Tea & Tonic Matakana

22/12/2025

Pop into Tea & Tonic Matakana today or tomorrow to scoop up those last-minute gifts – from calming teas to beautiful jewellery or homeware and art there’s still time to find something thoughtful

11/12/2025

So go on, try our Aleppo and let us know what you think!

11/12/2025

09/12/2025

The Story of our Aleppo Soap | Part 4

Why We Love It

This beautiful bar has become a staple for so many reasons. It is
• Gentle enough for newborns and sensitive skin
• Perfect for everyday cleansing and bathing
• Wonderful for facial cleansing and removing makeup even heavy shoot makeup
• A beautiful shaving bar
• Supportive for skin that experiences eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis and acne

One woman, who manages the maternity ward at Sydney Hospital, once purchased a bar, cut it into cubes and used it to wash newborn babies. When she returned to Matakana on another trip she bought twenty more because it was so gentle on their delicate skin a story that still touches my heart.

We have just had a delivery of cured soaps to stock us up for Christmas and summer. If you have not yet tried it, make sure you do :)

🤍 Available in store and online at Tea and Tonic
🤍 Made locally by Mahurangi Olives, with deep love and tradition

07/12/2025

The Story of our Aleppo Soap | Part 3

And then something magical happened

The very next day, I walked into the store and my friend Isabella from Mahurangi Olives arrived with a box in her arms. She opened it and there it was: a bar of Aleppo soap.

I instantly recognised and said, “Oh my goodness, I know exactly what this is.”

Isabella explained that she had been quietly working on it for over a year, using olive oil pressed from her family’s olive groves hand blending and hand pouring each batch, and curing every bar traditionally.

In that moment, everything aligned: our values, our timing, our vision. I felt as though the universe had placed exactly what I had been seeking right in front of me. It is funny how life is like that sometimes.

From that day forward, Mahurangi Olives Aleppo Soap has been the main body soap at Tea & Tonic.

We'd love you to try it.

06/12/2025

Seasonal Skincare + Nutrient-Dense + High-Vibration Botanicals

The Spring Harvest Collection 🌼✨
Our Spring Harvest day and night creams are crafted entirely from botanicals grown through spring - the season of renewal, fresh vitality, and tender new growth. Each ingredient is harvested at its peak, when it carries its highest vibrational energy and is naturally at its most nutrient-dense, offering exactly what the skin craves after winter.

This is seasonal skincare: creating in harmony with nature’s rhythm and using what flourishes right now - bright petals, nourishing herbs, fresh plant oils, and vibrant blooms. Spring gifts us ingredients that restore, illuminate, and bring life back to the skin.

A jar filled with spring’s sunshine, nutrients, and the vibrant energy nature offers at this time of year. 🌞🌿

05/12/2025

The Story of our Aleppo Soap | Part 2

The Search for a Truly Exceptional Soap

Part of that journey meant finding a body soap that lived up to everything Tea & Tonic stands for pure, effective, honest, and in harmony with nature. If I was going to sell soap, I wanted it to be the best we could possibly offer.

That search led me deep into the history of soap making. Long before commercial soap factories existed, people cleansed with simple mixtures of animal fat or vegetable oil and wood ash. As I dug further, I discovered Aleppo soap a traditional hard bar made in Aleppo, Syria, from olive oil and laurel berry oil. While its origins stretch back centuries, its exact age is uncertain; yet it remains one of the most enduring soap traditions in the world.

Traditional Aleppo soap contains
• 80% olive oil deeply moisturising and antioxidant rich
• 20% laurel berry oil traditionally used to support skin prone to eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis and acne

The soap is hand cooked, hand poured and then cured for at least a year. Although a small amount of lye is used to initiate saponification, during curing it is completely transformed, leaving only pure, nourishing oils behind. The result is one of the gentlest and most supportive cleansing bars on earth.

At that point in my research, I realised that no one in New Zealand was making authentic Aleppo soap by hand, and sourcing it from overseas meant compromising on sustainability and values. I had resigned myself to the idea that the only option would be ordering from Europe.

04/12/2025

The Story of Aleppo Soap - Part 1

How ancient tradition, conscious values and a magical moment brought Mahurangi Olives Aleppo Soap to Tea & Tonic

As one of the founders of Tea & Tonic, my vision was to create a space grounded in integrity, transparency and deep care where every product on the shelf truly deserved to be there.
I wanted to build a curated collection rather than a crowded one, stocking only a carefully selected range aligned with our values: New Zealand made, sustainably created and led by women. I wanted to ensure our community could shop with trust and ease, knowing there was nothing harmful or synthetic hidden behind confusing labels.

Alongside this intention, I held another dream close: to create in house seasonal collections in tea, skincare and clothing that sit alongside other aligned brands, working together to grow conscious choices and inspire meaningful change.

03/12/2025

Oil Moisturiser - Kawakawa + Harakeke​​​​​​​​
A deeply nourishing multi-use oil for face, body, hair, and massage.​​​​​​​​
Key benefits: deeply hydrates, calms, strengthens, suitable for all ages + skin types.

03/12/2025

Benefits of Using an Oil Moisturiser

Oil moisturisers help lock in hydration and support a healthy skin barrier. Here are the key benefits:

• Seals in moisture to keep the skin soft and hydrated
• Strengthens the skin barrier and helps protect against dryness
• Nourishes the skin with essential fatty acids and antioxidants
• Helps smooth and soften rough or flaky areas
• Can reduce redness and calm irritation
• Gives the skin a natural healthy glow
• Balances oil production, which can help improve oily or acne prone skin
• Provides long lasting hydration, especially overnight

How to use it:
Apply a small amount to clean, damp skin, or after your serum or cream moisturiser. Press gently into the skin rather than rubbing. Can be used morning or night depending on your skin needs.

Oil moisturisers are suitable for most skin types, especially dry, sensitive, dehydrated or mature skin, and can leave your skin feeling nourished and deeply hydrated.

03/12/2025

Benefits of Using an Oil Moisturiser​​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​​
Oil moisturisers help lock in hydration and support a healthy skin barrier. Here are the key benefits:​​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​​
• Seals in moisture to keep the skin soft and hydrated​​​​​​​​
• Strengthens the skin barrier and helps protect against dryness​​​​​​​​
• Nourishes the skin with essential fatty acids and antioxidants​​​​​​​​
• Helps smooth and soften rough or flaky areas​​​​​​​​
• Can reduce redness and calm irritation​​​​​​​​
• Gives the skin a natural healthy glow​​​​​​​​
• Balances oil production, which can help improve oily or acne prone skin​​​​​​​​
• Provides long lasting hydration, especially overnight​​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​​
How to use it:​​​​​​​​
Apply a small amount to clean, damp skin, or after your serum or cream moisturiser. Press gently into the skin rather than rubbing. Can be used morning or night depending on your skin needs.​​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​​
Oil moisturisers are suitable for most skin types, especially dry, sensitive, dehydrated or mature skin, and can leave your skin feeling nourished and deeply hydrated.