For anything from mood boosts, to digestive help, to calming effects, there’s an herb for it. But what even is an herb? 🌿 We’re so glad you asked!

An “herb” is commonly thought of as a plant with leaves, seeds or flowers used for culinary or medicinal purposes, and you’re probably more familiar with herbs than you realize. Think ginger, chamomile, lavender, dandelion, cinnamon - everyone’s consumed or used cinnamon in one way or another. That said, herbs, and more generally-speaking, plants, are one of the planet’s oldest technologies when it comes to caring for our health. But despite their prevalence in our communities throughout time, they can often be hard to understand. We’re here to help keep things simple.

HERBALISM 101 

Let’s start with the term herbalism. Herbalism, quite simply put, is the act of using a plant for its medicinal values. It is one of the oldest systems of healing in the world and can be found in almost every corner of the earth and throughout every culture. Each unique place has their own style (or system) of herbalism that uses the plants that grow in that area. 

HERBS

An herb is any plant with leaves, seeds or flowers used for culinary or medicinal purposes, and we believe that they are powerful tools that can help support our bodies and minds in a variety of positive ways. 

Herbs, like many other plants and foods, either occur in the wild or are grown with the intention of using them as food and/or medicine. While many of the plants we’ve historically used were collected from the wild, in modern times we are moving more towards sustainably growing the plants that we need in order to do what is best for the planet and our health. Once they are ready to be harvested, these herbs are then collected and used fresh or dried and made into a variety of foods and medicines (like the ones we use at Sunwink).

Herbs have been around for thousands of years, and at Sunwink we believe in their power and magic, which is why we’ve chosen to use them in our sparkling herbal tonics.  

TONICS

In herbalism, a tonic is commonly made using supportive herbs that can safely be taken for long periods of time to help support long-term self-care. Sunwink sparkling wellness tonics are refreshing beverages that utilize the gentle power of time-tested and supportive herbs.

HERBAL BLENDS

Herbal blends, just like food, can become complicated when we add too many ingredients at once. Although we love the flavor that comes from layering, we believe in the power of simplicity and allowing space for a select number of herbs to shine in each of our flavors. 

At Sunwink we’ve made our blends with this philosophy in mind, using a select number of herbs to create the mood that we feel each blend holds. We carefully source our materials and work with clinical herbalists to refine our formulations and create refreshing tonics that you can feel good about enjoying.

Next time you grab a Sunwink and notice three to four simple plants on the label, know that you’re getting an artfully crafted blend designed to harness all the power and plant medicine of the included herbs. Ready to harness their power daily? Stock up!