photo by John A. Secoges, Secoges Photographics
Memories are often stirred by the senses, which is often why we long for the taste of mom’s pie or the smell of grandma’s house. Sometimes it is difficult to recapture those treasured experiences, but Sherry Fuhrmann has made it her business to literally bottle the past. Her Pure Wild Tea is grown and brewed near her home in Upper Tulpehocken Township, just as her mother made it decades ago. Inspired by her mom, Fuhrmann started in 2010 with a field of tea plants, a lot of family support and the dream of keeping a Berks beverage tradition alive.
Q: How did you start making tea?
I grew up on a farm, and my mom used to make it. It’s actually herbal tea, mint tea, and I have fond memories of her making this for us in the summertime when I was a kid. We lost her when she was only 48 years old, and I feel bad that many traditions are being lost. I remembered this tea and wanted to make it available, to sell it. People – my own relatives – thought I was crazy, but when they saw me out planting tea in the hot sun, they started helping. My family has been incredible; we’re all working hard to make it, and it’s taking off.
Q: It’s remarkable that you’re planting it as well as brewing it.
Well, my mom would harvest it wild, which is where the name comes from, but I knew I’d have to plant it to have enough to make large quantities for sale. I have help from the eighth graders at Blue Mountain Elementary – they propagated 8,000 plants for me in their greenhouse last year and 15,000 this year. I pay a fee for their work, which the students use toward their tuition, and they get a science grade for the work, so it’s a win-win all around. It would be impossible for me to plant enough on my own to keep up with demand, between production, deliveries and going to trade and farm shows.
Q: That’s a fitting arrangement since you’re a teacher too, right?
Yes, I teach fourth grade at Tilden Elementary Center. I’ve been with the Hamburg School District for 16 years and teaching for 20. It’s wonderful because I love it and it affords me the ability to tinker with tea and spend a lot of time with my family.
Q: What kinds of drinks do you make and where can we buy them?
We have apple mint, chocolate mint and – new for summer – lemon balm teas. We harvest and brew the teas in small, 50-gallon batches, so it’s always fresh and has that meadow tea flavor that many Berks Countians remember from the past. It tastes like summer, but we make it year-round thanks to vacuum-sealing tea leaves for winter. Just since 2014, our products have become available at many places, from Redner’s Quick Shoppes to sandwich shops, fairs and events.
Q: Pure Wild Tea is a truly family business isn’t it?
Absolutely. I have more than 40 family members, friends and co-workers who help make this possible. My brothers, Terry and Garry Dieter, are my brewmasters. And it’s multi-generational. My 76-year-old aunt, Betty Kunkel, is my biggest helper, and my kids – Beau, 23; Corey, 21; Destinee, 17; Patience, 10; and 1-year-old Serenity – all lend a hand, too. It will be an awesome business one day, but what makes me happiest is that it is preserving a bit of tradition from yesterday and is a tribute to my mother. She would be proud of us.
