Origin Story of Conscious Seed

2016 was around the time I took on the BIG responsibility of taking over my family's Italian cafe, and the year I decided to turn it into an organic cafe that allowed me to serve thousands of folks from all over the world, delicious, nutrient-dense drinks, and small vegan bites on a 7-mile island off the coast of south west Florida.
This was the era when crunchy wellness was gaining traction, and I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to find my place in the wild world of wellness and work with the ingredients of the tropics we had access to. Little did I know I was expanding my herbal journey, with this mission always on my mind. 

I remember waking up and falling asleep with a research book in hand. On the 45-minute drive to and from the shop every day, I would hook my phone up to my 2002 Jetta and listen to herbalists, astrologers, college professors, and doctors on YouTube before I knew about Podcasts. I remember downloading audiobooks and burning them onto CDs. 
Truly, everything started back when I dropped out of college (I thought I was just taking a gap year), and after I never returned a book on Traditional Tonic Herbs to a mentor who lent it to me. When I realized that herbalism was the alternative I was looking for after being on antidepressant meds for 3 years. I was desperate, looking for a way to not feel like a zombie stuck in a liminal void. I found a few herbs to start with that would support my feelings of angst, anxiety, and blah. Milky Oats and Rhodiola we're my original plant teachers that helped me navigate my nervous system issues. Both these herbs inspired what are now two of our best-selling Elixirs: Lions Heart & Moody Bloom.


I’ve always been a very curious person. I like finding ways to bridge different realms of thinking, even if it takes me a dozen years. In the “early days”, my mom started calling me the Raw Alchemista (which became my first Instagram Handle) because my conversations so often led to a sense of interconnectedness. I would poetically and like a damn hippy try to make meaning out of everything in the natural world, to bring life and voice to the voiceless. 

My passion for learning about flavors began before 2016. I would watch my stepdad, a great chef (not a great person), make flavors pop at his various restaurants. Being the rebellious vegan I was, I dove off and started learning about integrative nutrition and energy medicine because I needed to prove that vegetables are more than just a little side dish. Thankfully, I never forgot about Ayurveda (thanks Deepak Chopra), I’d listen to him on tapes in the car and kitchen with my mom when I was in elementary school. With my love for flavor and my curiosity in holistic wellness, I slowly but surely found my way.  

Prior to 2016, I’d opened myself to a magical plant and started learning about the psychoactive plant medicines. This deepened my growing awareness and continued to feed my curiosity and passion. So much so that “expanding my consciousness” as Ram Dass talked about became all I cared about. This era of my life still influences my gaze toward the future of Conscious Seed and has taught me how to find a middle way with (almost) everything. 
This was the time I started learning about Astrology. A woman whom I’d met, while tripping, looked at my natal chart and told me that when I’m 33, things would all make sense and come together. That one drop of delicious information turned my inner detective on; it was also the first time I looked at a chart (remind you, while I was on a medicine journey). After that experience, I took astrology much more seriously. I began learning the basic language and patterns of Astrology, and of course, I started with the elements. From there, I found it helped me understand the body of the chart and connect the characteristics of the psyche to the body's constitutions, especially through an Ayurvedic lens (since that was what I was learning). Our days at the shop were filled with Mom and me talking about what’s going on with the Planets this week, while prepping veggies for Kenny to juice, or while steaming up a herbal latte. It’s so cool looking back and being like “oh yeah,” here we are, now in different phases of our life, but still talking and writing Digital Astrology Calendars every year, because of this phase of our life.

A handful of our best sellers today started at the Cafe, and we were founded in 2016. Kava Chai used to be one of our protein smoothies—I made a blend of herb powders that we'd scoop into our trusty Vitamix to make the most mouthwatering smoothie, which later went on to win an award! And Mind Brew was a blend of the richest cacao, a blend of herbs, and a scoop of coconut oil that we'd add into a shot of espresso (roasted in Miami, across the state) and a home-made activated cashew milk that Kenny made, it was a Cortado-style drink on our menu that was one of our FAVORITE hot drinks, the perfect morning pickmeup. I remember some customers would bring their own handmade ceramic cups into the shop for us to fill. They would tell us stories of the maker and the festival they found it at, and it would send me into a daydream of the future. 

Sometimes looking back is hard; it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. Memories are our personal myths, and reflecting on them can be super helpful for healing and closing loops. Memories— they help us keep our lives in perspective, which supports our relationship to ourselves and each other, and helps us turn our LESSONS into WISDOM. I’m writing this from the Island it all started, my homeland. What better place to reflect? 
The dream of Conscious Seed began at the shop. The cafe was where I started making herbal remedies, including Bioregional Fire Cider, which I learned about through Rosemary Gladstar. I also started making Kombucha and honey Jun infused with herbs and fruits that a local farmer would trade for smoothies. It’s where many of my formulas were invented. As for the name, I remember waking from a dream with the words singing in my head. It’s been a winding journey to where we are today—we're still growing and finding our way as we prepare to expand into a brand that can last in our changing world. 

We kept the cafe open for almost 4 years. It was completely unexpected when we closed our doors for the last time: a Hurricane swept through our little island, making it mandatory for all businesses to be closed for 3 months (right at the beginning of the season), which hit us so hard. The grief was so heavy, and the burnout was realized during that time off. We were all going 110 MPH for all that time and neglecting to take care of ourselves. The wild world of wellness and running a cafe burned us out and almost tore us apart. Being family-owned and operated, it was such a wild ride. 

I remember, at the beginning of it all, not understanding what my Mom meant when she told me to treat the cafe like I would in college, and I guess the 10,000-hour thing worked, and I am so glad it did!

Things are meant to change, but we all have an origin story that keeps us connected to our roots. For us, our ethics of origin are: keep it raw, real, and tasty! Nature is and always will be the medicine.