Inspiring Conversations with Emma Canoles of Emma’s Tea Spot

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Canoles.

Hi Emma, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have always loved clean living, homeopathy, Sustainability, home remedies, home cooking, and gardening. I have always wanted to work for myself, heal people and make the world a better place. In 2006, I moved to the USA after traveling Europe and the Caribbean. I learned street food and local culinary practices and cultures. I created an in-school lunch program where we grew the food for our daily meal. I cooked or 150 kids every day, a homegrown, homemade, vegetarian, hot meal. We had bees and chickens and I taught cooking and gardening classes.

I also worked as a private Gardener and Private instructor to schools around the city teaching a modern version of ‘Home Ec’ Emma’s Tea Spot incorporated my British roots and added an element of tradition and ceremony to the mix. My dream is to remind people of their relationship with their environment. Which is something that we all share. To celebrate our similarities rather than our differences. Like food, our differences are usually based on our environmental differences, when we see that we are all connected and honor our food source and share space together in ceremony and tradition, we can start to see our place in nature as custodians. If we do not look after our environment we are not looking after ourselves.

We use seasonal food to emphasize that sharing the elements with our food makes them biologically engineered to provide the nutrients we need to thrive. If we engage in that practice mindfully the world around us responds back and a synergy occurs. Thus giving meaning and potency to the most sacred of practices, nourishment, and sustenance. A simple homegrown mint plant steeped in hot water with a dash of local honey can transform your day and mood.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life is chaotic, it is full of unforeseen challenges, they are tailor-made to allow you to see your weaknesses and lessons. It never stops. If being able to stand in that was easy, everyone would be successfully enterprising from their authentic gifts. Being an inspiration as well as success depends upon being ready for anything and knowing you are not in control.

Life is a concretion and trust is vital. Working for yourself is a grind, with many hats, hopefully, it will get easier, but I suspect the struggles just change along with you.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Everything is local, seasonal, or organic, hand-made from scratch, fresh to order. We are a fully transparent, slow food, business model. Every single item is my own recipe. We created a traditional counter service village tea shop theme, farmhouse, vintage style, 1950’s home cook feel. This way there is flow and no formalities.

Here, everyone is downstairs by the fire eating well and no one is above another. We do not ‘serve you’ we fulfill requests.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
My parents taught me to be self-reliant and adaptable, my husband pushed me to believe in myself, my friends threw in hours to get me over humps and bumps and my amazing team is always supportive. Baltimore City helped me with funding, the residents of Hamilton encouraged and supported me. I am grateful for every person I have met along the way. The media and people who took an interest.

I love the gritty, cosmopolitan, creative city we are in and it thoroughly deserves to be awarded. Hamilton and Lauraville is such a wonderful community. The business owners here are my mentors and friends. I have had coaches and Fen Shui counselors, mediums and professionals, marketing and logo and design teams. Nothing gets done alone, you need a band of ‘people’ to achieve success.

Pricing:

• High Tea $28 per person
• Private all-inclusive Parties for 30 $2000
• Kids parties $300
• Bacon Butty $11.25
• Cadbury Chocolate $2

Contact Info:

• Email: emma@emmasteaspot.com
• Website: www.emmasteaspot.com
• Instagram: emmasteaspot
• Facebook: emmasteaspot
• Twitter: emmasteaspot
• Yelp: emmasteaspot