PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Felicia Harris-Williams has blended her passion for tea, holistic healing and wellness into the perfect brew. The mother of three, started Gynger Tea House in 2015 after a major health scare that required open heart surgery.
"I literally had a near-death experience," she said.
After heart surgery, she says, she began to experience indigestion and really bad heartburn. Her cardiologist recommended new medications to ease the symptoms. However, another doctor who had her trust recommended something else.
"My primary care physician, who was a Black woman, said before I tried medication to try herbal tea infused with raw ginger root, and drink a cup before and after each meal," she said. "And I did. And it worked."
Before she was diagnosed with her heart condition, Williams says, she was a coffee drinker. But from that point onward, she switched over to be an avid tea drinker.
"I looked into all different types of tea. I even took a trip to Italy for my 30th birthday and went to different tea houses there. And I just fell in love with it," she said.
Courtesy of Felicia Harris-Williams
Williams says her heart condition should have been detected in her teens, not her 30s. "And thank God we caught it when we did, because it will get progressively worse," she said.
"More Black women die from heart disease than any other demographic," Williams said. Systemic inequities in health care have left people like her more vulnerable to conditions prevalent in Black communities. So she took that experience and channeled her response into a passion to teach and empower other Black women and to advocate for their wellness.
Gynger Tea House offers custom tea blends that help women who are post-natal and who are lactating, women experiencing menopause, and more.
"I always say I'm unapologetic about my brand being marketed to Black women, and the products that I make being for people that look like me, because I don't want to just sell tea," Williams said. "I want to be a wellness brand, where I can educate people and give people a safe space to explore alternative remedies to traditional medicine."
She also wants people to become better advocates for themselves, she said. "I want people to do their research and be able to share and learn from each other about how we can take care of ourselves, how we can advocate for ourselves in the health care system, so that we aren't discriminated against and things like this aren't overlooked — so that we can just live longer, right?"
As a volunteer for the Philadelphia Commission for Women, Williams says it's a privilege to help improve the lives of women across the city she was born and raised in.
"I'm one of the mayor's 10 appointees, and I've held that position … for about six years now. I was the first chair of the commission when it was re-established seven years ago," Williams said. One focus of the commission is the maternal mortality crisis.
"I'm privileged to be able to have a platform to advocate for women, to raise these concerns, to share resources about things that can save our lives."
The entrepreneur and mother says her grandmother inspired her to live a life of service, and now she hopes to pass that inspiration on to her daughters.
"My grandmother's like, 'Well, you know, service is the rent that you pay for your time here on Earth, right?'" Williams recalls.
"I always felt like I had to do something to help someone else, because I was so blessed. And you know, God is a blessing to me, I should be able to be a blessing to others. And that's how I live my life. And that's how I raise my children. And so anytime I'm given an opportunity or platform to help other people, that is what I essentially look to do."
