plant enters another expression, carrying its form, character and story into the living experience of the cup.
Over years of working with medicinal plants, and through my study of tea ceremony in South Korea, I have come to understand this meeting as an act of translation. Each blend is a composition, shaped by the plants themselves and by the deeper currents of human experience they are being asked to meet.
Water carries the composition across the final threshold, from something composed into something that can be tasted, felt and received.
The result is tea with authorship.
CURRENT WORK
TEA COMPANY
Water Over Leaves Tea Company
Steep into Wonder
Original herbal tea formulations, handcrafted small-batch blends, and ceremonial meditations
ONLINE COURSE
Encoding the Waters
Contemplative Tea Blending
A three-month online course exploring the practice of tea from stillness and plant reading through composition, refinement, preparation and ceremony
PODCAST
The Herballectual
Listening for the soul of herbalism
A long-form podcast exploring the deeper currents of herbalism.
SELECTED WORK
COLLABORATIONS
HEART OF DARKNESS
with musician KR3TURE
A ceremonial herbal tea for shadow work, awakening and deep remembering.
Released with the artist's music.
WILD MAIDEN
with artist Bubzee
A ceremonial blend for womb wisdom, cycle support and embracing the wild within.
Released with the artist's artwork.
COMMISSIONS
PRIVATE LABEL TEA COMMISSION
Sanctuary for Kaslo Cosmetics & Spa
Original formulation, naming, label design and packaging from concept to shelf-ready product.
Crafted for a cosmetics house and spa in British Columbia.
BACKGROUND
EARLIER WORK
ONLINE BLOG
Herb Geek
Thinking outside of the tincture bottle
Founder and chief editor, 2011-2014
Long-form interviews with senior North American herbalists, book reviews, and educational content.
Sold in 2014. No longer in operation
APOTHECARY JUICE BAR & HEALTH FOOD STORE
La Forêt Aliments Naturels
Founder and CEO, 2009-2011, Wakefield, Québec
Sold 2012. Still in operation
EDUCATION & TRAINING
Level 1 Korea Tea Ceremony Training
Choam Association for the Promotion of the Way of Tea, Daegu South Korea
2008
2006
BSc, Wellness and Alternative Medicine
University of Vermont, Johnson, Vermont
2002
Clinical herbal medicine with Michael Moore
Southwest School of Botanical Medicine, Bisbee, Arizona
Therapeutic and clinical herbal medicine; Garden apprentice
California School of Herbal Studies, Emerald Valley, Forestville, California
2000-2002
2000-2001
Ayurvedic Foundations, holistic nutrition, clinical aromatherapy
Dhyana Therapeutics, Sebastapol, California
Mystery school in womancraft with Jeanine Parvati Baker
Hygeia College, Correspondence course
1994-1996